I'm thinking about getting a turtle, my husband has semi agreed that he likes turtles too - so i kinda took that as i could have one haha!!

I've had a quick read through the turtle care-sheet and think that i can handle it, i was just wondering about...

1. Which is the best starter turtle, how big do they start off and how big do they get?

2.What sort of tank size do i need to start with and how often will i need to upgrade the size?

3. I've read the bit about filters but it was all foreign to me sooo...Which filters are best quality for money?

4. What sort of things do you put in their tank - do they have gravel like fish, or moss, or nothing?

Just wanted to do some research about them before buying, any suggestions and advice would be fab!

Cheers! x

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Did you read this caresheet?: Aquatic Turtles/Terrapins.

I'd like to think it's written simply enough for someone who doesn't know anything about filters to understand, and I've even listed eventual sizes of a few different species.

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No i didn't, where was that one hiding? I'll have a read now.

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In the caresheets section!

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Regarding choice of species I always give the same advice, decide what is the biggest tank you're prepared to have then choose a species to fit it!

They all start off roughly the same size 0.75" - 1" SCL, but fully grown can range from around 4" to 15" SCL or more, the bigger the turt or the more of them you have the bigger the tank you need.

There's a sticky at the top of this section that explains tank sizes and filters, IMO the best value for money filters you can get are the Eheim Classic range, www.zooplus.co.uk are usually the cheapest place to get them.

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

OMG!! I didn't even know there was a whole caresheet section! I just read the stickys at he top of the forum!!

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So would the cheaper Eheim 2213 be ok to start with or do i need the 2217?

Which turtles are less aggresive?

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The choice of filter is up to you, a smaller filter would be fine for a starter tank but would need upgrading sooner.

The 2213 is rated for 250 litre aquariums, that's for fish though and we normally recommend a filter of at least double the rating for turts as their waste is rather different to fish, so that would mean 125 litres (of water).

Using the normal recommendation of 40 litres of water per inch SCL, 125 litres would be sufficient for one 3" turt, most species will grow to at least that size in one year, so you'd be upgrading or adding an additional filter quite quickly.

I have a small Common Musk in a tank that uses a 2213, Musks are small turtles even as adults rarely exceeding 4", so this filter would be suitable well into adulthood, if not for it's whole life.

For other species though they would outgrow it much sooner, then as I said you'd either upgrade or add a second filter. I think you need to decide exactly which species you're going to keep, based on the size of tank you're prepared to have, then choose an appropriate size filter.

There's no such thing as overfiltration for turts, so if you can afford it it's always better to get a bigger filter, it'll last a lot longer before it needs upgrading and in the meantime will keep the water a lot cleaner.

Most of the commonly available species are pretty docile, cooters being the least aggressive of all, but they are also one of the biggest species with females sometimes reaching 12-13" SCL.

Sliders and Maps are normally pretty tame and are a bit smaller, Musks can be aggressive towards each other, and sometimes other turts, but if you only want one that's not an issue, they are all quite easily handled although generally speaking handling should be kept to a minimum, turtles are not really animals to be petted.

I'd recommend avoiding softshells though, they're not a good beginner species as they have rather specific habitat requirements, and they can be quite aggressive and have a powerful bite.

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

Agree with all the previous messages, except I would strongly advise that it is best to avoid Sliders and Cooters, as they get simply too big for most Home set up's!

They wouldn't be my first recommendations either for the same reason, but that's why I said to decide how big a tank could be provided first. If an adequate tank can be provided then there's no reason not to get a slider or cooter, they are both very easy species to keep after all.

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