Hi
Yesterday i rescued 2 Yellow bellied turtle from being thown in the river. they are about 2 1/2 years old no clue bout sex one is bigger than the other

i have managed to sort out a large tank for them a heater (at 24????) and water filter. will be getting some stones later for the tank they have about 4 inches of water. i gave them a frozen block each of turtle food last night.

is this ok for them what can i do to improve there life any advice would be great


Chrissie

2 yellow bellied turtles
3 cold water fish bob wendy and spud
1 male hamster tinkerbell
1 male mini lop Molly

What is with some people???

I hope someone can help you on here...

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They need a lot more than 4" of water, at their age they need a big tank with a minimum 12" of water so they can swim properly, and they don't need it heated, around 20°C is plenty and you should be able to achieve this from ambient room temp and heat from the basking lights.

What size are the turts and the tank, do you have any lighting in place yet?

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i have got a 4ft by 2ft by 1ft tank at the mo know they will need bigger but haven't got the money this week after buying heater filter and light.

i have just got back with a uv light from the pet shop. they seem to be liking that

i will get some more stones so can put more water in. as any more water will not give them any where to get out.

they seem happier as they were living in a fish aquarium 2ft by 1ft by 2 ft with an inch of water (well mud) if knew then what i know now i'd have called the police for animal cruelty. just wish i knew who they were.

bit worried bout 1 of the smaller turtle he seems to just hide and hardly eat anythin (that i saw left some on the side and walked out the room for 10 mins it was all gone but think the other one ate it)

the larger one is swimmin around and poppin his head out the water and ate food out my hand

there seems to be lots of flake of shell is this normal??

i really wanna do whats best by them and give them a good life, would never normally have any pet without knowing exactly what they need (but obviously circumstanses haven't allowed this.

what is best to feed them please have heard somethind bout them needing extra vits and calcium

Sorry for all the questions but just want them to happy and healthy

Chrissie

How do you measure a turtle the bigger one is bout 3" (shell)
the smaller bout 2.5" shell

how do you tell the sex etc

Thanks

Chrissie

you measure the shell ignoring the curve, not sure about sex, i think it has something to do with their tail, or maybe a dip in the belly on a male so it can get on the female.

i have a musk turtle and i give her a vitamins every day, just one drop into the water, the name of it is turtle vit by beaphar and you can find it on most reptile suppliers.

maybe you should get them checked out by a vet, it would be worth it, my vet charges about £12 for a consultation

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They don't really benefit from vitamins in the water, a diet based on good quality pellets such as T-Rex or Zoo Med will ensure they get all the vits and minerals they need, this can then be supplemented with fresh meat once a week or so, and as much veg as they'll eat.

At their current size and age it's probably not possible to sex them with any certainty, mature males develop much longer claws, and a much longer tail with the cloaca nearer the tip. Unless you have a known male or female to compare it too though it can be very difficult in young turts, they all look female for the first few years then one day they may surprise you!

Shedding scutes is perfectly normal, and YBS in particular are noted for being very messy shedders, they often retain the old scutes for quite a long time before they finally shed them. Plenty of calcium in their diet (give them a piece of cuttlebone), correct basking temps and strong UVB, and food that is rich in vitamin E will all help.

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2.3.0 Southern Painted Turtles
1.0.0 Florida Red Belly
2.1.1 Common Musks
1.0.0 Classic Cornsnake
0.0.2 GALS + infinite babies
0.1.0 Tibetan Spaniel
1.2.0 Brahma Chickens

i give my turt a cuttle bone but she ignores it, is there some special way i have to give it to her, like break it into small peices or something

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Whats the best veg to give them (sorry i really don't have a clue)
HAVE READ SOMEWHERE TO GIVE THEM FROZEN MIXED VEG
but this seems unnatural

Thanks all for your advice will post a pic when i work out how

Chrissie

Some turts will eat cuttlebone and some don't, there's not a lot you can do to persuade them other than to offer it before food, if they're hungry they may try it to see if it's food. If they don't eat it then they should still get enough calcium from eating good quality pellets and calcium rich veg.

On the subject of veg, don't feed them frozen mixed veg, give them duckweed which is high in calcium, most turts seem to like it once they've tried it, also watercress, kale (but avoid other Brassicas such as cabbage and broccoli which are high in oxalates), and most aquatic plants especially ones like Canadian Pondweed.

__________________
2.3.0 Southern Painted Turtles
1.0.0 Florida Red Belly
2.1.1 Common Musks
1.0.0 Classic Cornsnake
0.0.2 GALS + infinite babies
0.1.0 Tibetan Spaniel
1.2.0 Brahma Chickens