i just a turtle for my birthday. i have no idea what the heck to do with it! it's little and in water.?

Question

i can send anyone a picture if it would help. and when i say little, i mean little. i'm talking like the size of 50 cent piece.

Answer 1

Pets as gifts to people who dont ask for them usually end badly. If you DO want to try to keep it then here is a website that will tell you everything you need. If you DONT want to keep it, you can let it go in most any creek, lake or pond (so long as you live in the southern half of the US. The choice is yours. You probably have a baby Red Eared Slider, By the way.

Answer 2

*sigh*

Turtles are a lot more responsibility than a little plastic bowl of death with a palm tree. Most likely you have a Red Eared Slider (little green turtle with red spots on the side of it's head).

Best bet is to go to your nearest pet store that specializes in reptiles and ask about setup, because I'm likely to forget everything for an indoor turtle (outdoor ponds are great)...

A tank. 10 gallons will work for now, but the bigger it is, the better. Your turtle can get quite sizeable.
A filter. Clean water not only cuts the turtle smell from the tank, but it is all-around healthier, not only for your turtle, but for you as well, turtles don't "carry" salmonella, they live in their toilet and THAT carries salmonella.
Lighting. Full spectrum. If you can't afford a bulb, a daily field-trip out into the yard for some sunlight until you CAN afford a fixture and a bulb.
Warmth. A cold turtle is a dead turtle. Your lighting might keep him warm enough, not sure of exact temp that they're best at, but 88 degrees is optimum for most reptiles.
Basking area. They sell floating platforms, you can get some rocks (make sure they balance well on each other, smooshed turtle under a rock makes you sad.) Just because it's a water turtle doesn't mean he's going to spend all his life in the water.
And most important.... a book.... Any good pet store should be able to help you identify your turtle and will either have on hand or be able to order a book to tell you everything you need to know about your new friend.
Oh yeah, food. Reptomin floating sticks are ok, but look in your book and find out what else you can supplement his diet with.
Take care of him and treat him right and he should be with you for many, many years.

Answer 3

I don't understand what your question is but I'm assuming it's a red-eared slider turtle because they are sold largely. It's illegal to sell them if they're smaller than 4 inches, which is the case with many many shops. But if you want the little fellow to grow, he can grow up to the size of a dinner plate. If so you need to buy him a 10 gallon tank as a starter with a water filter and heater. Eventually you'll need a 35 gallon tank, but I'm not too sure how serious you are about pets. There's no way to "play" with him, but just watch him grow. Unlike stores saw, you don't feed them one pellet of food a day, too. If he is a RES, then this website will be helpful. http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

Answer 4

i know how you feel. a couple years ago we got THREE red eared sliders and they were about the size of yours. Dont worry about that ILLEGAL thing-they are illegal but i doubt there are 'turtle police' out there. you need to get either those special lightbulbs(you can go to petco or petsmart and they will know what light to get) or like that other guy said, give them a trip outside once a day. they need the suns rays(or those lightbulbs) to digest their food. make sure that they cant climb out of their tank. my mom got a kid pool and filled it with water but she filled it too high and that turtles got out.(my dog had to sniff them out) we still have them in the kid pool outside and we found some rocks at the beach and put them inside. if you do get a kid pool make sure the sides are fairly tall and i would avoid one with texturing. when you clean your tank or pool you should dump the water out and scrub the algae off then rinse it out. no need to use 'special' water for them tap water is fine. if you keep your turtle outside you need to be aware that there are animals that come around and could possibly gobble up your little micro sized critter. so i would be cautious. when you feed them use those little pellets to start off with and you could drop in a little cube of frozen bloodworms for a treat sometimes. if you want to feed it feeder fish theres just one thing i want to warn you about. your little turtle is probably not big enough to catch it and it will probably take forever to eat. another thing is that your turtle might get used to the feeder fish and refuse to eat anything but them. i hope you have fun with you friend and good luck! :)

Answer 5

Good luck. Someone just gave you a red eared slider. This pet will ultimately cost you hundred to thousands of dollars to care for, but here is a start on what they need. I made this page for people who mistakenly think that these little guys can live in a bowl and eat pellets and make a good pet. Good luck! www.geocities.com/radiofemme/turtles

Answer 6

I have one now which i got when he was that small but much bigger now. Main thing is it needs a basking area from the water and a flourecent lamp to help with digestion and growth. Meal worms are the best thing to feed them because they start out carnivorous then become vegitarian.

Answer 7

I don't understand people who give animals to people without at least a book to go a long with it. Does it have a red streak on each side of it's head?

I suggest taking it to a pet store and asking and getting a book.

Answer 8

Wow! We looked up on turtles, and it's illegal to sell turtles that small, nowadays! If it is a red eared slider, just leave it alone. You can feed it worms, which it has to eat under water. Red eared sliders are incapable of eating unless they are completely submerged! They might take the food on land, but can't eat it unless submerged with water! Anyway, you can watch him/her, through the glass. And make sure he/she gets enough food, plus watch him/her eat it! If he/she will let you! Anyway, Good Luck!!!

Answer 9

It's a pretty nice present. When they hatch, they still have a yolk sack.Within a few days after hatching, it is used up and gone.Just feed them the food that adults eat - I feed mine fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta, cornbread, etc.

Answer 10

It takes a little work to set up a good habitat, but once set up, this is a fairly easy pet to care for.

Two good sites for reference are:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com
http://www.redearslider.com