Turtle Care

Turtle Care

  • WHEN DECORATING YOUR TANK YOU CAN USE A RANGE OF LIVE PLANTS, OR FOR THE MORE PERMANENT EFFECT, FAKE ONES!THESE ARE AVAILABLE AT ANY AQUARIUM STORE.
  • WHILE ADDING FURNITURE KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR TURTLE IS SMALL AND NOT VERY STRONG SO TRY NOT TO HAVE ANY AREAS UNDER THE WATER WHERE IT CAN BECOME TRAPPED.
  • NATURAL WOODS LOOK GREAT IN THE TANK BUT CAN BE VERY UNSAFE FOR YOUR PET IF NOT TREATED TO AN AQUARIUM GRADE.
  • IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON TANK SETUP, NEVER HESITATE TO CONTACT US.

The most important part about keeping a turtle is it’s tank, the tank is where it will spend all of it’s time. Your turtle will eat sleep and play here so correct setup is paramount to your pet’s overall wellbeing and happiness.

>Before acquiring a baby turtle you must first have an aquarium heater, filter, source of UV, basking light, thermometer and turtle dock. It is important to have your tank setup before you bring your new pet home so you are not fiddling for hours while your turtle waits in it’s transport box.

Once you have the correct equipment you are ready to start the fun part, tank setup. Most of this equipment is electrically powered so please have an adult install it for you, and always remember you are dealing with electricity and water, be safe!

 Put your turtle dock in the tank at desired water depth, you will fill the water to the bottom of this later.

Set your heater to 24 degrees celsius, most heaters have a dial on the top showing its current temperature. Do not plug the heater in until it is fully submerged in water.

Place your filter at one end of the tank with the outlet facing the other end. Place the fluorescent light fitting with UV tube 5.0 installed on top of the tank. Place basking light fitting over the top of turtle dock with 50w globe installed, Do not have the globe resting on the glass, as it gets hot it will crack.

If you are using a substrate for the bottom, ie; sand or pebbles, rinse it now so the water does not cloud upon filling. Only have a thin layer of substrate if any.

Place thermometer near bottom of tank at the front for easy visibility.

Start filling with water. Some people feel it safer to add a chlorine removing chemical such as water ager to tap water, although not necessary for larger turtles we do recommend it for the babies as they are quite sensitive.

Below is a diagram of a simple setup to guide you.

  • IT IS BEST NOT TO OVERCROWD A  TURTLES TANK, WASTE WILL QUICKLY BUILD UP AND PROBLEMS WILL FOLLOW.

  • A GOOD FILTER IS THE KEY TO CLEAN WATER AND A MAJOR STEP TOWARDS A HAPPY TURTLE

  • YOUR TURTLES WATER SHOULD SIT BETWEEN 22 AND 26 DEGREES CELSIUS

  • FROZEN BRINE SHRIMP AND BLOODWORMS ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF FOOD FOR YOUR NEW FRIEND. IT IS READILY AVAILABLE AT AQUARIUM OUTLETS.

  • IF YOU SUSPECT YOUR TURTLE IS IN POOR HEALTH, DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL FOR ASSISTANCE OR TAKE IT STRAIGHT TO A VET

How To Keep Turtles As Pets

TANK-To keep a baby turtle as a pet you first need a fish Tank.

Here is a guide to show you how many turtles you can have in different size tanks:

3-foot tank….2-3 Hatchlings

4-foot tank….3-4 Hatchlings

5-foot tank….4-5 Hatchlings

6-foot tank….5-6 Hatchlings

 

FILTER-Turtles produce a lot of waste, so an adequate filter will be needed to keep the water clean. For large tanks we recommend an external canister filter as they are good filters for coping with the large tank size and waste, they also provide a great water flow, the smaller tanks we recommend an internal power head filter they are also very good. Regular water changes are also needed only change half the water and it’s a good idea to remove the turtles and stir the water up to loosen any waste and Siphon it out.

 

PH– Baby turtles prefer the PH to be neutral to alkaline as it helps prevent soft shell and fungus infections as they stress easily we like the PH to be between 7.0-7.8.

 

LIGHTING– Turtles need plenty of UV light, UV light gives off Vitamin D3, which promotes the proper utilization of calcium for your turtle, also they like to have a basking light that gives off heat over there turtle dock.

 

HEATING–The water needs to be kept between 22 and 26 degrees, this can be easily achieved through the use of a simple aquarium heater.

 

DRY DOCK A dry dock is a piece of land either floating or fixed that allows the turtle to climb completely out of the water for necessary basking in heat/ UV lighting. It is also important for the turtle to sometimes completely dry off to avoid fungal infections. 

FEEDING–The turtles feed on frozen bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp, as they are only small they only need a ¼ of a block per turtle to start with after 20mins after feeding it is a good idea to remove any uneaten food from the tank.

 

HANDLING BABY TURTLES Baby turtles have very soft shells, so avoid handling as much as possible, as shell damage can result from excessive handling. When you need to handle a young turtle do not pick them up by the edges it is better to use a finger and thumb to gently hold the turtle by the center point of the top shell and the bottom shell then let the turtle sit on the palm of your hand and support with your other hand to prevent it from falling.