Got A Turtle Today

lovemycatswsq

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So I swear I should have a sign on my back that reads "I'll take your unwanted pets!!!" lmao. Today Zach one of my bandmates showed up at my place with a cardboard box and a baby yellow bellied slider turtle inside. His sisters son brought it home from a pet store and she "No WAY!!" lol and handed it off to Zach. Well he's not a big reptile person and knows I love all animals so he brought the little male over. Of course I took him
. Bought him some nice quality food and cleaned out my old fish tank and put him inside with some water and a large rock and such. I will have other supplies for him tomarow.

I named him Speed Bump
.

Anyone else here own a Turtle? He is my first in years lol.
 

goldenkitty45

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Used to own 7 Box Turtles (6 males, 1 female).

Be careful with any turtles and WASH YOUR HANDS after handling them. There's been a recent increase in samanella in turtles again. Bet they will ban them in pet shops.
 

hurdyburdy

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I've never had a turtle. It does seem that people know who the people are that will take in unwanted pets.
 

ninacaliente

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Congrats on your new turtle! I've never owned one. I've always wanted a smaller tortoise, but don't have the facilities for one right now. So how was Speed Bump's first day home?
 

katz4life

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Congratulations on your new turtle
Love the name Speed Bump!
Hopefully you can post photos someday - look forward to photos of your turtle!
 

vixen16

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Aww I love turtles!!! I was actually thinking about getting 1 when I set my Tank up.
I had a couple when I was younger.. I think there cool. Dont worry about how much water you put in the tank.. if your turtle is a water turtle than more water is needed ((the more the better)), if its a land turtle than all you need is a lil bowl of water.

Im ganna assume your turtle is a water turtle for now ((idk much about land turtles))... you know those red rectangle bricks? ((i found them to work best)) well try to get 2 or 3 of those and but them on top of eachother in the tank ((rince them first of course)) and put water in right up to just before it hits the top of the top brick. My turtles always seemed to like the fake plants.. try to put 2 or 3 of those in there ((your turtle may try to eat it at first, dont worry its not ganna do much dammage to the plant or its self)).

Well if your wanna ask anymore questions, feel free to ask me anytime. And good luck with the little guy!!.
Yes pics are a must!!!
 

goldenkitty45

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When I had the Box Turtles, they were kept outside in the garden with bricks where they could not climb out. I would never get a turtle that had to be confined to a small aquarium.

They love the outside so much
And I used to hunt for earthworms under the rocks and give them to the turtles. They loved tomatoes too.
 

kaylacat

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Congrats on your new baby. I am the one who everyone always comes to when they need to find a home for an animal too so I know the feeling.
Lucky for this guy he ended up in the right hands though.


I have always wanted a turtle....maybe someday.
 

goldenkitty45

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Cool Logan - one of my box turtles was Speedy - and he really was one of the fastest moving turtles
Plus he was not scared of anything
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I would never get a turtle that had to be confined to a small aquarium.
You're very right there. The only thing that should be kept in is hatchlings and/or if the climate in your area is so very different from the species native climate that you cannot make an outdoor pen work.
Considering that good keepers always find a way, that can rarely be used as an excuse.

It's a bit like getting a dog and saying that you cannot/will not walk it.

There is talk about one turtle farm that has been able to some how "patent" a way to raise turtles to be salmonella free. Hobbyists and breeders worry that this might lead to only this farm being allowed to sell turtles in the US. This would unfortunately ban all the breeders from selling amongst themselves, something that is allowed currently.


As for the actual risk of getting salmonella... all reptiles carry it and anyone who has kept reptiles for a length of time will become more resistant to that particular strain. (this is also why some people get horrible food poisoning and another person that ate the same thing may only get a slight stomach ache)


To the original poster.
What size is the turtle?
What size is the aquarium?
Do you have digital thermometers with probes so you can measure the heat under the basking light and the water temp?
Heater for the water?
Do you have a UVB bulb for it?
Proper filtration? - the filter needs to be double the gallons of water you will be putting through it or made for turtle use.
Are you feeding and supplementing with anything besides pellets/commercial food? (pellets are not a main staple food and cannot be fed every single day- it can lead to obesity)

Have you search for and read anything about proper turtle care? If not, here is some info on feeding http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/aquaticdiet.htm (ignore the part about dog/cat/trout food - these are too high in fat) There's a little more on aquatic care on that site http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/articles.html try to read about supplementing and D3 too as these are important. http://www.chelonia.org/ has cares sheets - look under sliders.
 

vixen16

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If its a water Turtle.. I know itll grow with the size of the cage, meaning itll never grow to big for the cage. My first 3 turtles were tiny so they were in one of those small lagoon thingys.. then after 2 died i moved the last one over to my friends who also had a turtle, but hers was living in a Jacoozy ((sp.?)) that her dad turned into a huge turtle cage in her backyard ((my turtle grew a lot when i moved him over there)).
Then after him I didnt have any turtle for a long time till a couple yrs ago my friend had to rehome her 3 large turtles, I took them and since they were to big to keep all of them in an aquarium I put them in a 3ft kiddy pool in our garage ((during the day the garage was open so they could sun bathe)) then we had to move the pool to the backyard and they were out there for 1 night and during the night a raccoon got 2 of them
... so I put the last one in a tank ((where he eventually ate my 6inch Algae fish
))... after the 2 turtles got eaten, ill never keep my turtles outside again.
Ive had 3 Red Eared Sliders ((Bamboo, Scaredy, and Bob)), 2 Western Painted Turtles ((George and John)), and 1 Eastern River Cooter ((Papillon: after the movie not the dog, he was my fave)).

[[Yay!! its official, after we move in a couple months im getting a turtle!!]]
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Vixen16

If its a water Turtle.. I know itll grow with the size of the cage, meaning itll never grow to big for the cage.
Biggest load of BS ever. This is not true. All animals grow to the potential that their genetics tell them to.
The only way to keep them small is to starve them, provide no heat, ubv, etc - essentially killing the turtle.

Originally Posted by Vixen16

My first 3 turtles were tiny so they were in one of those small lagoon thingys..
Those stupid little plastic lagoons are death traps. You cannot provide anything a turtle needs to live if keeping them inside one of those.

I seriously suggest you do not get another turtle that you do not know how to care for. These are not cute little impulse buy pets. They're expensive and take very dedicated and detailed care.
Do research, it's not that difficult.
 

goldenkitty45

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I'm guilty of the plastic traps and baby turtles. But I was only 7-8 yrs old at the time and that was what was in the pet stores.....When we had the Box Turtles, I was a teenager then and knew a heck of a lot more.

BTW those baby turtles died in a few months even tho the water was kept changed. We didn't know any better about proper turtle care.
 

vixen16

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I'm guilty of the plastic traps and baby turtles. But I was only 7-8 yrs old at the time and that was what was in the pet stores.
Same here... I got my first turtle on my 8th Birthday, the Lagoon thing was the cage I got with it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

And btw... my turtles all lived for yrs. My first 3 turtles might not have had the perfect care ((as i was young and didnt know better)) but I had them all for well over 5 yrs ((im not saying they only lived for 5yrs... who knows how old they were when I got them)).

Papillon stayed tiny in his lagoon cage for a lil over 2yrs then once I put him in the large cage he tripled in size.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Vixen16

And btw... my turtles all lived for yrs. My first 3 turtles might not have had the perfect care ((as i was young and didnt know better)) but I had them all for well over 5 yrs ((im not saying they only lived for 5yrs... who knows how old they were when I got them)).
I believe you've said elsewhere that you're sixteen. Had they really lived "for years" and been taken well care of they would still be alive. Those little hatchling RES that are so popular easily live into their twenties.

As for how old they are when you got them. If they're 1" - 1 1/2" then they are recently hatched.

Age eight + five years would be thirteen, you could have went to your local library or even your school library, or just a computer to look up how to care for them.You could have even asked a teacher to help you. There are plenty of children that do take really good care of their reptile pets.

Unfortunately this is a case of disposable pet. Why worry when you can just go buy another.


And yes, I know I'm being very very harsh here. But you are trying to say that killing your pets was ok, you're trying to justify it. Where you to do this in the health and nutrition section concerning a cat I'm certain you'd see worse than what I have wrote here.

I will say it again. Do not get more turtles. I honestly feel you are not mature enough for such a big responsibility at this time. Also, unless you're working and can pay for it yourself, to provide a proper set up you'll need to spend around $300. Plus these animals do need vet care just like every other animal.
 
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