Feeding and Nutrition :: I'm totally new at this and I need a lot of feedback

[mandy.gomez07]

We just got Angel (res) a couple of days ago. I have been researching on what to feed her, how to clean her tank, how to clean her but i still have a lot of questions.
when I clean her tank should i take her out? if so where should i put her so that shes comfortable until shes back in the water?
we are moving soon and I know that the way we brought her home isnt the right method. the guy we bought her from just had her in her tank with water in it and i've heard that it could hurt her to be moved around a lot like that. what should i do on that one? also she came to us with just gravel like aquarium rocks, should i buy something that is more stable for her to get up on? any type of tips for all aspects of turtle care would be great. thanks.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

When cleaning the tank you can put her in a small box with some towel's for angel to burrow in. Keep her quiet, warm and out of cold draft's. That is the same method for traveling with a turtle.

But anyway's I'm glad your researching on what you need How is your setup so far? Gravel is EXTREMELY dangerous and you should take it out ASAP so many Turtle's have died because of it. Turtle's arent the brightest of animal's and they sometime's tend to "eat" the pebble's and if they are unable to poop it out it will cost you hundred's of dollar's worth of xray's and vet visit's and you can easily lose your turtle (death).

Aquatic Turtle's need:

10 gallon's of water per every inch of your turtle (for example, a 1 inch turtle - 10 gallon tank, 2 inch turtle - 20 gallon tank, a 12 inch turtle - 120 gallon tank, get it?)

UVB lighting (you can buy artificial UVB light's at a pet store. MAKE SURE IT SAY'S UVB)

UVA lighting (you can use a normal lightbulb, this is used to heat up the basking area)

2 clamp lamp's

A water heater designed for fish aquarium's (water need's to be at around 78 - 80 degree's)

A water filter 3 times stronger than the reccomended model for your tank (for example, a 20 gallon tank would need a 50 gallon filter, the stronger filter the better)

Thermometer's

Basking area/ Turtle docks (they sell them in pet stores)

a varied diet of aquatic plants/vegetable's, crickets/fish, and commercial turtle pellet's.

A responsible owner with a job or parental help that would be able to take his or her turtle to the vet whenever it is sick.

STAY AWAY FROM TURTLE KIT'S AND TURTLE TANKS. Buy a FISH tank not a TURTLE tank.



Hope this helped!

[mandy.gomez07]

thanks for the information. I guess the guy that had her before us didnt know much about res either. I will go get some bigger rocks from the pet store asap! thanks so much. right now all we have is the tank, filter, gravel and a few green plants that the guy told me she likes but i havent seen her touch them at all. she loves pellets but i want to try something different to. im thinking about getting some water lily and carrots. thanks again for your help.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

The diet is one of the most important thing's with red ear slider's, vegetable's like romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce and green lettuce are good, as well as some carrot's. Aquatic plant's like anacharis and horn wort are better since it is more natural.

Turtle pellet's are good. But it shouldnt be the only thing you feed your turtle. Feed only as much as you would think will fit inside her head if it were hollow. Feed once a day (if she is over 4 inches feed every other day), and offer vegetable's daily and leave some aquatic plant's in there.

Also, you can feed her cricket's, meal worm's, feeder fish, aquatic snail's. whether to feed them live or dead is up to you. Thing's like these shouldnt be offered everyday, once every 2 week's is fine IMO (I feed mine two small sized cricket's each already dead once every 2 week's, for variety I switch off with worm's or some feeder fish already dead as well) Too much of these food's will cause health problem's so becareful not to overfeed.

A basking area with a UVA and UVB lamp is important too, I urge you to get both lights ASAP. Without one she can get a disease called shell rot which is fatal if given time. Be sure to read ALL and when I mean ALL, I mean all.. Information on www.redearslider.com There is so much more information on there then what I gave you..

Your welcomed.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Remove the gravel. Your turtle will eat it and it can get stuck in their intestine, causing death.

Go to the main redearslider.com page. There are a lot of different topics you can read about! Welcome to the forum!

[urbancleopatra]

i put mine in the bath tub with a wet towel on one side to keep them moist and a dry towel on the other. gravel is a big nono because they like to eat anything in site. always have the fresh greens available. i suggest one of those little veggie clips that suction cup to the side of the tank.