How expensive are turtles and how hard is it to take care of one?
>>2018816
They are a lot more effort than they seem.
If we take a red eared slider for example, you should get for an adult:
-100 gal tank
- a good filter, they produce a lot of waste
- something to make a dry land part out of. rocks, bark, etc.
-heat lamp
-heater for water
-gravel/sand
-a varied diet consisting out of water plants and insects, worms, shrimp, fish, etc. The pellets pet stores sell are shit and it's best to never feed them to your turtle.
I had 2 red ears when I was a kid. Aquarium half filled with .25 of it flat rock.
Used to keep sword tails in the tank too. When I didn't feed them, they'd catch fish... tear fish apart. Fish heads fish heads.
Unfortunately, both died the same way- drowned. RIP turtles. I tried to make it so they couldn't get trapped, but failed..
So I guess the only advice I can offer is be carful with rocks. One got trapped, the other pushed rocks and got pinned.
If I were to do it again, I'd use wood so they'd be able to free themselves if in trouble.
>>2018858
Ive never heard of a turtle drowning, they absorb oxygen through their skin dont they?
>>2018930
Are you literally retarded?
>>2018930
No, they have lungs. Maybe you're thinking of frogs
>>2018821
>100 gal tank
okay good
>a good filter, they produce a lot of waste
by good I'm sure he's talking about a kind of rule of thumb owning turtles in that you usually want to get a filtration system set up for twice the amount of water you actually have
>something to make a dry land part out of. rocks, bark, etc.
turtle docks or a clay pot setup are usually your best options
>heat lamp
or a ceramic heater. More importantly, you need a UVB light, they need it or they die
>heater for water
unless your house gets unreasonably hot or unreasonably cold during a certain part of the year, or you're working with a very temperature-sensitive specie, this isn't necessarily needed
>gravel/sand
no, unless you have a softshell or snapper, which like to burrow underwater. For almost any other common pet turtle (painted, slider, etc) your best option is either large rocks on the bottom that they cannot get trapped under, or just bare bottom. If you do go with gravel, make the rock size too large for your turtle to fit in its mouth. Sand and small gravel can cause impaction
>a varied diet consisting out of water plants and insects, worms, shrimp, fish, etc. The pellets pet stores sell are shit and it's best to never feed them to your turtle.
good quality turtle pellets are fine as a staple when supplemented heavily with plant matter, insects, worms and fish. My general rule is to never do a feed my turtle with the pellets for more than two days in a row. I'll usually go for a pellet day, then a shrimp day, pellets again, then plants, etc. Younger turtles usually prefer meatier shit as opposed to veggies and greens
On top of all that they need decorations to hide in (fake plants, underwater logs), it's just imperative that you make sure they cannot get stuck. Turtles will root up and tear up things, so you have to be careful
And don't get rock obsessed like >>2018858
I keep box turtles. I love them, but they are more work that most people think. A proper setup when all is said and done is a few hundred dollars.
>>2018821
>a varied diet consisting out of water plants and insects, worms, shrimp, fish, etc. The pellets pet stores sell are shit and it's best to never feed them to your turtle.
I seriously question this. Pellets are usually very good food because they can perfectly control nutrition.
How do you know how much fish to give? How many plants? Which plants?
