General Care Discussion :: need help

[Tamyr]

hi...I got a red eared slider named Tallulah she has been with me for about five months, she's about 2 inches long...it's the first time I have had a turtle so I bought a 10g tank, a underwater heater, a floating basking area and a filter. I have been reading the info in the web page and the forum, and I have a question...is it normal for her to have a green slime in her shell and If not, how do I clean it? and Is it better not to have gravel at the bottom of the tank? because her water has been really nasty like and smelly this past few days and I just clean the tank last week. She's acting normal, playing and swimming a lot and she's been eating a lot too. I give her like 23 pebbles a day.

[cam722]

Hi and Welcome.

You can clean the "slime" off your turtle by wiping her down with a clean dry cloth. Just be warned she may not like it. Don't hold her high in the air so that if she squirms you don't drop her.

What type of filter do you have? Also, you really should upgrade the size of her tank and that would help with the water situation. You could also feed her outside the tank. You say you are feeding her 23 "pebbles" a day, what type of food are you feeding her because 23 sounds like and awfully lot of food. With a 10 gallon tank you should probably clean the tank at LEAST once a week. That's not a lot of water for a turtle.

[Tamyr]

I don't remember the brand of the filter but it was up to 30g. The food, i'm using reptomin (floating food sticks) by tetrafauna. How much should I feed her, because she always looks like she's really hungry. Thank you for your advice, I'm going to clean her right now. How many gallons do you suggest? I can buy her a new tank by next pay check.

[sonyj]

The minimum recommended tank size is 10 gallons per inch of turtle. But remember that as your turtle grows, her home must also. So if you go with the largest tank, filter etc. that you can now it will save you money on numerous upgrades in the long run.

The amount to feed is the amount of pellets that would fit inside her head not including the neck if it were hollow once a day, every other day. 23 is way too many pellets. Turtles are opportunistic feeders and will eat any time there is food in the tank, even to the point of throwing up. It's up to you to make sure that she has a well-balanced diet because she would eat and eat and eat if you left it up to her even when she was full. Give a variety of veggies daily and the amount of pellets that would fit inside her head every other day and she'll be fine. There's a feeding list on what to feed and what not to feed at the top of the feeding section.

[cam722]

I agree completely with sonyj.. get the largest tank you can afford, it will keep the collection of tanks around and keep you from wanting to fill them up with something else.. a rather dangerous thing .. I now have 3 - 20 gallon tanks (with fish) and a 75 gallon (turtles).

[missibsu]

I don't believe anyone answered the gravel question. It is recommend that you take out the gravel. The turtles will eat those also and it can become impacted in their tummy. Many times this requires surgery to remove it. Also, it could be contributing to the smell in your tank, along with the size. The tiny waste particles become stuck in the gravel and the filter won't clean them out. So, best to remove it.

[Tamyr]

thank you all, you have help me a lot...I appreciated...and Tallulah too.