Turtle

[deadflesh]

I'm doing a 'turtle rescue' (from a negligent owner) tomorrow (unknown turtle species) and was wondering what the general tank arrangement is.

He comes in a large 4 ft tank and the turtle is about 6-8 years old and is still very very small (palm of hand).


I know i need to organize a turtle dock, plant life, etc.
I will have small shrimp and turtle pellets.

-Turtle dock
-Rocks
- pebbles
- plants

what about heating, what temps, etc?

Oh and how often should i feed him?

I'll post a picture of him tomorrow.

 

[andyscott]

Hi Deadflesh,
For the water temp, get a water heater and set it around 24 degrees (300 watt should do for a 4 foot tank).
Then a basking light above the dock.
As for food, give it small feeds every 2nd day to start with. Also try and get some small goldfish, fan tails would be best as they are slow moving. If it is still hungry it can hunt.
Andy

 

[wiz-fiz]

don't get goldfish i heard that there fatty and bad for them.
and it must have been very underfed:cry:
or it could just be a tiny species... very unlikley though:cry:
poor turtle:cry:

 

[kakariki]

I had our turtle tank set at 25 C & fed the frozen turtle dinner blocks. I gave 1 block twice a day but yours is much smaller than ours. Maybe try 1/2 that. Good luck and well done for caring enough to do something for the little fella.

 

[wiz-fiz]

I heard that frozen turtle dinners had red meat in them that was bad for there liver or some important organ like that

 

[pedro]

Make sure you have a good UV light or access to natural sunlight. Most important for turtles especially undersized ones.

 

[Riley]

i was looking after longnecked freshwater turtles for a friend and fed them 1 teaspoon of pellets every 2 days. good luck

 

[mrdestiny]

Read the fact sheet, its all there at
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/articles/chelidae-by-craig-latta-71763
Consider joining the forum at
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustralianFreshwaterTurtlesandFrogs/
Good luck
Allan
http://turtletownsydney.tripod.com/

 

[aqua]

Definitely join the yahoo group, I'd be lost with out it.

 

[Riley]

how'd it go deadflesh?

 

[deadflesh]

Well i got the the turtle this afternoon and I was so terribly shocked at the turtles living condition, there was black algae lining the whole tank. and it was cluttered with ornaments used for house decorations! the water level was really really low and I was shocked to see that the turtle is about double the size than originally thought, the tank is also a foot smaller than expected also. I measured him up to be about 14cms on the shell.

Anyway, I've got him some frozen turtle food and fed him, oh my god - he was ravenous, absolutely starving! His legs were so thin!!

I scrubbed the **** out the the tank and got it looking ok. I placed more resting and plant life, I will be organising a proper dock tomorrow, for the moment I have large flat topped rocks.

There was a tonne of shed scales everywhere.

The person who I had saved him from had gone interstate for the week without organising anyone to care for the turtle... and the cats that were at location (I filled their food bowls for the starving creatures).

So I had a bit of research and it turns out that the turtle is a Krefft's Freshwater turtle.

He has got a blue light for warmth and moonlight replication at the moment and I have placed him near a window for UV. He is alot happier and has started to use him back legs in some attempts at swimming, he's looking a lot better than this afternoon.

 

[kakariki]

I hate to put a dampener on things but...ummm..:shock: did you get permission from the owner to take the turtle? I am guessing you did....hoping you did...cos if you didn't, you are in dangerous territory.

 

[deadflesh]

I did. Lol.

 

[deadflesh]

I had asked about it the day before yesterday, they went interstate yesterday morning.

 

[Vincent21]

How'd you get into the house?

 

[andyscott]

A wise woman once posted on one of my threads something about.

There would be a lot of mistreated animals out there. As you dont have to prove that you know how to care for them when you apply for you licence... Which she thought should be mandatory.

Hang on Deadflesh that was you
Im glad its got a new home, and now a great future ahead of it. Love to see some pics,
Cheers Andy.

 

[kakariki]

OK...in that case..WAY TO GO GIRL!!! Too many people don't care about their animals and there needs to be more of us willing to put in the effort to take them on, even if they take up a lot of time [ and space, as in my Maggie!] Can you post pics of him and keep us updated?

 

[deadflesh]

Yeah, the turtle was sitting in a dark and cold area under the house, so that's how I got him.

I don't have a camera at the moment, only my camera phone, but I will be able to get some by sunday - monday or tuesday at the latest. so I will keep all updated.

 

[Eastern Snake Neck]

deadflesh,

I have just read through these posts. Your problems will be solved if you simply follow mrdestiny's advice:

Read the fact sheet, its all there at
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/articles/chelidae-by-craig-latta-71763
Consider joining the forum at
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustralianFreshwaterTurtlesandFrogs/
Good luck
Allan
http://turtletownsydney.tripod.com/

"Anyway, I've got him some frozen turtle food and fed him, oh my god - he was ravenous, absolutely starving! His legs were so thin!!"

Don't feed him frozen turtle dinners. They are not good for turtles, and your aim is to make this turtle better, not sicker.

Freshwater turtles eat underwater. Therefore, anything that lives in freshwater is potential turtle food. Switch to foods such as freshwater fish, freshwater yabbies, freshwater prawns, freshwater snails and tadpoles.


"He has got a blue light for warmth and moonlight replication at the moment and I have placed him near a window for UV. He is alot happier and has started to use him back legs in some attempts at swimming, he's looking a lot better than this afternoon."

Don't keep a light on a night. Let the room be dark. That's what happens in the wild.

Putting him near a window for UV is pointless. Glass cuts out UV (have you ever had sunburn from driving in a car on a sunny day?), so a window and a tank provide two layers of UV protection.

You need to put him outside in direct sunlight for UV. When you do, make sure he also has access to water and shade - just because you want him in the sun does not mean that he wants to be in the sun.

Regards,
Michael.

 

[deadflesh]

deadflesh,

I have just read through these posts. Your problems will be solved if you simply follow mrdestiny's advice:




"Anyway, I've got him some frozen turtle food and fed him, oh my god - he was ravenous, absolutely starving! His legs were so thin!!"

Don't feed him frozen turtle dinners. They are not good for turtles, and your aim is to make this turtle better, not sicker.

Freshwater turtles eat underwater. Therefore, anything that lives in freshwater is potential turtle food. Switch to foods such as freshwater fish, freshwater yabbies, freshwater prawns, freshwater snails and tadpoles.


"He has got a blue light for warmth and moonlight replication at the moment and I have placed him near a window for UV. He is alot happier and has started to use him back legs in some attempts at swimming, he's looking a lot better than this afternoon."

Don't keep a light on a night. Let the room be dark. That's what happens in the wild.

Putting him near a window for UV is pointless. Glass cuts out UV (have you ever had sunburn from driving in a car on a sunny day?), so a window and a tank provide two layers of UV protection.

You need to put him outside in direct sunlight for UV. When you do, make sure he also has access to water and shade - just because you want him in the sun does not mean that he wants to be in the sun.

Regards,
Michael.

The frozen turtle food is freshwater fish and I do let it sink to the bottom before he eats it.
I have also have got him a few feeder guppys that he has been chasing around and he also has turtle pellets.

Some people don't have their windows closed.... so I'm pretty sure that UV can permeate through an open window. I do own other reptiles and understand the whole glass and uv thing.

The light is hardly even bright, its not even as bright as the moon outside, and the curtains are closed at night, so this is fine.