General Care Discussion :: Paranoid Mom

[2yblsdrs]

Hello,
I'm a newbie and have a question but first let me fill you in on what's going on...
My family and I were in Ok for Christmas and ran across a pet store selling turtles. My dd's (twins, 4yr) have always loved and been fascinated by turtles and begged us for one...we gave in and bought 2 yellow belly sliders. The owner gave us no information besides wash your hands after holding and told us the small frog domes would be a perfect home for them.
Well I returned home and did some research, I found that stores in the US are banned from selling them under 4inches because of salmonella. After I made a call to the FDA (needless to say I was extremely unhappy over the fact that one he didn't warn me, would allow those babies to live in an obviously unsufficient home, among many other reasons)
I immediately drove to the nearest pet store and bought a Lee's Herp Habitat, live plants, eye drops, lamp, etc. I realize it's still not large enough home and will only last 6months but that's all I could afford at the moment.
We are already attached to them but I'm becoming more and more paranoid about the salmonella and how safe I can keep my children. Has anyone else gone through this? I really don't want to find them a new home but not sure what my options are right now.
Am I being too paranoid? Any advice is helpful.
Thanks,
Cindy
p.s. I dump the water in the toilet, then clorox the toilet and floor around it. Then wash the front of the cage incase one of the girls touches it, but still concerned that it may splash on the floor and they somehow will get salmonella.

[2yblsdrs]

I also wanted to mention that the turtles (Crush and Squirt, lol) handled the trip home (15hrs), are eating well, and seemed to have adjusted quite well. I am a bit worried they are getting to hot because Crush is shedding around his neck a little bit.(ok maybe I'm over feeding them ) The second pet store sold me a lamp that should hold 75watt bulb, and a 100 watt bulb. I have it about 5inches from the lid and the thermometer I got shows it at between 90 and 95. I do turn it off a couple times during the day, and keep it off at night. Is that ok?
Sorry for all the questions!

[jenaero]

How big is this 'habitat'? I would not advise using any kind of plastic container (with the exception of large rubbermaids) for any length of time. It's just not safe with the lamps. Spring an extra $20 or so for a 10 or 20gal tank for now or get a 40gal rubbermaid (or larger).

As far as salmonella, your kids shouldn't be touching the turtles anyway. They don't like being played with or handled and it can stress them out, which can lead to illness. Keep a good antibacterial soap handy and you'll all be just fine.

I don't have time right now (supposed to be working) so I'll add more later. I'm sure someone else will step in too.

[cam722]

I've read that the salmonella threat from turtles/reptiles isn't any worse than handling raw chicken. So depending on how paranoid you are about raw chicken, that's how you sould handle the turtle situation. I'm not very paranoid at all. I have grandkids that feed the turtles and sometimes "pet" them but they are told to wash their hands afterwards and I've had my turtles for over a year and a half with no problems. As long as you keep the turtles healthy, which includes a good environment and feeding them properly. you should have no problems. As jenaero said, turtles aren't really a play with pet, they are more a look but don't touch pet.

Also, you'll find in the long run that buying the proper equipment at the start is a money saver. You probably could have gotten a 20gallon long tank for what you paid for that herp keeper. What I've learned to do is shop online and compare prices and research before hand. Also a handy tip, IF you have a petsmart close by, you can print out items you want from their online site and take it to their store for price matching (must but not all will do this). There are a few sites that offer better prices even with s/h than you can get in most pet stores. You can search in the forum for those. If you can't find them just let us know

Congrats on the new turtles.

[2yblsdrs]

It's a 2 1/2 gallon (wider than tall, I think 23 X 17) with a wire mesh lid. The turtles are hatchlings and are no bigger than 2inches.
The woman at the pet store told me to set the lamp on the lid but it was getting too hot for the turtles so I put the clamp on it and lifted it about 5 inches from the mesh lid.
The girls were told from the beginning that the turtles are just to look at. (my dd's have not held them at all.)
I keep a bottle of Wipe Out 3 hand gel next to the tank (for myself) when I have to hold them (for tank cleaning & shell cleaning with soft tooth brush, eye drops, etc.) but that's only been a few times.
I wouldn't be so worried but the more I read on the internet the more scared I become. I just read that you shouldn't have any reptiles in a home with children under 5yrs of age.

Here's the link if you'd like to see the Herp Habitat:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_ ... 6490827816

[jenaero]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but they can't (and likely won't) live in that for 6 months. You'd be lucky if they lasted a few weeks. That is WAY too small to be putting a lamp over. Please get something bigger asap (like today). The temps will get dangerously high and could even melt the plastic. Not to mention, turtles love to swim and I can't imagine there's enough water in there for that. Get at least a 20gal and fill it at least half full. There are also other necessities (basking area/filter/heater) that just will not fit in that little container. Please read up on the care info here and if you have any questions after that, just ask.

[2yblsdrs]

It is larger than I thought. When I replenished the water, it held 3 gallons of water and does have a basking area. They are 2 inch hatchling and have been having a ball swimming around. The temp near their basking area stays between 85 and 90 with the lamp. I think I mentioned before, but I only turn the lamp on a few times a day.
I plan on getting a larger tank for them but at the time we have a limited space and were told by someone at PetSmart this would work (short term).
Compared to what the pet store owner sold me when I bought them (Surf Frog Habitat) it's much larger and they seem very happy(eating well, pooping well, etc.:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 8?v=glance
Thanks for everyone's help!

[2yblsdrs]

I forgot to mention that the woman (who's owned several turtles for many years) at Pet Smart told me I didn't need a filter as long as I was cleaning the tank every day. She said even with a filter they don't help because turtles are very messy so it's best to clean it daily.
If a filter will work, I'll buy one when we get the larger tank.
I didn't realized I needed another heater besides the lamp, which by the way, I will keep a close eye on to make sure it's not melting the outer plastic edges.

[ellman605]

craigslist.org great prices there, i got my 50 gal for $50, until i save up 200 for a 300 gal stock tank , i'm hoping to get a job in spring at the local nursery, i'm 13, so i dont know how it could work out, mabey i can carry stuff and things like that, i just need some income for now. Until then, my last spending money is going to the UVB light, which will leave me at $10 spending money

[sonyj]

You been told a lot of wrong info from the petstore. The quicker you read the care sheets the better your turtles will be: http://www.redearslider.com/index_download.html

The water shouldn't be changed daily and a filter is a must. Get one rated 3x the tank size. Filters will not pick up all the crude from the bottom of the tank, but they are necessary to maintain a healthy water condition. For smaller tanks, weekly or bi-weekly tank cleans are fine. Anything more and you can stress the turtles with too much changing.

Ten gallons per inch of shell is the general rule. So if both turtles are two inches, a 40 gallon tank should be the smallest enclosure they are in now. And their home must grow as they do.

These are aquatic animals and need plenty of water to swim in. Also, they will need a basking area where they can completely haul out on and dry all parts of their shell.

Over the basking area there should be the heat lamp and a UVB lamp. Both of these are musts for a healthy turtle. The basking temp should be around 88-90 degrees.

A water heater is as well to keep the temp at a constant 78 degrees for hatchlings, 75 for older turtles.

Salmonella isn't a big deal if you keep things sanitized. Your turtles will release salmonella when stressed so keeping them in a healthy, happy environment is a good start.

[cam722]

I can remember going to petland and having the woman there tell me all sorts of things.. one being they didn't need a lot of water.. well excuse me but they are AQUATIC turtles. They need much more than a few inches of water just to keep wet. They need enough water to swim around in. The consenus of most turtle keepers in any forum I've read agree on one basic thing, pet store people don't know anything or very little about the proper care of turtles of any sort. There's a list of basic needs on the main red ear slider site. As other's have said, you really need to look into it.

Why are you putting drops in their eyes? Is there something wrong with them? I've had my turtles for over 18 months and I've never put drops in their eyes.

Your children will get much more enjoyment out of the turtles if they see them in a more natural habitat, one with more water. Watching them swim and float and jump off their dock is rather entertaining. I watched them more than the tv when they were in my living room

As for a heater, with that small of a container, the light is probaby heating the water, but ideally they should have as much light as there is daylight outside, if we have sunlight for 12 hours, their lights should be on for 12 hours. They also need a UVB light to simulate sunlight for healthy bone/shell growth. There is so much to taking care of turtles that I never knew to start with and learned from this and other sites.

[marisa]

How much water do you have in the container? For two turtles in such a small container (even if it is bigger than you initially though), if the water level isn't that high, the water probably should be changed daily or at least every other day.

Having them in such a small container means you cannot provide them with a temperature gradient in the tank (cooler area), which they should have so they can regulate their body temps. Temps that are too warm will contribute to skin shedding...


Yes, the light should be off at night to allow them to sleep. Don't know what the ambient air temp is in the room where you are, but if it's winter and the room they're in is much below 75F, they should have a submersible water heater to keep the water temp constant. The light is probably keeping the water warm during the day, but the temp will drop to the room temp at night. The size of the container they're in, however, will limit the size of the heater they can have (and I don't think the container, being plastic, is a particularly good one to put one in anyway...)

Are they healthy? Are they eating (what are they being fed, how much and how often)? Do they have shell problems? If not, I wouldn't go overboard with brushing their shells (As a new turtlekeeper, you sound a little over-zealous--nothing wrong with enthusiasm, but too much is going to make caring for very enjoyable pets seem like a chore.) Without a filter and the water circulating (get a bigger tank/container and then get a filter suitable for it), the shells might get a slight film on them, but if the shells are healthy, a quick gentle wipe with a soft cloth should do the trick (I use q-tips on my baby). I'm wondering about the eye drops as well...Are these the ones by Zoo-Med called something like "Clear Eyes"? If they're eyes aren't swollen or closed (i.e., if they're bright and alert), I'd skip the eye drops.

They're going to need a UVB light in addition to that basking light. Gettting a bigger tank/container would open the choices of improving they're habitat dramatically.

[butterfly]

Dont worry about your paranoia, its normal. I was more than paranoid when I first got my little baby, a lot of people in here can tell you the horror stories of that time...lol I was posting day and night. Once you get all the info on this site about their habitat and what they need, you will begin to relax a bit. Once I got everything set up correctly, its been fine. My slider is doing very well and Im not as paranoid anymore.

About the salmonella, I was also concerned at first but its really easy to prevent. You just take simple steps that you become used to doing. Just remember to wash your hands always after handling the turtle or its habitat. I have antibacterial soap in a sink, just for it, thats close by the tank and I always wash my hands before and after handling the turtle. I never take her out of her habitat unless Im doing the routine cleaning and I always use gloves then.

Ive wanted to pet, hug and kiss my turtle because its so cute but I never have because I dont think it would be healthy for either one of us. I also keep a bottle of purell near the tank for quick cleaning of the hands ONLY AFTER feeding her, not before because you dont wash off purell like soap and it can be harmful to your turtle if it gets in her water.

I also never use turtle things for anything else but turtle and never put it or anything of it near the kitchen. With common sense and hygiene, you should never have to worry about salmonella and your turtle.