Help with rescued turtle

[cosmicwolf4]

I have just rescued a short necked turtle. His tank is far too small which is a concern. My major concern is that he was never fed properly, the people I got him from fed him only goldfish flakes. I have since changed him to goldfish with some vegetable matter, but I'm unsure what is the best diet for him. I have heard that the turtle dinners are not good for them, is this true? Can anyone help me with this please?

 

[imalizard]

Have a read of this!
It will give you all the answers!
Australian Freshwater Turtles

 

[cosmicwolf4]

Thanks will do

 

[Funkstaa]

Poor lil turt it's horrible hearing stories like this, more emphasis needs to be on research before people go buying randon herps! So glad it's in your hands now...Get yourself some wombaroo reptile suppliment - you can get it at most pet shops and mix up a thick paste and freeze it into ice cubes so you don't have to make it up every time you feed- you can add some glycerine so it's not as messy but I don't bother with my guys, it should be eating aprox the size of it's head per meal.
Tank size the bigger the better but a gallon of water for every inch of it's shell I think it is, you'll need a heater this time of year and a uv that goes the length of the tank - and a really good filter as they are messy little buggers, and don't forget a dock
Good on you for taking him/her in, they are amazing little guys...good luck!

 

[Funkstaa]

Also forgot to mention it might be a good move to buy some live plants (my 3 love valenseria and don't know ne one's turts who don't : p ) and some feeder fish that way the lil guy/girl can 'snack' with the diet it's been on I can imagine it would be pretty hungry!

 

[cosmicwolf4]

He has 10 goldfish in there at the moment and so far has go 2 of them, so will keep the stock up for him, he's funny because he so obviously has never had live food before and wasn't quite sure what to do at first. I will get some live plants this week. Thanks heaps for the advice, it's so much easier to ask than try and find the info, because so much conflicts with others

 

[cosmicwolf4]

Poor lil turt it's horrible hearing stories like this, more emphasis needs to be on research before people go buying randon herps! So glad it's in your hands now...Get yourself some wombaroo reptile suppliment - you can get it at most pet shops and mix up a thick paste and freeze it into ice cubes so you don't have to make it up every time you feed- you can add some glycerine so it's not as messy but I don't bother with my guys, it should be eating aprox the size of it's head per meal.
Tank size the bigger the better but a gallon of water for every inch of it's shell I think it is, you'll need a heater this time of year and a uv that goes the length of the tank - and a really good filter as they are messy little buggers, and don't forget a dock
Good on you for taking him/her in, they are amazing little guys...good luck!

I have everything except the uv light and a larger tank. I won't get a light as yet till I get him the tank, but I do take him outside for around half an hour each afternoon and then back inside to his warm tank. I will get the Wombaroo also, I really want him to have a better life than he had.
The people who had him did what they thought was right, but health problems and lack of knowledge really hindered the poor guys care. He is in good shape however and I don't think he has any health issues, but if I think he may have a visit to our local vet will be in order to make sure.

 

[JAS101]

take pics of the turtle?

 

[Funkstaa]

It really sounds like you're on the right track,I know what you mean with the research side of things I had to find out the hard way alot of the time but now have 3 thriving turts -2 Kreffts and a Maquarie - if you have ne q's feel free to send me a pm ...
Natural sunlight is great for his shell as I can imagine he will start a big growth spurt with all the changes, aswel as that it will give you guys a good bond together, turts can be really shy but I personally believe some hands on contact is needed so knock on wood a vet visit is needed they're not completely intimidated...
(When you're shopping for a tank try to avoid 'turtle tanks' as they aren't designed well and don't allow much water, as pretty as they look lol) a 4 foot tank and a dock should be fine...

 

[Kenshin]

i havent kept turtles for afew years but i never like using goldfish as feeders, i find you can keep even a small tank with a cichlid of some kind that reproduces like nothing else you can then setup a large tub or a bigger tank to use as grow out this way you can get fish of all sizes for all sized turtles from fish fry up to nearly adults

convicts are an obvious choice or id suggest a pair of red forrest jewel cichlids i had a pair of these and they breed at an insane rate and show great perental care towards they fry, they also look bloody nice to boot! the added bonus to breeding your own feeders in this manor is you can also control what they eat and make sure they are free of tank meds i fed my fish a varied diet so they made great feeders

i found all my turtles like insects as well, they do tend to make short work of any plants you put in though just make sure you read up on the species you have to find out if they are carnivors or omnivors

 

[cosmicwolf4]

He is only in a 2 foot tank with a dock right now (the ones I don't like), but I'm looking into something around the 4 to 5 foot size that I can fit on top of my vivarium cabinet. I'm looking into getting the floating dock for him and a much better heater. He doesn't mind being held and seems to actually enjoy the interaction, he follows me from one side of the tank to the other right now.
Forgot to say that he is around tea plate size right now and far too big for this tank size.

 

[cosmicwolf4]

i havent kept turtles for afew years but i never like using goldfish as feeders, i find you can keep even a small tank with a cichlid of some kind that reproduces like nothing else you can then setup a large tub or a bigger tank to use as grow out this way you can get fish of all sizes for all sized turtles from fish fry up to nearly adults

convicts are an obvious choice or id suggest a pair of red forrest jewel cichlids i had a pair of these and they breed at an insane rate and show great perental care towards they fry, they also look bloody nice to boot! the added bonus to breeding your own feeders in this manor is you can also control what they eat and make sure they are free of tank meds i fed my fish a varied diet so they made great feeders

i found all my turtles like insects as well, they do tend to make short work of any plants you put in though just make sure you read up on the species you have to find out if they are carnivors or omnivors

I only got the goldies because it was easy last week and I wasn't 100% sure what to get. I would like to get something he/she can catch too lol.
If I can breed myself then all the better.
I'm not absolutely certain as to his species, but I'm almost sure he's Murray Shortneck. I'll take him to the local rep shop and find out for sure. I'm not an expert on turtles unfortunately.

 

[PhilK]

Hey I don't know much about turtles but have also heard to never feed any animals live goldfish.. They contain thiaminase and are always nuked with lots of tank meds etc because they are so extensively bred for the pet hobby.

Can you post a photo - I'm sure someone on here will know what he is.

 

[Funkstaa]

hey - if you haven't already check out freshwaterturtles.com.au there's some really good care sheets on there and everyone there is totally devoted to turts...you could even post a pic and you would have a quick answer as to species - although a vet visit with all he/she has been through isn't a bad idea...
+1 on the type of feeder fish suggested though and the fact that it will destroy plants for food...but that's a good thing : )
I don't have much luck with insects with mine but it would definately be worth a try - and you can gutload them with the wombaroo I mentioned earlier...I use it for everything herp related lol
Keep us posted on your progress...would love some pics when he/she's all settled

 

[imalizard]

Most likely your turtle is a Murray Short Neck as they are the only ones we can have without a lisence in SA (and eastern long necks).

 

[cosmicwolf4]

Funkstaa, thanks for the link, I have joined already and found some interesting stuff already. I will post pics asap too.
imalizard, I think you are right because the people got him from a pet shop and don't have a license

 

[Bearded_Lady]

I agree that Australian Freshwater Turtles forum is an excellent source of info... they have a caresheet which details diet extensively. I feed my baby sawshell turtle feeder fish, water snails, little glass shrimp type things (all ordered thru a friend with a pisces account), blood worms (as a treat), earthworms, crickets, woodies, occasionally fish pellets and have plants in his tank too if he wants to have a nibble. Water is kept at around 26-27 degrees, and i drop in a turtle conditioning block when i do a water change/when the last one dissolves to increase water hardness for a healthy shell. The UV light is very close to the land/basking area and i feed him everyday.

 

[Funkstaa]

Good to hear you joined it's pretty handy having so many people that are knowledgable about turt's and they are all pretty much on the same page so no conflicting info - which is awsome!
Craig's caresheets on there are soo good I have it printed out for easy referencing lol
Looking forward to pics - good luck!

 

[Kenshin]

to be sure i say take him out and take a pic of him n post it, as said if he is a carnivor all the better just give him a varied natural diet

let us know what you decide on for a tank, filter and heater just remember turtles are messy and produce alot of heavy waste so overfilter his tank as much as you can afford and water changes are important to

if you were really handy you could get a decent sized aquaculture tub, make your own trickle filter and you would have a massive enclosure for him would quiet easily be able to put afew more in there to