General Care Discussion :: new turtle help?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:07 am   Re: new turtle help?

i thought male RES maxed at around 8 in? unless hes not an adult, which i guess is also likely

and i have been! i have a good variety of foods picked out and in my chewy cart right now that were recommended to me on another turtle forum, including mazuri and omega one pellets plus some wheat germ koi pellets to help with sheds and some treats and cuttlebones and whatnot
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 12:57 am   Re: new turtle help?

They can, but males and females don't usually reach their max sizes.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:21 am   Re: new turtle help?

finally have him(her?)! hes active, inquisitive and seems healthy and his shell looks okay, but hes not taking food. i assume this is normal, considering his stressful day yesterday, but how long should i give him before this becomes an issue? how long can he go without eating? can i entice him into it any sooner?
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:32 am   Re: new turtle help?

nvm he ate a pellet, so if he eats the other ones im letting float around ill feed him a bit more later
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:09 am   Re: new turtle help?

he keeps scratching/swimming at the wall of the tank in my direction? the water level's a bit shallow right now because i didnt want to stress him but would filling up the tank further maybe fix whatever is making him do this? is he bored? does he want out? he also seems to not want to crawl onto his dock, or he doesnt know how? hes mostly hiding under it
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 12:40 pm   Re: new turtle help?

here are a bunch of images of him because i dont think his shell is as healthy as i thought: https://imgur.com/a/pjqNPK9
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 3:39 pm   Re: new turtle help?

im anxiety posting but is sand as dangerous as people like to say? i mean, they live in mud naturally so why is it so hard for them to filter it out? if i put rocks in the bottom how big should they be exactly, where can i get them, and how much of it should i cover? should i fill the tank up to above how long his shell is so he can actually swim right now, or wait?

how can i entice him onto his dock? it's at a suitable temperature but he just doesnt seem interested.

can i take him out and let him explore my room or take him outside or just let him settle in, because it really seems like he wants out of the tank
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 3:46 am   Re: new turtle help?

I would increase the water a little bit more. They like to do the swimming/scratching thing... they're explorers and like to forage. Sand is fine and safer compared to other substrates. If you use rocks, preferably river rocks, make sure they are larger than his head. To get him to bask, he might need some more privacy initially. I would avoid taking him out, let him adjust.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 6:24 pm   Re: new turtle help?

he seems to be settling in well! hes healthy, curious, and honestly pretty brave; hell come right up to the edge of the tank and follow my movement around the room.

he is shedding though; can i help him in any way with this or will he deal with it on his own?

he also doesnt seem interested in leafy greens; how can i make him eat them? he likes all his pellets and eats carrot bits and meal worms but i know he needs more plant matter. ive been trying to get him to eat red lettuce
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 9:46 pm   Re: new turtle help?

Is it skin shedding or shell? Pick up a veggie clip (a $2 plastic clip found in the fish section @ pet stores) and try that with his greens.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 1:26 am   Re: new turtle help?

its his shell and will do
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:37 am   Re: new turtle help?

If the scutes are thin and translucent, they should easily come off on their own.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:53 pm   Re: new turtle help?

he should be all good then! i also think he ate a little bit of lettuce! that or he ripped it off the clip and some of it is stuck in the filter lmao

also one last question maybe: do you recommend any specific filters for a 50 gallon? ive been looking at a lot because his current filtration deal isnt fantastic and id like to get something high quality
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:06 am   Re: new turtle help?

If you're looking for a canister, usually a Penn Plax Cascade will be OK for that amount of water. But the next step up will be a Fluval FX canister filter.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:10 pm   Re: new turtle help?

not to dig up an old thread, but can anyone tell me why exactly my tank stays a bit cloudy? it's not bad at all, i can still see clearly through the tank, it just kind of looks like there's a cloud of sand in the water (and i dont have sand in his tank)

i do a water change once a week (a little less than half the water comes out i think) and he has 1 larger HOB filter that's newer, and 2 smaller in tank turtle filters with one of them at least having cycled media from my fish tank. i also use prime, so if it's ammonia build up from an uncycled filter it shouldnt be harmful to him. i actually just did a water test and there's very little, if any, ammonia in the water but i also just did a water change.

should i go a bit longer until the next water change to let the filter cycle if it hasnt already, or would this be caused by something else?
binji
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Jun 17, 2018
Gender: Female

PreviousNext

Return to General Care Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests