New Turtle........?

Question

I just found a baby turtle in my pool. It's a (Red-eared/painted) Aquatic Turtle. I'm only going to keep it until it gets a little bigger, so I got a little turtle Island for it. The problem is that it doesn't come out of the water much and I was wondering what I could do about that, because I heard that if it stays in the water too long it could die.....
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

If you are wondering if it is a painted or an RES look on its neak RES have a large orange/red stripe, also look on its plastron (the bottom of the shell) the edges on a painted turtle will be a pinkish red color. As far as keeping it many wild turtles don't do well in captivaty, also many turtles that have been kept in captivaty even for a short time cannot readjust to the wild and die when they are released, so if you want to keep it you are going to need to keep it for its whole life. In fact in some states it is illeagle to release a turtle that has been kept in captivaty for more than 30 days. If you keep it then give it a light and increase the temperature, also give it some live food, and a place to hide (like some aquatic plants) try to make its enclosure as close to the pond where it was found as possable.

Answer 2

There is no reason why you shouldn't keep it. Unfortunately, way to many pet sliders are let loose in the wild, so keeping this one wont hurt a thing ... as long as you give it the proper set up.

Water turtles are fairly high maintenance. You have all the care requirements of a turtle, and many of an aquarium. A proper set up for this guy will cost at lest $100, and will probably be more like $200. You will need a UV light (long florescent tube), a heat light, a water filter, and a fairly good size aquarium. Full grown that guy will be over a foot; possible over 14-16 inches.

The most important thing is that you keep the water clean. They are very messy eaters and will foul the water quickly. Even with a water filter you will need to do water changes frequently. If it looks dirty or smells bad it needs to be changed. A larger aquarium will need cleaning less often.

They typically spend half the time on land sunning themselves and half in water. Put the heat light over the land part. They dive in the water as soon as they see anything around him, so you may not see him up there much.

For food, there are pellets, but live food is best. Crickets, meal worms and wax worms are just some good food items. When they are older, they'll also eat some lettuce.

If you can't care for the little guy, I suggest giving it to a reptile store or pet store that is knowledgeable about reptiles. Only keep it if you are willing to keep up with the maintenance required.

Good luck,
Robert, aka Reptile Bob.

PS, if you have an outdoor pond, they do great out there and are virtually maintenance free. If not, you can consider getting one for it. Outdoor ponds are the best way to care for them, although they can be eaten by birds of pray or raccoons.

Answer 3

I have two painted turtles one i found two years ago about quarter size the other last summer about the same size mine are in a 20 gallon tank filled 3 quarters with watr in a window i wedged a piece off wood in level with water bought turttle food at wal mart and they are great they need to be able to sun or their shells will get soft other then that they are in the water all the time also try a little cod liver oil for colorp.s. dont let it be in chlorine water it will die for sure

Answer 4

I know you have good intentions but, please but the turtle back in the wild. It's very bad for turtles from the wild to be taken into captivity. It can't die if it's in water too long, they come up for air, it'll be fine. It'll be even better if you put it back when it was. If you keep it, you have to for life because it will forget how to live in the wild and will die when you set it free again. You need to set it free now.

Answer 5

Please put it back in the wild ASAP. Nearby where you found him (obviously not back in the pool). He was not captive bred and knows how to survive in the wild. If you keep him and then release him, he will be use to being cared for and fed. He will also be more apt to get an illness or disease once released.

If you have any more questions, I suggest you visit www.turtleexchange.com/forum There are many friendly people who will advise you on what do to or how to do it.