# is my turtle to big for this dock?



## Shonfield (Jun 21, 2008)

hi just wondering if my turtle will be ok untill i get it a new dock because its shell is bigger then the width of the dock. i bought it and set it up in its new home about 12 hours ago and i havent seen it leave the water yet. is this because the dock is too small? and is there any chance it will drown because it it too small? i can only assume it left the water every night at the previous owners house. what do you guys think?


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## Vincent21 (Jun 21, 2008)

Yes, he is too big for it.


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## Shonfield (Jun 21, 2008)

i know hes too big but will he be ok tonight and maybe tomorrow depending on when i can get a bigger one for him?


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## Chrisreptile (Jun 21, 2008)

Shonfield said:


> i know hes too big but will he be ok tonight and maybe tomorrow depending on when i can get a bigger one for him?



Yeh, he'll be fine until then mate.


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## Tsubakai (Jun 21, 2008)

My turts mostly sleep underwater. He won't drown but you do need a bigger basking area.


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## DA_GRIZ (Jun 22, 2008)

my turtle is about the size of yours and his dock is about 4 times the size of him and he never uses it, he's just happy to swim around and usually just rests on his plastic plants under the water, or sleeps on the bottom of his tank.


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## Eastern Snake Neck (Jun 22, 2008)

What you have is a very over-fed turtle.

You need to make sure that you feed it a proper diet (not the commercial foods).

The water also needs to be much deeper.

Go to this site. It is very helpful: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustralianFreshwaterTurtlesandFrogs/

Regards,
Michael.


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## FNQ_Snake (Jun 22, 2008)

Being that it is a floating pontoon type dock, I would say he would be too big for it as he can't even get on it properly do to the size of his shell.


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## dragon lady (Jun 22, 2008)

beautifull looking turtle...looks like he may be too big for his habitat too!..lol
just kidding....what type of turtle is it?


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## carkat (Jun 22, 2008)

Yep, nice turtle, excellent looking shell. Just like DA Griz's turtle , my turtle does not get fully out of the wter. She floats on weeds or in the shallows on a submerged log. She sleeps down the bottom of her tank under the weeds. Some species of turtles are rarely seen out of the water except when nesting. It can depend on the type of turtle you're looking at. Your turtle will rise to the surface and breathe when needed. Unlike us, turtles don't need to sleep for long, uninterrupted periods of time.


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## havik1018 (Jul 4, 2008)

nice turtle, yep hes too big for that! i have a murray short neck named murray and he loves his turtle dock, he stays on it for hours, and sometimes he plays games and gets on and off over and over again, he also trys to get up on the side of it without using the ramp, very funny to watch! when they get used to their surroundings yrs might get up on it, murray sleeps on his a fair bit and we go over and watch him and he doesnt really care were there! hes in a 4 ft tank is 3 yrs old and about 13 cm across his shell.


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## RedEyeGirl (Jul 4, 2008)

great turt but 2 big for dock. That is the point!!!


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## gregcranston (Jul 4, 2008)

Eastern Snake Neck said:


> What you have is a very over-fed turtle.
> The water also needs to be much deeper.


 How do you know it is overfed from that picture, also how can you tell the depth of the water from that birds eye view?

Greg


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## Hickson (Jul 4, 2008)

gregcranston said:


> How do you know it is overfed from that picture, also how can you tell the depth of the water from that birds eye view?
> 
> Greg




I was just going to ask the same question.

Hix


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## Shonfield (Jul 4, 2008)

thanks for the replys guys. my computer was broken so i haven't been here in a while sorry.
thanks to everyone that says he looks great, i think so too 
i got him a new dock the day after i posted this, he goes on it from time to time buy he will go a few days sometimes without me seeing him on it.
he also sleep in the water too so now i know he wasnt gonna drown .
and id also like to know how you know hes over feed?
i feed him between 2 and 4 of those frozen turtle cubes every second day and some pellets every other day.
i watch him every time he eats and i keep feeding him one cube at a time until 5 minutes is up or until he stops eating (which i doubt will ever happen )
thanks again for the info, this is the first turtle iv ever had and i love him .


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## havik1018 (Jul 4, 2008)

my turts tank is 4 ft and is almost full of water if murray puts his neck out he can nearly touch the glass roof on the tank, he loves the deep water, as for feeding hes only feed every 2nd or 3rd day one frozen turtle diner or one frozen blood worms or a few pellets or a feeder fish, he has them swimming with him in the tank and takes one and eats it when he feels like it! he also has live plants in his tank because murray short necks eat a lot of plants and he eats them when he feels like it, turtles will eat what ever food and as much as they can, they dont seem to get full and mine always looks like his looking for food or is hungry!


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## -Peter (Jul 5, 2008)

Hix said:


> I was just going to ask the same question.
> 
> Hix


 
Scute growth on the carapace or maybe he sold him the turtle as a hatchling. 

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustralianFreshwaterTurtlesandFrogs/


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## Eastern Snake Neck (Jul 6, 2008)

How can I tell that the water needs to be deeper? Simple. The rails on the turtle dock in the picture are 180mm long. The top suction cups are approximately 50mm below the top of the tank. This means that the water level could easily be raised by 150mm.

Turtles prefer deep water. So, in my opinion, a tank should be deep, not shallow. In addition, the greater volume of water means that urine, faeces and food waste will be diluted, not concentrated. Put a piece of wire above the dock so that the turtle cannot climb out.

Have a look at the Frequently Asked Questions section of my web site. There's information there on how to tell is a turtle has been overfed. 

I know that several people have told you that they think the turtle is attractive. They are entitled to their opinion. In my opinion, your turtle does not look normal nor healthy.

My advice is to stop feeding the frozen turtle cubes and turtle pellets. There is very little in these foods that are nutritional. The fat and red meat in the frozen foods cannot be processed by Australian turtles. If you keep feeding these foods to your turtle, it will eventually die of renal failure. These is some information about correct diet in the Frequently Asked Questions section of my web site.

Both Peter and I suggested that you go to http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustralianFreshwaterTurtlesandFrogs/ for some additional help and advice. Did you find that site helpful?

Regards,
Michael.


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## Dan19 (Jul 6, 2008)

You should probably listen to him if you want a healthy turtle. Michael knows his stuff!


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## Danny.Boy (Jul 6, 2008)

is it hard setting up a turtle habitat correctly? basically what i mean is compared to a snake where you just have to set it up once and just keep checking once a while, is it hard to maintain the water and everything else?

cheers, Daniel.


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## Eastern Snake Neck (Jul 7, 2008)

Hi Danny.Boy,

The short answer is yes, it is difficult to get the habitat set up correctly. 

On the other hand, it is easy to set it up incorrectly. Fortunately, there are sites such as http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustralianFreshwaterTurtlesandFrogs/ that offer a wealth of information for anyone who needs help or guidance.

Regards,
Michael.


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## Shonfield (Jul 11, 2008)

hi thanks for the advice eastern snake neck.
i have recently run out of the cubes, i have fed him a few worms. what do you suggest as the best food for them?
also recently i have noticed he is having trouble getting on to the dock. he used to be find and went up there every now and then.
but in the last week or so i have seen him fall off it about 5 times.
the dock is a fair but wider then he is, any idea what the problem might be?
in the end i just want a happy and healthy turtle.
i just continued feeding him when the previous owner was feeding him until now so i hope he will be ok.
thanks heaps again,
sam


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## carkat (Jul 12, 2008)

I agree with Easten Snake Neck. It sure is tricky getting a turtle habitat set up properly. It seems to take a fair bit of commitment to maintain a good clean environment for a turtle to live in. However for those of us who are a bit one -eyed when it comes to turtles, the rewards are worth the effort.


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