Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my daughter is really wanting a turtle. so i'm going to get her a tank and all the accesories needed... but i want to read up on what i'll need.

so the very small turtles in the pet stores for just a few bucks what are they called? i know i had them when i was a kid... but i want to see what i need to keep one happy!

can they be in the same cage as a newt? my GF wants one of them bad. so i figured i could kill 2 birds with 1 tank!haha

Thanks!

The small turtles at the store are most likley Red Eared Sliders. Those tiny quarter size turtles will get about 10in in a couple years. You will need at least a 75gal tank which will cost over a hundred (just for the tank). Not including everything else you need, you will end up spending over $300 on that 5 dollar turtle. Are you ready for the commitment?
Chris
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Hey whats up, I'm Chris and I currently have 0.1 Midland Painted, 1.0 Western Painted, 0.0.1 RES, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

well if that's what she wants.haha she's 8, so i'll talk to her about it later today and read up about it. the commitment isn't really an issue. it's all up to the boss!haha

thanks for your help. off to study up on thier needs...

Well theres no way an 8 year old can care for it. The parents will be invovled, most likley doing everything...cleaning, feeding, ect.
Chris
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Hey whats up, I'm Chris and I currently have 0.1 Midland Painted, 1.0 Western Painted, 0.0.1 RES, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

yeah i unfortuatly only get my daughters every other weekend(more in summers...) so it'll be me doing all the work.haha just like her dog and her 4 year old sisters Bearded dragon.

I wouldn't house the newt and the turtle together unless you want the newt to be a snack for the turtle. My so called "quarter size" turtle is now about 4 inches long and can eat a dozen feeder fish in 10min if i let him.
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0.0.2 RES's
0.0.1 Common Snapping Turtle
0.0.1 Eastern Red Bellie
0.0.1 Map Turtle
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon

It's funny how nobody mentioned this yet, but shouldn't those turtles not be allowed to be sold? I mean, the law still applies and all....

Not that you can't get them off the streets in Chinatown anyway...=P

Johnny

I agree...a Chinese food market is hardly a pet store...so I doubt you'll find a turtle under 4" in a pet store...I have'nt seen one therethat size since I was a kid. and fyi...the turtles that are often sold at those markets are not only RES, but various maps, and DBT's. ( which is cool if you can get them)
The maps usually are'nt all that hardy, the RES are numerous, and if you can find them, make a deal to buy the DBTs, they're usually relatively inexpensive,and some nice specimens can be found.

The baby turtles, once so common, are currently sold only illegally on the streets of Chinatown in New York or out of the back of a pickup truck in Florida. You can buy a 4" turtle, however, at most pet shops. With proper cleaning, a turtle that size can be kept in a 20 - 30 gallon aquarium. Filtration helps, but you must buy a specialized model for reptile tanks or a very expensive outside cannister filter that you set on the floor below water level. Even so, the tank requires partial water changes. If aesthetics aren't an issue, you can house the turtle very well in a large plastic storage container that is munch lighter to move around and less vulnerable to breakakge (and cheaper). Be sure to have a clip-on incandescent light fixture for basking and a place to get out of the water. You don't necessarily need elaboraate decoration or gravel in the tank. Although a large female red-ear can reach 10 inches, males are smaller and growth may not be as rapid as predicted.

You can legally buy baby turtles of several species, due to a loophole in the law that permits sale for exhibition and educational purposes (most vendors just have you sign an affadavit as to their use) but.....if you buy one from a "mail-order" vendor (see the Kingsnake.com classified ads under "Turtles", you will end up paying considerably more for the transportation than for the turtle. If you happen to live in a large urban area, check Kingsnake for reptile "fairs" or "exhibits" where turtles are frequently sold. Usually these events occur only once or twice a year in most locations.

Woah.... you can definitely find them as babies at ANY reptile show and such. You just have to (verbaly agree) that you are purchasing them for research or educational purposes... i.e, not for food or pets.

Yeah its amazing yal dont know that... go to any turtle website.

FYI... as an experienced herper, NEVER BUY YOUR REPTILES FROM THE PET STORE!!!!!!! Geeezzz

Um, whoa....i never knew they also sold DBTs and Maps....i been to chinatown NY countless times and always see the same REFs for $5 each.

I've been able to get maps in the Boston area from places my niece and nephew that go to school there turned me onto. And try Chinese markets in areas where turtle soup is on the menu for DBT ( might be WC, as even here in CT we have an open season on them )
Amazing what one can get in Chinatown! And we have'nt evem mentioned fireworks yet!!

Hahha..no kidding. I think I've accumulated a nice collection of Seikos, Swiss Armys, Ray-bans, Oakleys that all broke in 2 months from there.

But seriously, in NY all you see are REFs...and you'd think they'd have more considering it's the largest Chinatown on the east coast...

Not that I'm condoning it

Johnny

They mean in the fishmarkets as food items not the little sliders in the store front. The bulk of what we find here in NYC in the meat trade are the chinese softshells. If you like them you can get a nice one for between 4.99 -6.99 a lb. Also some of the nicest bullfrogs around too. 3.49 a pound! DBT's are only seasonally found in chinatown. Their seasonal availibily was pretty much over by the end of April.

Notnecessarily a deal though if you consider the the fact that these wild caught animals cannot be immediately put into fresh water. They need to acclimated and also have undergone stress. So you could work with for a while then lose them. You can get them cheaply enough sure but just be mindful that everything comes with a price tag and you must be patient and willing to work with animals to get them acclimated to captive life. That takes time and $$ if you really want to give it a go.

It depends on where you live, and how ethical the stores are. In the last few years I've seen hatchlings sliders for sale in pet stores, at kiosks in a mall, flea markets, as carnival prizes, you name it. A few years back a Petland in Los Vegas was busted by the FDA for selling hatchlings.

Katrina

Recently saw some delightful Florida Red-bellied hatchlings, among the prettiest of babies, on sale in a Petland in Toledo. One catch: you had to buy them all AND a huge fully equiped display tank for several hundred dollars as an "educational display". (It was a great set-up, though).

The FDA regulations state "bona fide" educatonal or research purposes. Most purchases from a pet store are not for "bona fide" educational purposes.

Katrina

I dont think it's good to put a newt in with a turtle. So don't.
Turtles need alot of care, ou can spend a hundred easy on a $12 red ear slider, and the females get BIG. Can you handle a foot long female turtle who needs to lay eggs(even if never did the tango with a guy) every few weeks?

Go for something easier...stick with the newts...

Some newts are toxic to turtles and other animals...
Eastern Red Newts for example.
Not a good idea to mix species...turtles are gonna eat 'em.
And that being the case, they will die.

This website might help you. If you still want a turtle, use the references listed in the article, consider adoption and/or a smaller species.

http://www.metropets.org/Newsroom/articles/slider.php

Katrina