# New baby turtle.



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

So at my work people are always bringing in random fish that get too large for their tanks. Tonight a man brought in a tiny turtle he found on his front door step to ask questions about it. (Note: We're talking in the suburbs here!)... No one around new anything about turtles. I had a red eared slider for a number of years and so I offered him what advice I could. But by the end of the conversation I had somehow ended up with this new baby turtle.

He's quite small. A bit bigger than a quarter. (For Canadians - think a toonie.) I'm not 100% sure what he'll eat but I'm going to wait a bit before trying to feed him anything. I plan on trying frozen shrimp and bloodworms first, before resorting to anything live... At the moment I have him in a 10 gallon tank. It's only got about two inches of water in it. And of course there's some rock in there for him to get out of the water when he wants to.

And so we come to the question... what type of turtle is he? I'm not sure yet. And I'm missing the usb cable to my camera so I can't do any pics right now. But I'm searching around online. So hopefully I'll find out soon.

I'll be sure to post pics as soon as possible!

*EDIT: I believe I know with relative certainty that it is a painted turtle.*


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## smokinbubbles (Mar 25, 2005)

Mettle said:


> So at my work people are always bringing in random fish that get too large for their tanks. Tonight a man brought in a tiny turtle he found on his front door step to ask questions about it. (Note: We're talking in the suburbs here!)... No one around new anything about turtles. I had a red eared slider for a number of years and so I offered him what advice I could. But by the end of the conversation I had somehow ended up with this new baby turtle.
> 
> He's quite small. A bit bigger than a quarter. (For Canadians - think a toonie.) I'm not 100% sure what he'll eat but I'm going to wait a bit before trying to feed him anything. I plan on trying frozen shrimp and bloodworms first, before resorting to anything live... At the moment I have him in a 10 gallon tank. It's only got about two inches of water in it. And of course there's some rock in there for him to get out of the water when he wants to.
> 
> ...


if the shell is pretty smooth and round shaped i would say it probably is a painted as well. as far as feeding i would actually try to feed him small crickets. good luck man with your new turtle

J-Rod


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

I was thinking pinhead crickets. But I want to get him on non-live food if possible. I fed him some bloodworms and he at those up just fine. Not to mention now he is scouring the tank for more! It's quite cute.

Oh. And I was wrong about the size! He's about the size of a nickel.. Here's a couple pics...


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## smokinbubbles (Mar 25, 2005)

Mettle said:


> I was thinking pinhead crickets. But I want to get him on non-live food if possible. I fed him some bloodworms and he at those up just fine. Not to mention now he is scouring the tank for more! It's quite cute.
> 
> Oh. And I was wrong about the size! He's about the size of a nickel.. Here's a couple pics...
> [snapback]1077587[/snapback]​


yeah thats a painted turtle. i have plenty of baby turtles that accepted turtle sticks as well right away.

J-Rod


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

I'll get some tomorrow and see how it goes... He ate the bloodworms but not the earthworm flake I offered.

Do you know how long I can keep him in this 10 gallon? And what size of tank I'll be looking at 'for life'?


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## Just1nK4ng (Oct 20, 2004)

a 30-60 gallon is perfect but remember the bigger the better and like red ear sliders they like to swim around so give them enought water to swim around, rocks to climb on and chill, basketing spot, heater, and uv light [ basking light should be fine on its own ]


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## smokinbubbles (Mar 25, 2005)

painted turtles usually stay pretty small, i have one in a 55 gallon and he has plenty of room to swim and hes full grown.

J-Rod


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Just1nK4ng said:


> a 30-60 gallon is perfect but remember the bigger the better and like red ear sliders they like to swim around so give them enought water to swim around, rocks to climb on and chill, basketing spot, heater, and uv light [ basking light should be fine on its own ]
> [snapback]1077714[/snapback]​


You need full spectrum lighting (you cant get that from a basking light). It needs to be fluorescent. Otherwise his bones wont grow properly. Cool turtle!


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

that is a cool little turtle. i used to have a painted turtle. but i was like 8 so i have it in a big bowl with a rock in it. so it died. but i saw a huge dead one. it was like almost 2 feet long. some ghetto people thought it would be cool to beat it with a baseball bat.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

He won't eat the bits of pellet I tried to give him... Looks like bloodworms it is for now.


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## smokinbubbles (Mar 25, 2005)

Mettle said:


> He won't eat the bits of pellet I tried to give him... Looks like bloodworms it is for now.
> [snapback]1080040[/snapback]​


yeah it might take em awhile to eat pellets. hemight be to small. good luck man. keep us posted.

J-Rod


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