wut is the best way to keep the turtle tank clean and any other helpful advice to take care of a big turtle?

Answer 1

For your question. To keep it clean, you need a good turtle filter (yes, these are made specifically for turtles) and you'll need to clean the tank about once a week if not more. You'll also need to change the filter once a week if not more which helps a lot too. An easy way to help it stay clean is to either a) feed it in another tank, or b) clean out all of the leftover food 5 minutes after you have fed it. Another way to keep the tank clean on top of all of this is to use ZooMed's ReptiSafe which eats chlorine and chloramites, reduces the pH, rehydrates new arrivals, and a whole list of stuff. You can also use Exo-Terra's Biotize which is micro-organisms that eat your turtles poo. You could add some Anacharis (it's a plant) to the tank and that eats their poo, the turtle can eat it, it's an oxygenizer, looks good in the tank, and doesn't make a big mess as other plants can. You can also add snails to the tank. They may get eatten by the turtle but they're inexpensive and keep the tank clean. Mine go all over the tank (sides, bottom, basking spot, on the plants, everywhere). I use ALL of the methods that I have listed and my tank only needs a cleaning evey other week. It works like a charm and the water stays clear and doesn't ever get to be smelly.
What to you consider a big turtle? 5" is not a big turtle. Males, when full grown will be 8-9" and females are 12" if not a couple more when full grown. That's the size of a dinner plate, sweety. That's a big turtle. You'll need to have 10 gallons of water to every 1 square in of shell for it to be able to swim, grow, and be happy.
I'd also give it feeder fish if it's 4" or bigger. They like it a lot and it's a good part of their diet.
Hope this was helpful.

Answer 2

I'm going to assume you are talking about a Red-ear Slider or Painted Turtle. If this is a Box Turtle, tortoise, or some other species, the advice will not work as well.

1. Big tank! Big tanks are healthier for the turtle. Aim for about 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length. Sounds like more owrk, but done right, big tanks are easier.

2. Big filter! Turtles are a lot messier than fish. Get yourself a BIG filter, about 3 times bigger than your tank should need for fish. This will cost a ton, but save you a LOT of work!

3. Change water! Even with a great filter, change about 1/4th of the water every week, vacuuming it off the bottom with a simple siphon vac tool.

4. Get rid of things in the tank that complicate cleaning. Most kinds of rocks at the bottom make life harder because wastes slip down inside and rot. Fine gravel, or even sand works well. nothing at all is great if you don't need anything there!

5. Get some living help! Snails, live plants, catfish, algae eaters, etc. will help as well. Not as much as the filter and water changes, but they help.

6. Less messy food! Some foods are just plain messy. the mroe the food shreds and fowls the water, or the oilier it is, the more of a mess it makes.

7. use a separate feeding tank. If your turtle will tolerate it, feeding them in an easy to clean tub saves you a lot of work!

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com has a lot of good articles on this!

Answer 3

That depends on what kind of turtle you are talking about. Is it aquatic? or land? Because the care is different depending on species.
As far as cleaning goes; be careful of cleaners. Harsh chemicals can be harmful to your herp. DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH PINE! which means no pine scent, no pine-sol, anything like that. Pine is toxic to reptiles; and can do some damage if used as a cleaner in your house.

Your best and safest bet is Dawn dish soap. It is safe for critters; and cleans well. If you have an aquatic turtle; then this won't work. You may be talking about keeping it clean as far as filters go. With Red Eared Sliders, they tend to be quite messy, so try using an undergravel filter for all that junk that falls to the bottom. Do 25-50% water changes frequently.

Answer 4

To keep it clean get a filter that is ment for twice the size of your tank exsample i fyou have a 20 gallon tank get a filter that has a 40 on the side of the box.
The general rule for turtles is 10 gallons per inch of shell.
For extra help go to repticzone .com

Answer 5

Trisha gave you good advice. The only thing I might add to her recommendations is a free floating aquatic plant called Anachris. It digests turtle waste and will keep your water clearer for a longer period of time. You will need to replace it as it yellows, (or they eat it!)This of course, applies to aquatic turtles only

Answer 6

Turtles are very messy and stinky. Even with a powerful filter you should be doing a 1/4 water change weekly and a filter media change biweekly. A general rule of thumb for keeping turtles is 10 gallons for every 1'' of carapace(turtle shell). So a full grown red-ear slider would do best in the minimum tank size of about 80 gallons. I do not recommend using a separate tank for feeding like some experts do. I think that it causes extra stress to the turtle(stressed turtles are not fun pets) and added difficulty to the owner. My best advice to you is to buy an in-tank filter or raise the water levels(turtles don't need their water levels to be so low, they do fine in a 3/4 filled tank & they get more exercise) in your tank to accommodate a filter. If you want your tank to stay crystal clear for as long as possible your best bet would be to buy a filter fit for 40 gallon aquariums so the water cycles faster.

Answer 7

use a low water level filter, buy a python or some sort of gravel suction, change 25% of your water each week, reduce the amounts of pellets you are throwing in their and incoperate live food. check out wnyherp.org for the exact dietary needs of your turtle!

Answer 8

well once a week u should take it out and clean its shell and its tank..put 1 or 2 fish inside the tank with it like goldfish cheap fish that does help...good luck

Answer 9

Clean it once a week and don't know!