So I was planning to get a Painted Turtle from Pet Smart but I want to do some research on them before I get them so I wont miss anything once I get them. So I was wondering how big will the painted turtle probably be at full length , l what it eats, what kind of tank I should get and if it can go out of the water, and if so, how long can it stay out of the water. Also, do they like to be handled or would the natural slats on my hands irritate them? Also how often should I clean their tank, and I know this is stupid but they aren't poisonous right?
I know this is a lot of questions to answer but please try your best and please help me.
Only helpful comments please.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3893803
The link above is the place I am planning to get it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692 @ N0 ... Austinsturtlepage.com 'has all info on care and feeding RESCUING and PICTURES for all LAND and AQUATIC turtles.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
*** Ten gallons per inch of each turtle!! Sliders, westerns, eastern's, cooter's, midland, painted, map, yellow bellied, are all are basically the same and require the same basic care.
If you are sold a turtle under 4 "then it is illegal and gives of a sickness called salmonella.
They will bite VERY hard. Under 4 "they carry a disease called 'salmonella'. So you should wash after every handling ANY size turtle or reptile anyway.
** EACH 4 "turtle needs a 55 gallon tank to start anything would be cruel. *** And my pictures don't lie. All ages and all sizes get along as long as their is allot for SWIM ROOM and PLENTY TO EAT! T
They can become cannibalistic if you have 2 or more turtles and a small environment. They will kill off the smallest and then fight for the tank for themselves. Mine get along cause they have an abundance of food to eat ... always. I buy 1000 plus fish a month plus the fruits and veggies.
They NEED calcium and protein they get it from the fish meat and the fish bones. Drop 30 or 50 or so feeder guppies or small goldfish or in the tank and watch them disappear in a few days!
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for up to 8 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow.
TOSS in a bird cattle bone in the water for calcium that will promote better shell growth, it will dissolve real slowly and if they eat it that's fine!!
** Remember, you need a heater ... set at 83/85 degrees. If water is cold they will stop eating!
Plus I also feed dried cubed blood worms or tubiflex worms or pellets at least 5 times a week for my five ..
They can have garden worms which I collect after a good rain and dump them in the pond, also meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, slugs, tadpoles, ghost shrimp, dragon flies and anything that moves, but only as a treat.
They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 4 to 5 times a week.
They love grapes and strawberries and squash drop in water a few pieces at a time ..
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Plus' some leafy green 'and vitamin A' fruits' cut up a COUPLE times a week. 'Swollen cloudy eyes comes from lack of Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes.
These turtles in captivity do not. They cannot hear well and they feel you coming by the vibrations each foot step take, and by shadows they see.
So they need a turtle basking dock.
** Gravel larger than they can swallow, allot larger.
Better no gravel at all, easier to clean.
Their water needs to be clean otherwise the get sick easily from dirty water caused by their poop allot.
You need a GREAT filter system depending on the tank in a 60 gallon my girls were in one year's ago. I used two double sided marine or penguin filters ... It really helped keep it cleaner!
Size for basic aquatic turtle is approx Body length: 6-8 "is average for males, up to 12 inches max for females, but average is about 9 to 10" in captivity. Life span: 15-25 + year's plus. Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. Are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can't start sexing till about 3 "across.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Real mating happens in May through June and hatchlings within 90 days. Eggs are laid in soil. If laid in water they will die. Mating dance happens all year long with my 5!
They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. Lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes, foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass and us humans.
*** Some sicknesses they get easily like shell Rot is actual holes rotting through the shell.
** Respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, vomiting, blowing bubbles from their nose. Treatment is 10 days of injections of Baytril (enrofloxacin) liquid into the front legs. To do this, you must consult a vet to get the antibiotic and the proper dosage. Do not guess on the dose .** Increase water to 85 degrees.
