# Turtle The Size Of A Quarter



## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

I was up north to my Grandpa and Grandma's house for Easter, and he gave me the smallest turtle I've ever seen that he caught 2 days before. He was keeping it in a little pan with some water and soggy bread.

I brought him home, and lowered the water in my 10 gallon tank, so it is only about 3 inches high. I put a lot of rocks on one end along with some twigs and oak leaves to make him feel at home. He has already been resting on the dry rocks and swimming in the water.

I'll be honest, I really don't know much about turtles. I know that the ones you buy at pet stores, which are much larger, can eat special turtle food along with feeder fish and crickets and stuff. What do turtles the size of mine right now eat in the wild? Mostly vegetation right? How long can they go without eating at this size, because like I said, he's already went almost 3 days now?

I like this little guy, and already named him "DaVinci" after Leonardo DaVinci, because it looks like somebody took a paintbrush and painted all over him. I just want to get some food in him. I would feel really bad if he died on me. Thanks in advance for any help.








~Taylor~


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## The Predator (Sep 28, 2005)

i think turtles that small like live bloodworms


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## oscar119 (Nov 26, 2005)

A friend of mine has a "found" painted turtle that he got about the same size. I believe he fed cichlid sticks because they have the same ingrediants as turtle sticks from what he told me. You'll probably need a uvb/uva bulb too but someone else would know for sure.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

oscar119 said:


> A friend of mine has a "found" painted turtle that he got about the same size. I believe he fed cichlid sticks because they have the same ingrediants as turtle sticks from what he told me. You'll probably need a uvb/uva bulb too but someone else would know for sure.


So I can just go to the pet store and get some turtle food, and he should eat it once it gets soggy? Will he be drawn to the scent and find it okay in his tank? Am I worrying too much?









What could I hold him off on until we got to town? Some cichlid pellets? I ask this because we are in the rural country, and we just started a new week so between school and sports and homework and all that good stuff we won't be to town for a few days. Thanks for all of the help.








~Taylor~


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

feed him veggies (or try...he'll eventually take it) no iceburg lettuce...go with broccoli or something similar, baby spinach is good sh*t. you're definately going to need a UV light...get one as soon as you can hit up a pet store, turtle sticks are good, invest in those as well when you get to a pet store.


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## oscar119 (Nov 26, 2005)

I would do the same. For the time being try veggies i.e. greens.. I don't know what ingrediants in the pellets you have are so I can't say whether they're ok or not. Maybe go online to see what the ingrediants are in a good turtle stick and compare to the pellets you have? HTH...


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## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

I found with my lot that the babies aren't that keen
on veggies.That will change though and should always be 
available to them.Romaine lettuce is a big hit with mine.

For now just to get it eating i'd try bloodworm.Turtle pellets
are better than cichlid pellets because they are made for turtles
and have D3 which they need.Reptomin is great and i haven't found
a turtle that doesn't love it.Feed once a day daily and alternate with
other foods like chopped prawn, mussel, bloodworm or earthworm.

As its so small i'd keep the tank temp at 80 as they are more suceptible
to disease when so young.A basking spot with temp reaching the low 90's
is ideal along with a UV light.

They are a great pet and have such charactors :nod:

oh and once you turtle is eating fine again like fish only give what 
they will eat in a few minutes, turtles are eating and pooping machines.
The sooner they are in a big tank with a big external filter life will get easier lol


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

DiscusMel said:


> I found with my lot that the babies aren't that keen
> on veggies.That will change though and should always be
> available to them.Romaine lettuce is a big hit with mine.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for the help! That really does help me a lot!









I do have some freeze dried bloodworm so maybe I will soak that in some water and put it on his rocks after it is soggy. If I put it right in his tank water he would never find it because I have a lot of sticks and big oak leaves in there.

Also, I will try my homemade gelatin food. I'm sure that would be great for him, because it would be soft and is all ground up, yet it will keep it's shape on the rocks and not pollute the water (if I don't let it get in the water). There is nothing that I put in the food that I could see harming him.









Again, thanks for all the help. I would appreciate some tips because I am new at this. 
Also, just out of curiousity, do any of you want to take a stab at how old this guy could be? Do you think he will find his food okay and eat it? I will put it right on the rocks for him, and he shouldn't be too stressed, as his tank temperature is at 84 degrees.
~Taylor~ 
~Taylor~


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## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

At that size and if its not too shy you could try
handfeeding, but turtles need water to swallow
so its best if its food is put in water rather than rocks.
A happy healthy turtle will eat anything.

At that sorta size i would expect it to be about a month
old maybe.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

DiscusMel said:


> At that size and if its not too shy you could try
> handfeeding, but turtles need water to swallow
> so its best if its food is put in water rather than rocks.
> A happy healthy turtle will eat anything.
> ...


How do you hand feed a turtle? Just like 2 minutes ago I took him and shoved his nose into the gelatin food and rubbed his head in it so he would get the smell. Then I set him on the large rock next to it and he just scurried away.
~Taylor~


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## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

Well i wouldn't eat if you shoved my nose in it either









Its easier to hand feed small bits of prawn or pellets etc, they don't
usually feed on land, if they do they just grab and run back in the 
water.For now until your turtle gets used to you you'll have to put
food in the water.As it gets tamer it will hand feed and it easier to 
minimise waste.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2006)

taylorhedrich said:


> How do you hand feed a turtle? Just like 2 minutes ago I took him and shoved his nose into the gelatin food and rubbed his head in it so he would get the smell. Then I set him on the large rock next to it and he just scurried away.
> ~Taylor~


He will know what food is when he sees it. You don't have to do anything like that.

Here is a webpage that will provide you with some helpful, basic information:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm

If you don't have a good filter in there, get ready for tons of water changes. Turtles crap up their water badly and fast. If the water quality gets too bad, they get sick and die. I would guess that the turtle was hatched last fall.

IMO, wild turtles are best left in the wild. Captive-bred Red Eared Sliders are readily available and cost next to nothing compared to the equipment costs of keeping an aquatic turtle.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Thanks for the tips and info Bullsnake.









I stumbled into my room and layed on my bed for a minute looking down into his tank. He kept snapping at the silicone and was getting confused so he backed away. It was obvious to me he was getting hungry and looking for food, because he was even chewing on the twigs in there a little bit. Then he notices the floating bloodworms on the water surface and heads for those. He was completely vertical and had to paddle his little legs to keep his balance so he could snatch some food up. It was so cute, and it really puts my mind to rest knowing that he has eaten something.









I did take some pictures, but they turned out really blurry, so I erased them. I will work on getting some pictures of my little DaVinci.









Again, thanks for all the help everyone.








~Taylor~


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Also, I was wondering what the approximate growth rate on a painted turtle is.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

taylorhedrich said:


> Also, I was wondering what the approximate growth rate on a painted turtle is.


Anybody?


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## moeplz (Feb 21, 2005)

When I had a turtle that size he would LOVE to eat earth worms.

I want to see some pictures of DaVinci Jr.!


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

1.5" per year or so.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

One of mine went from the size of a nickel to 3" in less than a year.


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## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

i remember i had baby red ear sliders and they grew quick. i think mine grew like from a half dollar to 4-5inches in an year. cant quite remember but they grow fast!


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

It took me a while, but I finally got some pictures of him.

Here is an overhead view comparing him with a quarter:









Here is a frontal view: (Sorry it's blurry, it was really hard to get the camera to focus on him.)









Thanks for all of the help guys. I am shocked to hear that he may reach 4-5 inches this year!
~Taylor~


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

dude, move your camera about an inch away from the turtle at the same focus and retake the shot.


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