Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What are good things to put into the tank for the turtle to play with? I have a cuttlebone in there but it no longer floats. It just sits at the bottom.

My turtle is no longer in the "death tank" or whatever it's called. I have everything set up nicely now. He's on a turtle ramp until my turtle dock comes in a few days. I decided not to use the "beach" on Allturtles.com. It takes up too much of the swimming space.

my turtles love their bubble wall...they dive through it, sit on it and like to swim over it pretending to fight the current, lol...it's fun and cute. Also, gravel (make sure it's large rocks or they could eat and become impacted) on the bottom gives them something to hunt through to get to food. Mine spend hours doing that as well.
Walnut
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1 Dog- Mollianna Mae
1 Cat- Macey Montana
2 Red Eared Sliders- Gator and No-No
2 Beta- Swamp and Swims
4 Fish- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

actually...to clarrify...it's an air stone not a "bubble wall" they are heavier and i think easier to use than the tube kind.
walnut
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1 Dog- Mollianna Mae
1 Cat- Macey Montana
2 Red Eared Sliders- Gator and No-No
2 Beta- Swamp and Swims
4 Fish- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

If you take the cuttlebone out and let it sit in the sun for a bit, it will dry out and float again. Or, you could get a new one, my guys never bothered with them once they stopped floating. I have some pieces of slate and large river rocks on the bottom of my tank, and my turtles spend most of their days pushing the rocks around. Bubbles are good too, I had a bubble wand when my guys were smaller.
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I put those brightly colored "ping-pong" balls in my tank, the ones that are probably built to be cat toys? Even the ones with jingle bells inside. I dont leave them in all the time but a few times a week and for a couple of hours each time. They love to chase those around and my big female RES even bites them and takes them to the bottom of the tank then lets go and follows them back up. They love em!
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Slow and Steady wins the race...

Hey, that is a great idea, ping pong balls!!! Thanks for sharing, I'm going to give it a try and see if my guy likes to play with them!

Can hatchlings play with ping pong balls?

I get to keep my turtle now! My mom convinced my dad. She loves the little guy. Ok so now that I have a tank, I just leave a piece of lettuce in there. What do I feed it now when feeding time comes? I use to feed it lettuce and some other greens. What were the greens that turtles couldn't eat again? Thanks.

Don't feed them spinach or iceburg lettuce. Offer romaine lettuce, red or green leaf lettuce, dandelions greens are the best I think. You are feeding them something other than greens aren't you? Turtle pellets, earthworms, crickets, feeder fish are all part of a healthy varied diet in small amounts. Offer greens all the time and small amounts of protein once a day until it is about 1 year, then every 2 or 3 days. It is very easy to overfeed, they don't need a lot food. There are excellent care sheets for your turtle at austinsturtlepage.com. Read everything you can and your turtle will be a happy healthy little guy.

I just fed him two rosy reds yesterday because my friend wanted to see him "hunt". I feed him 2 reptomin baby in the morning and night every other day. I've been feeding him mostly romaine lettuce. I need to go out and get some collard and mustard greens. Do i just leave his food floating in the tank? How do i get rid of all the left overs that float on top and can't be reached by the filter? I put Turtle Clean in there to break down his waste. I don't think it's working though.

Toss the turtle clean. I leave fresh greens in the tank all the time. I use a net to clean out the debris left floating at the top of the tank.