It is a 10 gal- aquarium, filled 1/3 with water and 1 inch of pebbles. It has a small filter and a small basking ledge ( that the turtle is too big for). HE is still able to poke his head above water. But is very noisy. He crawls under water, under the floating basking ledge and gets "stuck", he always can free himself, but thrashes violently. He even moves the filter around.
By the way. This isn't my turtle. It belongs to a classroom at my work and I am taking care of it for a colleague . I bought the tank, rocks, filter and everything. I took it home in a 1 gal. critter keeper. Please be nice. Don't say I am being cruel to turtles or have bad grammar.
2007-12-21 09:59:42 · 5 answers · asked by Sunshine 6 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
How big is the turtle? The guideline is 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length. Crowding causes stress, stress causes behaviors like you describe.
You just have to decide if you want to make things right, or just ride out the behaviors. If you are just keeping it for a while, you might be best off ignoring it.
However, you can make a cheap temporary home out of a 50 gallon plastic tub, filled 1/2-3/4 with warm water- kept between 75-80 with a decent water heater. Get a siphon-style tank cleaner and suck out a few gallons a day off the bottom of the tank (no sand, gravel, etc.).
Mount a clamp reflector lamp with about a 100 watt bulb about 6" over a basking surface- or until the basking site is about 90F. Turn it on for about 12 hours a day.
Make a basking site out of a clay pot on its side, or some drift wood, or a plain clean wood board (oak, maple, etc. are best- less oil in the water) and rig it up to slope gently out of the water.
The nice thing about a set-up like this is it can be abandoned and the parts used for other things, or built upon to make a good habitat (mostly by adding a good filter.)
2007-12-21 14:42:40 · answer #1 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The water must be at least 1.5 to 2 times your turtle's total length (called carapace length, or CL) in depth, with several extra inches of air space between the surface of the water to the top edge of the tank to prevent escapes. The tank length needs to be at least 4-5 times the CL, and the front-to-back width should be at least 2-3 times the CL. So, for a turtle who is 4" CL, your enclosure water area must be at minimum 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) deep, 16-20 inches (40-51 cm) in length, and 8-12 inches (20-31 cm) in width. As you can see, if you are going to have a land area at one end as well as sufficient water area, you need something much larger than a 10-20 gallon (38-76 liter) tank.
The water temperature must be maintained between 75-86 degrees F (23.8-30 C). If you buy a submersible pre-calibrated heater, test it first and make sure the water is the proper temperature before you put your turtle in the water. Too cold and it won't eat; too hot and you'll cook it.
be carefull:
runny nose, not keeping the mouth totally closed (or wheezing), swiming tilted to one side, lethargy and refusal to eat. Things to do: (If the respiratory infection is in its early stages, follow this guidelines, otherwise, take her to a veterinarian immediately) Keep the room tightly closed to avoid air drafts. Keep the water warm, this is the most important factor that will alllow your turtle to fight the infection. If you have more than one turtle, separate her from the rest, since infections are contagious. If the condition doesn't improve within five days, take her immediately to a veterinarian.
2007-12-21 21:07:08 · answer #2 · answered by Elham Doost 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the turtle is 6 inches or so long and a female, it could need to lay eggs. Females will thrash around if they need to lay. Laying in water is not natural for them. They need land access or can get eggbound and die.
If not a mature female it is probably just not happy in such a small tank.
2007-12-21 15:59:57 · answer #3 · answered by A1973 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have six turtles. the filter may not be the appropriate one for the tank. check it out with a professional at the pet store
2007-12-21 10:06:44 · answer #4 · answered by Hateisvoluntary 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you need a bigger tank, specially if he trashes violently he might get hurt one of these days. well i have one red ear slider, and kinda had a problem similar to yours, I also suggest buying him a bigger basking area. good luck
2007-12-21 14:01:17 · answer #5 · answered by elina n 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋