Help with my turtle tank setup

[rich311k]

I have a male in a 90 gallon tank he goes outside in a kids pool with a pump and filter in the summer. He is a great and very friendly pet. The are legal to own and sell in NY. The have to be larger than 4 inches in order to sell them. I use an Eheim canister for the 90 gallon tank.

 

[Dangerdoll]

you can also visit the forums over at:
http://www.turtletimes.com/Forums/
This site has helped my sister and her 2 RES turtles.... she's had hers for quite a few years.

 

[norm3000]

The have to be larger than 4 inches in order to sell them.

That's the law here in Michigan too, if not the whole US. RES became popular in the 70s and people didn't take care of them. Too many kids put small ones in their mouths and got salmonella poisoning so they passed a law that you couldn't buy turtles under 4" except for "Educational Purposed". I would presume that meant eductational institutions but a lot of pet stores sell small one for "Educational Purposes" to anyone. (BTW, a healthy and well attended turtle shouldn't ever have any salmonella, proper lighting is key here).

During the first year or so how large will they get. I know the average size of a full grown is 8-12 inches.

Turtles are only supposed to grow about 1" a year, maybe a little more. If you feed them too much protein they'll grow faster than that and can have health problems as a result.

I orignally wanted a Turtle instead of fish. But after reading up on them decided I'd start with fish first because turtles can be much more demanding. Get a book and read up on them, there's lots of great info on the web too.

 

[Dangerdoll]

I orignally wanted a Turtle instead of fish. But after reading up on them decided I'd start with fish first because turtles can be much more demanding. Get a book and read up on them, there's lots of great info on the web too.

you're a wise man, norm...

 

[Gunnie]

souds good hopefully that aquarium is still for sale. Any suggestions on the filter? Should i get a submerisble or a bio-wheel? I had a bio-wheel for the fish tank that we once had, it worked well but I'm not sure how well it would work with this setup since the water isn't going to be too deep.

I have this one in my turtle tank and love it. It gives lots of water flow, and keeps the tank free of floating debris. It also keeps the tank more quiet.

turtle tank filter

 

[mosammy121]

Definately don't NEED a 200+gal tank for your RES,i have 4(3m 1fem) 3yr old RES in a 90 gal.------------btw i do plan to get rid of 2 if i can find a good home.
but unless you plan to do 3 water changes a week(like i do)i wouldn't recommend trying this.
-the males will only grow about 6 to 8"s and females around 12"(carapice diam.)
-filters should be internal and OR canister
-feeding,lots and lots of greens for the young ones(lettuce,spinach)
-i also feed frozen krill,crayfish,turtle pellets
-1 basking area per turtle,should be about 90degs. use uv lighting


btw you can save swimming space by buying the suction cup basking area


sorry don't have much time,i'm at work

 

[FisheyLisa]

gunnie: you keep it with your fish?

Do you keep your RES outside or in? You could get something going outside, caged (into ground if they dig) with a pond or kiddie pool. I don't know what their water requirements are, I keep land tortoises...SOOOOOO much easier...well my husband takes care of them, and we have to deal with air humidity rather than water conditions.

We have a rubbermaid set up for one (which is REALLY easy to deal with and make changes to...like cutting it up and stuff), and a wooden one we built. I don't know if it is the same for RES, but clear glass isn't the best option as they don't understand it and bash it. We had to get opaque. That maybe a consideration.

russiantortoise.org and tortoisetrust.org are the 2 places I get info from. Just state what you have, most of those folks have knowledge on multiple types of turtles and torts.

good luck!!

 

[Lobo.]

i also have a res! its about 10 years old now and lives in a 20 gal tank, he used to tear up the gravel really bad but now ive put big rocks on the bottom and made him a cave of sorts so he is happy. hes got a rubbermaid float and is really fun to watch. he makes a big mess so 20 gals may be too small but is definately liveable because the turtle is really happy, just water changes are needed to keep the tank looking nice

also fish and RES would not mix, the turtles make too much waste and the fish would be eaten in a snap

(click for larger image)

here he is begging for food


here he is in his 20 gal

yellow color comes partly from the towels hanging on the back of the tank and partly because of a recent algie attack- introduced snails and water changes fixed the problem

 

[Gunnie]

gunnie: you keep it with your fish?

Nope. He has a 29 gal tank all to himself. I have a floating basking area held to the side of the tank with suction cups, so he has practically the whole tank area to swim in. I have one of those screen tops on the top with a basking light on top of it. He seems very happy!