Is it true if i feed my turtles outside of its tank, this will also help keep water clean?

Answer 1

Yes! Feeding outside the tank is a great idea. It really helps keep excellent water quality for your turtles to live in.

Always make sure the water is at least the temperature of the water inside the tank. At first, turtles might be hesitant to eat outside of their normal environment (the tank), but they eventually grow used to it and expect it. A little trick to coax them into eating when you first try this is to keep the temperature of the water in the feeding container two or three degrees higher than the tank water. Warmer water entices turtle's to eat, and also entices them to defecate afterwards - furthering your goal of keeping the tank clean.

From your question above, I must assume you have more than one turtle. It is probably best to feed the two turtles in separate containers - this way you can control the amount of food each turtle is intaking and ensure a healthy diet, and also to eliminate fighting/aggression over food.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I assume you mean using a seperate feeding tank with its own warm water and proper size space?

The only down sides to this are:
- There is a little stress in changing tanks. Some turtles will not eat well in this situation.
- Some keepers think this means they don't need good filtration, which would not be true.

Most good turtle food is messy- fish, worms, bugs, etc.all foul a tank quickly, so if the feeding tank idea works for you, go for it!

Answer 3

Not really. You need to feed your turtle in its tank. In the wild turtles dont stroll up to the beach with their picnic baskets in tow. It is more natural and better for the turtle to feed while in the tank. Most of the mess comes from the after math of the lunch, you know, "what goes in must come out." Your turtles fecal matter is whats gunking up the tank. You could check into under gravel tank filters. This will help stretch out the time in between cleanings.

Answer 4

I'm not sure if a turtle would be right for a 4 year old as a pet. They are more of a look at animal rather than a play with me animal, and from personal experience they don't hold fascination for a super long time. If your daughter knows and understands this, though, and you are prepared for the responsibility I'd say go ahead and get one. It depends on what type of turtle you get to how hard it is to maintain. Water turtles are harder at the upkeep because their water gets dirty and has to be changed frequently, plus they tend to have an odor. I would suggest a box turtle or a tortoise, and with them you have the option of building a nice outdoor enclosure that can double as a garden area or keeping them indoors. They are safe for children as long as appropriate measures are taken. They do run a risk of carrying Samonella but that is usually for wild caught turtles or turtles kept in dirty enclosures (the problem came from people buying baby res turtles for little kids and the kids putting them in their mouths). If your child washes their hands after handling the turtle you should not have any issue with this. It depends on the child, when it comes to the saftey of the turtle. I've heard about tons of kids having them as pets and interacting with them fine, my 4 siblings and I had a painted turtle growing up and never had any issues with it. If your child is old enough to understand what behavior is appropriate when it comes to the turtle and you monitor their interactions you should be fine. Turtles do live a long time, if kept in appropriate conditions they live 30+ years. There are a variety of types you can look at, your best bet would be doing google searches on turtle breeds, box turtle breeds, and tortoise breeds. I would probably stick to a small tortoise like the Russian if I were you; they do not get to big, are one of the easier turtles to care for, and are one of the more sociable turtles. Turtles are not cheap. For a land turtle or tortoise you are looking at at least $400 for the intitial set up. For a box turtle/tortoise there are a couple basic reqirements: Cage UVB/UVA bulb Substrate Water Dish Food Dish Heat bulb Food Thermometer/Hydrometer

Answer 5

Yes, turtles are messy eaters and their water gets dirty very easily because of this. Just make sure that your turtle does not need to be fed in the water (only) because a lot of water turtles should only be fed in the water.

Answer 6

Yes....but becarful, turtles are habitual.....they will only eat in the area where they remember food is. If you try to switch and start feeding it in it's tank it may not adjust.

Answer 7

Yes! And it's a wonderful opertunity to bond with them. Soon they'll associate coming out of the tank to eat and socilize with that giant shelless creature that feeds them.

Answer 8

Yes. Turtles are VERY messy eaters.

Answer 9

Yes because the excess food will not pollute the water.

Answer 10

Absolutely! I highly recommend it, as you don't have to fish out the old food or change the water more than neccessary.