# guys how do i care for a turtle



## ONEmike (Jan 1, 2004)

im planning on getting one but i have not clue on how to care for him i have a fish tank but what does he need like temp or what not?


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

how big is the tank?


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## ONEmike (Jan 1, 2004)

20 gallons


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

you forget about turtles unless you upgrade your tank


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2004)

What kind of turtle are you looking to buy?

20 gallons will be accepatable for a short time if it's a very small turtle.


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## ONEmike (Jan 1, 2004)

yah i was looking into the small kinds i saw them at a pet store i think they are turtles that can live on land also. i honestly do no know anything about turtles


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## benefit (Sep 3, 2003)

A 20 gallon would suffice for some species of mud/musk turtles. Not all turtles need huge tanks.


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2004)

> yah i was looking into the small kinds i saw them at a pet store i think they are turtles that can live on land also. i honestly do no know anything about turtles


Were they green, with little red spots on the back/sides of their head?


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

find out what type of turtle it is and then you can get the answers you need.
i have a soft shelled turtle wich needs a basking area as its not fully aquatic so i have lowered the water level and made a rock area under my light the turtle can bask this stops the turtle from getting fungus on its shell.
get the type and you will get all the info you require
dixon


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## killfishygo (Jan 13, 2004)

you should find out what kind of turtle it is exactly and do a search on it, there are hella sites that tells you everything you need to know about taking care of turtles. They even have books at the petstore you can look at. Turtles aren't fairly easy to take care of.


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## killfishygo (Jan 13, 2004)

i mean they ARE fairly easy to take care of


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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

> im planning on getting one but i have not clue on how to care for him i have a fish tank but what does he need like temp or what not?


I am always excited to see enthusiasm for herps, and especially chelonians, but you must always do your homework before obtaining any living creature. I take your question as a step in that direction. Your statement is entirely to vaugue, and has been mentioned in previous posts, you must first decide on a species, from there you will be able to determine habitat requirements, diet requirements, enclosure requirements, etc...
You mentioned in subsequent posting that the aquarium you currently intend to use is a 20 gallon aquarium. That is truly too small for most adult species, but will be ok fro short term raising of babies, if you are able to find them in your local markets. It is not legal to sell turtles under 4" in carapace length, there are exceptions for educational use and scientific research, but many people use these allowances improperly, creating the local abundance of baby turtles in some markets.
If you find a species you are particularly interested in you can PM me and I can give you some information, and send you in directions to ferret out even more information yourself, BEFORE ever obtaining any of these remarkable animals...


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

Bullsnake said:


> > yah i was looking into the small kinds i saw them at a pet store i think they are turtles that can live on land also. i honestly do no know anything about turtles
> 
> 
> Were they green, with little red spots on the back/sides of their head?


 like this


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

heres my turtle setup


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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

Nice red-ears Nitro







, and nicely set up tank...be ready to buy a bigger one








They grow up to be decent sized turtles, but you probably already know that


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