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TURTLE CARE HELP!!!!!!!!!?
Ok, so, for a Secret Santa gift, my friend bought me a turtle. I don't know how to take care of a turtle at all, but I decided to keep it. (btw: the turtle is an aquatic turtle)
I have a BUNCH of questions for any other turtle owners out there, so any help would be greatly appreciated!! :)
1) Is tap water fine for it to live in?
2) What temperature should the water be?
3) Is a regular desk lamp fine for light?
4) Should the light from the lamp be on the dock?
5) Does it always need light? Or should I turn it off at times? (like at night for it to sleep?)
6) How often does it need to eat?
7)How much should it eat each time? (My friend gave me aquatic turtle food but I just don't know how much to give it)
8) Any other responsibilities I, as a new turtle owner, should know? I'm really starting to love it, and I kind of want to keep it now (because my friend told me how low maintenance it is)
Thank you!!
1 Answer
- DigitalLv 65 years ago
Giving an animal as a gift is probably one of the worst things to do, especially if the other person is not expecting it. Now if the turtle came in one of those plastic containers, you need to move it to an actual tank.
1. Tap water is fine, however if the chlorine in the water is bothering his eyes (he'll rub them frequently) than you'll have to leave the water in an uncovered container for 24 hours before adding it to the tank.
2. Water Temperature should be about 75-77F.
3. Desk lamps are fine as fixtures, as long as you don't go over the recommended wattage. You may need to buy a different fixture as most desk lamps (mainly the ones I've seen) use low wattages. However, you will need to purchase both a heat & UVB light. The basking temp needs to be about 90F, I cannot recommend you a wattage for the heat lamp as it varies from person to person. If you're going to use your desk lamp for the heat bulb make sure it has a ceramic base instead of a plastic ones. You will likely need a 2nd fixture for the UVB light.
4.The heat lamp should be pointed at the dock, the UVB should if possible go across the entire tank.
5. The light should follow the 10-12 hour daylight cycle, basically 8am - 5pm will work & off at night.
6. It'll depend on the age of the turtle, babies should be fed daily & adults do fine every other day or every two days.
7. Feed as much food as you think would fit in it's head, as if its head was hollow. You'll only need to feed it once each feed day.
8. You may want to do some researching, find out what species you have & that will give you what enclosure size you'll need in the future. For housing aquatic turtles you'll need to give it at least 10-15 gallons per inch length of shell, so a 3" turtle should be housed in a 30-45 gallon tank. While they are low maintenance pets, they are quite expensive in the long term, & are quite a commitment. A turtle that lived a healthy, well-cared for life can go beyond 40 years.
