Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today I purchased a map turtle that is about 4-5" in diameter. The person who sold it to me said that a 20-long tank should be sufficient. Is this true? If not, what size will it eventually need? Any response would be great.

Semi aquatic turtles in general should probably have about a square footof space per inch of shell as a minimum. So a twenty gallon is okay for a one inch turtle. A 4 -5 inch would do okay in a 60 (48 inches long 13 inches wide) but it would be happier in a 100 (5 feet long 18 inches wide) On top of that many map turtle species are quite skittish and need lots of places to hide. If it is a female you may be looking at 7 - 11 inches when its an adult in which case you need at least a 125 gallon tank. You might consider a plastic pre form garden pond otr a larger horse trough if it turns out to be a girl.

Do you know what species of map you have? Some stay smaller than others. For now he's be okay in a 55 or 60 gallon.
Make sure you change the water often as maps are prone to all sorts of shell problems associated with less than super clean water. Provide lots of places to hide and at least TWO basking spots.

On a side note, map turtles in general take longer to mature than painted or RES so you would have some time before needing to upgrade to a larger tank. Map turtles definantly like to bask more than most other species, so having multiple basking points is important as mentioned. Also on a related note, make sure you are using a non-heat absorbing and non-abrasive basking area - I see a lot of pictures of people using rocks for basking areas - most turtle's don't bask on rocks unless they absolutely have to - rocks can get hot and will create shell scars, especially on a skittish turtle. Just do your best to mirror it's natural habitat and it will do fine.