Turtle Requirements..

[cyclamen]

this is some of the setups in our house, far left is my turtle tank.

 

[cyclamen]

i gotta go to work now, but will come back on bout lunchtime. so if u need to ask anymore questions, feel free to pm me. seeya.

 

[Benan]

How big is your turtle tank?
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[Zeus_the_beardie]

My turtle setup

I have 2 murray-river turtles in there.

Love em to bits !

 

[Benan]

How big is your tank ?
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[ldheav]

Giday Mate
I have kept turtles for years

i currently use a 6 Foot tank but my new even larger tank arrives next week so as soon as i get it up and running i will post pics for u
My experience tells me that internal filters are essentally rubbish and do not keep up with the turtles high level or waste, get an external canister filter, that pumps at least 1000 liters of water an hour

they can very massivily in price according to brand
i run a RENA and an Aqua one cf1200 on my tank
the Rena is european made and set me back 200 dollors however the Aqua one is made in china and only cost around 150 dollors.
for a turtle tank that is 4 foot the aqua one would do the job easily.

make sure to get uv lighting

but as for a dock
if you get a 4 foot tank u could perhaps consider putting a divider down one end of the tank so your turtles can get out and bask
im doing that on my new tank arriving on wednesday. i ll show you what i mean

rough cost was only 20 dollors extra

but any way to put together a nice 4 foot setup you looking at abot 450 to 500 dollors including everything you need plus a stand for the tank.

keep well mate good luck, let us know how you go, believe me turtles are worth the work
:lol:

 

[ldheav]

Also feel free to pin me for questions

 

[timthevet]

I would do 25% water changes every 2wks and do spot cleans of turds/leftovers regularly. Good idea to also get ammonia and nitrate tester kits cos these can build up quickly and can be toxic. A coloured basking lamp (in addition to UV light with no glass in front of it) aswell as a heater for the water will allow the turtle to dry its' shell and regulate it's body temp better reducing the risk of disease.
'turtle food' in australia is unregulated in terms of ingredients and nutrients. It is therefore better to feed a 'natural diet': Australian tortoises only feed in water and should be fed whole fish(not frozen), adult mice, yabbies, shrimps, worms, insects (inject or feed on calcium diet) and occasional dog food. Tortoises should be fed daily for jouveniles to three times weekly
for adults and less in the colder months.

 

[ldheav]

mm very true
i once heard a saying for a reptile vet 90% of turtles diet should be fish the rest insects etc


if you get your turtles at hatchlings, put some live small fish inside for them to eat

 

[ldheav]

Also Breden, if you want to Pin me with your address i can send you a fact shet explaining all of this stuff, myself and a vet put it together

 

[Benan]

Okay thanks guys my friend wants to buy a turtle (hes my next door neightbour) but he wants to keep it in my tank, but i dont think 2 would fit in a 3 - 4 ft xD
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[ldheav]

Would b ok in a 4X18inch X18 inch with a good filter
maclays dont grow that big

 

[Benan]

Can we convert that to centimetres?

 

[cyclamen]

i have been feeding my turtle frozen turtle dinner for over 1 year, and there aint anything wrong with it.
buying yabbies, shrimps worms and all that crap gets expensive for a younger kid to buy all the time.

 

[cyclamen]

and u dont need a external filter. they are very expensive. my turtles water is always clean, and all i have is two filters inside the tank.

 

[ldheav]

remember if you go internal filters u need some piping as hatchings hate the water movement, thats why i would suggest a canister
u can pick up cheap canisters for only 100 dollors

 

[ldheav]

TBrenan
here are some pics of Turtle tanks i found on the net, i will post my own when i get my new tank om wednesday
the last pic is of the canister filter i am talking about

 

[Benan]

Thanks for them, how big is this tank: http://www.geocities.com/dkhodz/Images/tank_full.JPG

and how big is a 4 ft tank in centimetres? front and sides
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[timthevet]

i have been feeding my turtle frozen turtle dinner for over 1 year, and there aint anything wrong with it.
buying yabbies, shrimps worms and all that crap gets expensive for a younger kid to buy all the time.

This diet is very deficient and I would suggest changing it. The affects to your turtle are subclinical (not noticable instantly) but will lead to reduced life expectancy and susceptibility to other diseases. It can take years of an inappropriate diet before you see problems due to deficiencies.

 

[Benan]

Ill feed them blood worms, can you feel them cooked meat? and i was told dog food is good too xD

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