Help with 2 turtles?

Question

I did an impulse buy the other day and bought 2 turtles-- i do not know what kind they r but they both have orange dots on the side of there head and they are only like a month old my question is what do i need to buy these guys as in cage what kind of plants do they like,do i need a heater heat lamp ? filters? and chemicals for the water? pretend you work at petco and someone asks you i just bought a turtle what do i need to make it happy

Answer 1

These are either Red-Ear Sliders or Painted turtles, and you are not going to like this answer.

1. Tank- aim big. While young turtles would be OK in a 20 gallon tank, the rule of thumb is about 10 gallons per inch of turtle. Red-ears can hit about 10" pretty easily- 2 10 inchers would need a couple hundred gallons easily. A lot of experts say adult Red-ears should only be kept in outdoor ponds.

2. Heater- enough to keep the tank 75-80F no matter how cold the room is.

3. Filter- about 3 times bigger than a fish tank would need. Here is an article about this: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/filtration.htm

4. Lighting- we need to warm the basking area, light the tank, and offer UVB lighting. A 'all-in-one' bulb, mercury vapor, runs about $50 not including the holder and lasts about 6 months.

Little stuff includes lamp holders, timers, thermometers, turtle ramps or docks, tank gravel if you want it (not colorful stuff), decor like live plants, etc.

It is not uncommon for a full set-up to run about $150 AND UP.

Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for more help.

Answer 2

Need food, Reptile sticks are good, my turtle won't eat werdly's i get the other stuff Reptomin. If they are small don't get fish yet, they Might be too big for them when they get bigger you can get Goldfish, but if you can find Rosey Reds they are more nutritious. Get a 10-20 gallon tank depending on how big they are and how big you want them to get. Get a filter it should be good for 3 weeks at a time, then you'll need to clean it. No Chemicals needed. Heat lamp is good, but not necessary. As long as they have a place to get out of the water and dry off. I have turtle Dock, It floats just above the water and he loves it. No plants, I have gravel and Large Rocks.

Good Luck, keep them healthy and you'll have friends for life!

Answer 3

1.Feed Wardley Reptile Sticks
2. get an inside aquarium water filter, they need real clean water at all times.
3. Do not pick them up, they have salmonella bacteria on them, just always wash your hands.
4. they require a sun lamp or light source
5. offer Romaine Lettuce to the tank, just let it float. Do this 1 time a week.
6. Place some feeder fish in the tank with them.
7. Use Wardley 3n1 7.0 water conditioners. It will have the water just right for the feeder fish which will help the turtles grow.
That's it, they can lice more than 20 years with proper care.

If you can't afford a tank you can use a very large Clear plastic storage container.

Good Luck

Answer 4

oh lordy, lol. this is how i have got my slef in over my head in the past. are the turtles green or almost black? green ones are usually red earred sliders and the black ones are called painted turtles. i have two painted turtles my self. your going to need a larger tank for when they get older, and these turtles do live for a long time. if they are still quite small you can get away with a ten gallon. Turtles are very very dirty reptiles. meaning they poo and sludge alot. i gave up on using filsters and change water twice a weeks, if not more. i gave up on gravel to. yes it sounds like i am lazy, but really im not. they have their tank with a ouple large rocks they can get out of on. i do not decorate their tank, becasue i have many other animals to take care of right now and well. i guess i am lazy. your turtles are aquatic turtles, and yet they will need to be able to get out of their water and "bask". so make shure that you have something they can get out of the water and lounge on. yes you usually do need a heat lamp, but, i will honestly tell you i do not use one. my two turtles were aquired at a very younge age one was wild caught and the other was bought. i have had these things for over 5 years now. i feed mine turlte sticks that are calcum fortified. and they are doing fine and growning well. you may need to split them up, because as my turtles get older, i have noticed that i have two males, and im not shure if they fight territorially or they just get sick of each other. but they tussle every now and then. if you do not use bottled spring water, you will need to get water conditioners, they sell these at your pet store. I feed my turtles snacks every now and then such as a occasional cricket, or earth worm or stray fly that land in their tank. they dont do to much. but they are intresting. good luck and hope i helped a little