Marshall
Turtle Keeper + CPL(H)
Once you decide you like turtles and want to have one or more as pets here is a general guide to making their home compatible and enjoyable for them as well as ensuring their health so you get the full 15 to 30 years of life expectancy from your new buddies:
1. Tanks size: tank should be at least 4o gallons no matter how small the turtles are. For a 5" up to 7-8" use about 70 gallons and for full grown (9" -12") use a cube shaped 120+ gallons. The depth should be somewhere in the range of 18 - 28 inches because you need both a water area as well as an equal amount of air space above for basking etc.
2. Basking: The basking island/dock should be large enough for all of the turtles to sit on at the same time while still having room to make a full circle. The area should also be easily accessible with solid surfaces to help the get leverage to climb on. Make sure your heat lamps are close enough to provide enough heat but not so close that they get splashed by water or that a turtle can touch them and get burnt.
3. Hideouts and cover for sleeping: They need to have a place to hide from perceived danger and I personally use underwater tunnels that also serve as a step to help them get onto the basking area (see images)
4. Filtration & Moving water: The filtration is the area where most people mess up because they are used to fish and assume the filtration needs are similar. I only recommend Fluval canister filters to my clients in the 300 series based on your tank size. If your tank is 40 gallons get a Fluval 302 and for 70 a 304. They also need moving water and a waterfall filter (see image) is a great way to do this while also providing extra filtration.
5. Hot/Cold variance: Basically you want a water temp of 75 - 80 F but one side will be hotter due to the basking lamp so make sure the other end only has a regular water heater and no extra lamp.
6.Aeration: Although they do not breath underwater you still want to have a small air-stone to oxygenate the water to help keep the natural water chemistry right.
7. Exploration: The easiest way to do this is with the tunnel I mentioned that also provides hideouts and leverage points to climb out onto bask areas. They like to go through this and also the plants at the cool end provide another place to "rummage" around in.
8. UV-B: It is crucial that you have a UV-B lamp installed preferably over the basking area as they need this for healthy carapace and vitamin intake.
9. Feeding: Feeding should be done in the most open area of the tank so they dont hurt themselves when striking at the food or chasing it around. Feed them a small amount until they lose interest in it because always feeding a fixed amount means they will sometimes still be hungry or will not eat it all and this will wreak havoc on your filter.
If you have questions or comments please feel free to share them here or contact me by email @ (e-mail address removed) or if you have a turtle emergency you can text me at 706-957-2900 24/7 and if you dont get a reply within 30 minutes you can text to 706-416-8288.
1. Tanks size: tank should be at least 4o gallons no matter how small the turtles are. For a 5" up to 7-8" use about 70 gallons and for full grown (9" -12") use a cube shaped 120+ gallons. The depth should be somewhere in the range of 18 - 28 inches because you need both a water area as well as an equal amount of air space above for basking etc.
2. Basking: The basking island/dock should be large enough for all of the turtles to sit on at the same time while still having room to make a full circle. The area should also be easily accessible with solid surfaces to help the get leverage to climb on. Make sure your heat lamps are close enough to provide enough heat but not so close that they get splashed by water or that a turtle can touch them and get burnt.
3. Hideouts and cover for sleeping: They need to have a place to hide from perceived danger and I personally use underwater tunnels that also serve as a step to help them get onto the basking area (see images)
4. Filtration & Moving water: The filtration is the area where most people mess up because they are used to fish and assume the filtration needs are similar. I only recommend Fluval canister filters to my clients in the 300 series based on your tank size. If your tank is 40 gallons get a Fluval 302 and for 70 a 304. They also need moving water and a waterfall filter (see image) is a great way to do this while also providing extra filtration.
5. Hot/Cold variance: Basically you want a water temp of 75 - 80 F but one side will be hotter due to the basking lamp so make sure the other end only has a regular water heater and no extra lamp.
6.Aeration: Although they do not breath underwater you still want to have a small air-stone to oxygenate the water to help keep the natural water chemistry right.
7. Exploration: The easiest way to do this is with the tunnel I mentioned that also provides hideouts and leverage points to climb out onto bask areas. They like to go through this and also the plants at the cool end provide another place to "rummage" around in.
8. UV-B: It is crucial that you have a UV-B lamp installed preferably over the basking area as they need this for healthy carapace and vitamin intake.
9. Feeding: Feeding should be done in the most open area of the tank so they dont hurt themselves when striking at the food or chasing it around. Feed them a small amount until they lose interest in it because always feeding a fixed amount means they will sometimes still be hungry or will not eat it all and this will wreak havoc on your filter.
If you have questions or comments please feel free to share them here or contact me by email @ (e-mail address removed) or if you have a turtle emergency you can text me at 706-957-2900 24/7 and if you dont get a reply within 30 minutes you can text to 706-416-8288.
