I rescued him from not the best living conditions… I cleaned his shell gently and this is what I see- it’s not smelly or soft. But there is flaking on the shell and I know African side necks don’t shed. Thoughts?

I am going to slowly start buying and setting up an aquarium for a mud or musk turtle. When its all set up, Ill purchase the turtle.
My question is about aquarium size. Since I am buying the turtle last, can I be sure that a 40 gallon tank is sufficient? I know that the general rule is 10 gallons per inch of turtle, but what if the turtle ends up being 5 inches and not 4 inches? Would a 40 gallon still be sufficient since the tank will not be completely filled anyways since they are not strong swimmers?

Hey everyone. I'm moving my musk turtle to his new tank today and looking for advice. He's been in his current tank since we got him 2 years ago. I set up the new tank, added the amount of aqua safe this morning, have th heater and filter on now. I'm gonna let it settle for a few hours with the new devices going. Is there anything I'm missing? Do I need to do anything more to ensure he's safe and doesn't have a bad reaction. It's a completely new tank with completely new water FYI Thanks in advance!

HOW TO TREAT A URI?? I LEFT TOWN FOR A COUPLE WEEKS AND LEFT MY RED EARED SLIDERS CARE TO MY ROOMATE(he is 6 years old) NOW THAT I'M BACK I CAN SEE HIS EYES ARE SWOLLEN AND HE ISN'T EATING HELPPP

Hello. I’m looking on help identifying a pet turtle in my family. I don’t have a picture of it but it the end of each scale at the edge of his shell all the way around sticks out. He has barely a centimeter high peaks that make points all the way down the center of his back. His entire shell is flat besides the center peaks. I could’ve swore it was an African something turtle and it’s not an African side neck or African mud turtle or African razorback so what could it be. Thank you guys soooooo much

I have a big red eared slider, I have a 70 gallon tub, with stones she climbs up on and basks.

I recently moved so the tub takes too much space. I'm looking to get a tank again, but my main issue is the basking area.

What do you guys use to provide a basking area for your big turtle? I see a lot of little ones here, which are cute and pretty nice set ups but its not realistic for my turtle. Any advice helps

I have two baby red ear sliders. They each have their own 29 gallon tank for the time being. When I started out the ph levels were good, but recently the water is looking a bit cloudy, the water is testing hard and low alkalinity.

I use Prime water conditioner and Fluval AquaClear 30 water filters. The tanks are currently bare bottom with live moss, fake plants, and hiding spots. They do have heaters. They also have UVA and UVB lights.

I clean the bottom of the tank once a week using a siphon, which causes me to replace about 50% of the water. I use water from the tub with a 9-quart bucket which I had approximately 5 drops of prime conditioner according to their website.

I do sometimes use those orange calcium tablets that slowly release food, which I notice makes a mess at the bottom more than anymore so I may switch to cuttlebone.

In a couple days I will be cleaning out the tanks (maybe one at a time on different days) and building an above the tank banking area, adding sand, maybe live plants (I know they will eventually tear up, and possibly shrimp.

What can I do differently to ensure better water conditions and healthy living space for these babies?

I've had Turt since October of this year after my sister rescued him from her stupid co-worker who kept him in a cold, dark tank and fed him fish food. I've been told he is a Cumberland Slider and I have no idea whether he was kidnapped in the wild or if the co-worker bought him. I also have no idea how old he is, but he has grown a bit since we first got him. He now weighs 43g and is about 2.5 inches long.

Anyway, I have never owned a turtle, and I am extremely nervous that I will either kill him or make his life a living hell which makes me no better than the stupid coworker. I'm doing as much research as I can. I've invested $500 so far in the upkeep and quality of his enclosure, and I intend to spend/do more so long as he is healthy and happy. I have two water filters, a basking area, and two heaters which keep the temp at an average of 75-77F. I don't know how hot his basking area gets, however, but he won't go up there if there are people around. He also has a pile of big rocks, fake plants to hide behind, and a castle-type thing (which he has now outgrown). He likes to tuck himself in between the glass and that heating pad in the attached photo.

https://preview.redd.it/7rpbqras84ae1.jpg?width=1638&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e41240048fc6f1c487f71e91e893d9344ac8fbce

Now the colder months are upon us and he doesn't eat as much. This would indicate hibernation but the issue is that he is still moving around and isn't sleeping a bunch. At this point, I've learned I should NOT encourage hibernation since this is my first year with him and I believe he's still very young. I haven't lowered the temp or withheld food.

Maybe in early November, I tried to start feeding him outside of his tank to keep his water cleaner, but he wouldn't eat normally this way. He might chomp down a couple of pellets if they happened to fall in front of him but that's about it. He just seemed way too nervous/eager to get tf out??? Then I gave up for a while and went back to feeding him in his tank because I was afraid he was going to starve to death. But then I read more forums that advised allowing turt to get used to the change. So, the second week of December I started feeding him outside of his tank again, by covering the surface of this plastic container with pellets and mealworms. Again, he'd only eat a few pellets if he happened to see them moving right in front of him. But now he isn't eating anything. It also doesn't help that he is still afraid of me and doesn't swim up to the glass anymore thinking I represent mealtime (even before Winter began he sort of stopped being so interactive). I'm worried he's traumatized by how much I've handled him (taking him out to clean the tank/to feed). I really do just leave him alone. I'll wave at him and say hello in the morning when I turn on his heat lamp, and I don't stomp over to his tank. I only gently pick him up or take him out when I have to.

Now my concern is that he didn't eat enough to survive hibernation OR he will have rotting food in his tum if he does hibernate and I am freaking out. I've still been taking him out and trying to see if he will eat anything just in case because I don't want him to hibernate. I know I probs sound insane right now.

I know I'm probably doing a lot wrong here so please if you know tell me. I want him to be a happy guy and live a long life. Also, is his shell normal? I've tried to compare it to pics of other young turts and I am worried there is something wrong and I just don't know it.

I'm eager to get help. Thank you.

I recently took in this turtle from someone who could not care for it but was given very little information, I have owned red ear slider turtles before and this turtle does not have red on the sides. with some research I believe it’s a map turtle? but would like proper identification in order to setup the tank for its specific needs. thank you!

hi everyone! so i come seeking for advice again. last time, you guys told me i was changing the water way too much (i was changing half of it once a week) and that's why i was getting this brownish thing algae, and i followed the general advice of leaving it alone and it worked perfectly. i had a clear, beautiful water tank for like 3 months.

and then somehow i effed up ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

so now my water has been this....... radioactive green for two months now. the ph is good (i bought a tester) and it doesn't smell, but no matter how little i leave of it when i try changing it to try to bring it back to a clearer tone, it just ends up like this again.

i would like to restart it from zero, brand new water - but i know there's turtle bacteria that the water needs for my little guy to be healthy. is there a way i can do that?

https://preview.redd.it/wg6t4t1fl1ae1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=591227e373246526bab3d66802349ca6adf0aa1b

I’m thinking of adding a snail or 2 to my 55gal tank, but I’m hesitant because I know they can carry diseases. Any advice?

So for some context, I take care of a Chinese Box turtle. I study overseas, so when I'm gone my family takes care of her.

She used to be super sociable and would stick her neck out at my whenever I got close to her, interested, and she enjoyed my pets. This was until September before I left.

When I came back at the start of December, I tried to get close to her, but she would quickly retreat into her shell whenever I got close. She never used to do this, not even with strangers. At first I thought it was because she'd lost her familarity towards me, but even after 3-4 weeks of being back (feeding her, turning on and off her lights daily), she still does this. She does come out of her shell eventually, but this often happens.

She's eating normally. No tank changes recently or anything.

Is this normal? Would this be a part of her biology? I was thining this might have something to do with the winter.

So, I’ve been taking care of my cousin’s turtle while he’s been in the army, and his turtle’s shell just turned white out of no where. Can anyone tell me what’s going on please? I know nothing about turtles. /:

My RES is about two years old now. Recently, he has been getting himself stuck, I assume on purpose since he can get out, between his ladder to his basking rest and the glass of his tank and splashing like a maniac.

It almost looks like he's using it as a treadmill, but I have absolutely no idea what he's doing.

He does this for about a few minutes or so and then casually leaves to get some air or bask. Does anyone have any ideas?

As much as I'd like to think he's being silly, I would like to know if this is concerning behavior or not.

(Also, yes, I've gotten him unstuck from there before to which he immediately goes back, so I left it. He isn't acting bad cognitively, he eats and does all his business just fine.)

Hey everyone! I need some advice. Do you know any water/heat resistant sockets and a waterproof basking bulb? As my enclosure is too tall, if I put the basking spot on the top, I’ll need a pretty powerful bulb to deliver enough warm, and it will make half the tank too hot for anything to grow.

And recommendations?

Thanks!

This is Roxy!! I was wondering what kind of box turtle :)

I have quite a few baby turtles in here and I’ve been having to clean the tank every week , I’m trying to find a better filter but I’m not exactly sure which one would be a better option for the amount of baby turtles I have

My heater for some reason can only heat up my turtles' tub to 24 or to 28 degrees. Which one is best? Colder or hotter?

I have a yellow bellied slider in a 20 gallon tank. I was at petsmart looking for tank mates and the employee told me I could put snails in there with him. However, my ybs frequently tries to eat the snails. The snails have been in a corner hiding from him and I’m wondering if they are miserable in the tank. Should I give them away or just leave them in there?

BE PREPARED! From the size of a quarter to 9 inches in 4 years! My girl is expected to be the size of a dinner plate or bigger when fully grown.