My Turtle Tank

[gythwulf]

I had a turtle once. I actually didn't have a filter, so I had to clean the water a lot. I caught him in a "creek" near my house, and kept him for a year or so. After that, I let him go back - I'm sure he was stoked abou that . What was fun was feeding him crawfish that I'd also catch at said "creek". I quote creek because it's more of a run-off in a large ditch (to prevent floods).

[Matt Rogers]

Originally Posted by Kas

I LOVE turtles and have wanted to keep one as a pet but couldn't figure out how to keep the water clean. Your set-up looks like the plan. Are those fish for him to eat? I read that some people feed their turtles in a separate container so the wasted food doesn't foul the water. Do you feed him that way? Kas

I have since bought a bigger tank (75) and an oversized wet/dry to help with waste. I do around a 40% water change once or twice a month. That seems to work.

The fish are rare treats for him. They are not really good for him - at least goldfish.

Sometimes I feed him some fruit in a dish, but mostly I add turtle pellets to the tank with the filter off and then net out any leftovers before turning the filter back on.


matt

[Kas]

You mentioned that you have a heater in the tank for the turtle? Is this a turtle from the tropics (if there is such a turtle) that cannot tolerate low temps? My brother had a turtle when we were little. He kept it in a bucket. Left it outside one winter night (you guessed it!) and the poor turtle and the water froze solid! He brought the whole mess in the house to plan the funeral as soon as the ice melted. After the ice melted, the turtle started crawling around and was good as new. Shortly after that my mother told him the turtle had to go. So it was back to the drainage ditch.....where he lived happily ever after.....until the next kid caught him, no doubt.

[Matt Rogers]

That's a wild story!
Yeah it's from the tropics ... (Vietnam)... I have a heater.

[Iraf]

Originally Posted by Kas

You mentioned that you have a heater in the tank for the turtle? Is this a turtle from the tropics (if there is such a turtle) that cannot tolerate low temps? My brother had a turtle when we were little. He kept it in a bucket. Left it outside one winter night (you guessed it!) and the poor turtle and the water froze solid! He brought the whole mess in the house to plan the funeral as soon as the ice melted. After the ice melted, the turtle started crawling around and was good as new. Shortly after that my mother told him the turtle had to go. So it was back to the drainage ditch.....where he lived happily ever after.....until the next kid caught him, no doubt.

Sounds like something really bad I did when I was a kid, froze a beta in a cup from the local pet store, then tossed it into a small tank and let it thaw, day later he was swimming around, kept him for about a year after that

Who said we need to invest billions into cryogenics anyway?

[paulg]

My son had a turtle for a bit in a 90 gallon, he was prolly 6 at the time. I was doing a water change with a hose running from the tank to outside on the grass, clearing all that nasty poo out. He came home with a buddy and they went back outside to play and it was hot out that day. I see my son reach for the house and then start drinking from it......hehehe...NASTY! When he came home awhile later I told him, "boy, you know you were drinking that nasty turtle water dont you?" Ahhhhhh the look on his face was priceless, thought for sure he was gonna get sick from the water and have the runs or worse. He was just fine but learned not to drink from any hose leading outside on the grass.