Other Turtle Discussion :: Question about Painted Turtles

[flutterby]

Are they aquatic like RES and need a similar set up? All the caresheets I've found are pretty conflicting.

[Andrew7769]

bout the same care except they are much hardier and can tolerate a wider range of temps, i have seen pages that say some have even been seen swimming under the ice during winter! but i keep them at a steady 76degrees since they were originally caught in the wild by a lady that didn't have to many brains and i ended up rescuing them.

[flutterby]

Someone has a pair of them on craigslist and I have an empty 150 gallon tank sitting here and am really tempted...

But this is what the lady sent me back when i asked her about them.



They are Southern Painted Wood Turtles or also called Central American Painted Wood Turtle. They are really fun to watch and absolutely beautiful. They need a habitat that is fairly warm (72-95 degrees F) and humid. They prefer being on land but they need a place where they can get into water. They eat nightcrawlers, crickets, bananas, tomatoes, lettuce, melons, grapes, and most importantly their turtle pellets. They don't get big...8 inches tops..right now the female is 5 inches and the male is 4.5 inches. They are 1.5 years old.

[CountryGirl68]

I think Painted wood turtles are land turtles, from the Ornate wood turtle family. You would need to keep it in a habitat similar to that of a lizard: an area with water just large enough for the turtle to sit in but a larger area of land (compost, sand, and mulch is recommended). They do need misting. The entire habitat needs to have a constant warm temperature and it needs to be large enough to allow "exercise". You could also let the turtle walk around at home - just make sure your home is warm. The water needs to be changed daily. Feeding is similar to RES except they do need more protein than a RES.

Hope this helps.

[marisa]

Wood turtles are not the same as painted turtles!

[CountryGirl68]

Yes, wood turtles and painted turtles are totally different. However, there are painted species in the wood turtle family, like the Central American Wood Turtle that Flutterby was asking about.

They are sometimes called Painted Wood turtles though they are better known as Ornate Wood Turtles. They have great colors on them (saw some at the Reptile show in September). They are not aquatic so water is a small container enough for them to sit in.

Here are some pictures:

[flutterby]

She sent pictures of them today. They're still pretty though I like aquatic turtles better.

[missibsu]

Just think of where they might end up if you don't take them...They are adorable, even if they aren't aquatic.

[flutterby]

Problem is, I have a setup for aquatic turtles, but I don't have what I need to take care of them.

[jenaero]

Flutter, do what you feel is best for your current situation. At some point we have to realize that we can't save them all. We can't lose sleep worrying about where they 'might end up' if we don't take them in. You'll go broke that way...trust me.