OT: painted turtle supplies
- Thread starter Hens4Fish
- Start date
Let me bring you up to speed on the biggest reason as far as $ not to do it... the UV bulbs that are a requirement or the turtle will die a slow painful death... are pricey...
You will also need a heat lamp for basking...
Clean water on a very regular basis or they get sick. Knowledge of food, dietary and vitamins... and the sickness risk that not providing these things will cause you and your son...
A big container of hand sanitizer and a few bars of anti-bacterial soap.
If I could do it again... I would buy the book from Amazon (the biggest thickest book about pet turtle care you can afford) before I brought the turtle home... instead of after.
All that being said... if you want to talk I have designed a relatively simple habitat for ours... out of some houehold junk... let me know...
Oherwise... it's not a short easy question. You should read on this before so your not looking in a panic like I was. I was ultra lucky to had 2 people who were super kind and offered a great deal of knowledge and some supplies from their stash our of the kindness of their own hearts...otherwise I would still be spinning in circles.
Otherwise... guess what????
<a href="http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Misc/?action=view¤t=IMG_1351.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Misc/IMG_1351.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
You will also need a heat lamp for basking...
Clean water on a very regular basis or they get sick. Knowledge of food, dietary and vitamins... and the sickness risk that not providing these things will cause you and your son...
A big container of hand sanitizer and a few bars of anti-bacterial soap.
If I could do it again... I would buy the book from Amazon (the biggest thickest book about pet turtle care you can afford) before I brought the turtle home... instead of after.
All that being said... if you want to talk I have designed a relatively simple habitat for ours... out of some houehold junk... let me know...
Oherwise... it's not a short easy question. You should read on this before so your not looking in a panic like I was. I was ultra lucky to had 2 people who were super kind and offered a great deal of knowledge and some supplies from their stash our of the kindness of their own hearts...otherwise I would still be spinning in circles.
Otherwise... guess what????
<a href="http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Misc/?action=view¤t=IMG_1351.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Misc/IMG_1351.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
If you do research you will find that you can do it in a rubbermaid tub with a fleet farm heat lamp... but this ignores that they will need water to swim in and most importantly UVB light... otherwise they develop something alot like turtle osteoporosis and begin to dissolve their own shell from the inside out... in the wild they get it from the sun... not present in your home or from regular DIY store bulbs... I tried..
MSU Fan
Active member
So, there is no such thing as "cheap" when dealing with turtles. Unfortunately, many people think they will be a very easy pet, when in fact that is not the case at all.
Basic ideal set-up for any semi-aquatic turtle of 4" could be:
Tank (40 gallon minimun): $40 ? at least
Heater(Non-glass/preferably with guard so turtles can't bite it :$25
Heat lamp(Ceramic heat emitter/energy efficient)$35
24" UVB Bulb(needs replacing approximately every 6-9 months:$25
External Filtration (2xs water capacity) $130
Total: $255 just to start
This does not include the food requirements(as they cannot live on just turtle pellets alone.) they are Omnivores and require variety.) They need a basking platform below the heat emitter to ensure they can dry out so they don't get bacterial infections. They have to have consistent water changes and husbandry. Turtles are VERY dirty creatures. They will clog up a filter faster than you can imagine. Not too mention, they can live for a LONG time. They get to be quite large...picture a dinner plate. Then, picture at least a 90 gallon tank for that one turtle at adulthood. I don't mean to discourage you, I just want to inform you. We now have 5 turtles of 3 different species and have weathered through many of the difficulties and condition that go along with having a turtle(or 5).:lol: Hope this helps. If you any questions in specific, please let us know.
Basic ideal set-up for any semi-aquatic turtle of 4" could be:
Tank (40 gallon minimun): $40 ? at least
Heater(Non-glass/preferably with guard so turtles can't bite it :$25
Heat lamp(Ceramic heat emitter/energy efficient)$35
24" UVB Bulb(needs replacing approximately every 6-9 months:$25
External Filtration (2xs water capacity) $130
Total: $255 just to start
This does not include the food requirements(as they cannot live on just turtle pellets alone.) they are Omnivores and require variety.) They need a basking platform below the heat emitter to ensure they can dry out so they don't get bacterial infections. They have to have consistent water changes and husbandry. Turtles are VERY dirty creatures. They will clog up a filter faster than you can imagine. Not too mention, they can live for a LONG time. They get to be quite large...picture a dinner plate. Then, picture at least a 90 gallon tank for that one turtle at adulthood. I don't mean to discourage you, I just want to inform you. We now have 5 turtles of 3 different species and have weathered through many of the difficulties and condition that go along with having a turtle(or 5).:lol: Hope this helps. If you any questions in specific, please let us know.
See you did a better job as saying it than I did... by the time we're done we'll have at least that into ours. one book recommended 10 gallons of water per inch in length of shell MINIMUM. that means ours would need a 60 Gallon tank of water, not to mention terrestrial space... and boy does she like the space if she has it...
Ours has a 55 gallon tank for a pond and a 55 gallon dry tank for wandering right now...
J
Ours has a 55 gallon tank for a pond and a 55 gallon dry tank for wandering right now...
J
MSU Fan
Active member
It just all depends on the type of turtle. Like you said, 10g of water per inch of turtle. That is how I figured the 40g tank for the 4 in turtle in my example as well. 2 of my RES like to cruise all over the land area too. My largest RES pretty much refused to go on land. He just wants his basking area and that's it. Every turtle has different requirements and personalities.
