Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Turtles
1 male about 5in in shell length
1 female slightly larger than the male

My Setup
60 gallon tank
2 powerheads on under-gravel filters
Filstar XP2

This morning while I was checking on my turtles I noticed that my male's front left leg was stuck in the intake pipe of the XP2 filter, somehow he had managed to pry off the strainer on the bottom of the pipe and got sucked in. I unplugged the filter and gently disloged the leg. Then I put the strainer back on and plugged in the filter. He seemed to be alright, the leg was limp in the water and he was just floating keeping his head above the water using his back feet. I noticed that when I got his leg out the claws had been bent slightly but they just went back to how they were supposed to be. I just got home and when I checked on them they were both just resting on the basking area in the water with they're heads out.

Could the leg be broken or just spranged and what should I do?

-Thanks in advance for the help.

i'd say watch the leg and see what happens to it. if it still seems limp, definitely take the turtle to a vet! the vet would know more about it... and could x ray it to see if it's broken or just sprained.

but on a very important note... you say you only hvae a 60 gallon tank for those 2 turtles??? that is WAYYYYY too small... especially if the one is 5 inches and the other one is LARGER. the 5 inch turtle alone should have 50 gallons (one inch of turtle per 10 gallons of water). so if your other turtle is 6 inches, you should have a tank size of AT LEAST 110 gallons. you may ask why, and i'll tell you this: could YOU live in an elevator? probably.... but would u like it??? odds are NO, u wouldnt. your turtles need A LOT of space to swim around and move around. and especially considering you have TWO of them in there, they will definitely need their own personal space!! please... accomodate your turtles properly! and dont be afraid to ask more questions, the only way people learn is from asking questions.
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~ Evie

Pets:
0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.1 Snail {Gary}

I've had my turtles for almost 2 years now and I've read alot on them and 1 in per 10 gallons seems a bit extreme to me. I'll get a pic of the tank maybe. They are about 5 in each, the female is slightly larger.

Anyway I looked at the leg this morning and at least he was using it, I think he's going to be fine. He was probably a little bit shocked from the experience.

Ten gallons per inch of turtle is the general recommendation of turtle keepers. I am sure many, many turtles live and survive in lesser accomodations, but if you continue to post here or on other forums you will be told that your tank is not adequate for the turtles that you have.

Glad to hear the leg is improving. Nancy

Glad to hear the leg is improving. Just keep observing for redness, swelling or if he seems to be in pain at all.

The tank IS indeed adequate (though leaning to the small side) for the moment. The female is going to get considerably larger (double her current size). You will have to consider larger accomodations once she gets bigger. For now if they are active, happy and eating and the water is staying clean you should be okay. Do consider larger accomodations as soon as it is possible to do so. It is better for them and believe me for you in terms of cleaning and maintaining the tank.

Good luck with them.

Steve

I am hoping Steve will respond to this. You said that a 60 gallon tank IS indeed adequate for a 5 inch turtle AND a 6 inch turtle. Assuming they never got any bigger, you consider that adequate? I hope you do. That would be the first time someone who's opinion I respected thought I would not eventually end up with two 100 gallon tanks.

Nancy

I think what he means is, the turtles aren't going to die from being in that tank, so technically it is adaquate, just not ideal by any means.
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Exactly -- they can live comfortably as long as things are kept clean well organized but as they grow larger acomodations will be necessary. 100 gallons for each would great but you don't have to deem yourself an unfit turtle parent if you can only provide a well maintained 125 gallon tank for 2 10 inch turtles. Not ideal perhaps but the only ideal situation is having open space to swim freely wherever you want.

First off Nancy thanks for your kind words. And yes (though I suspect I others will get crazed by this statement) Provided they got no bigger, you had excellent filtration and did necessary water changes it would be ADEQUATE. Ideally bigger is better no matter what. but two turtles that have a enough room to swim about in clean water etc could live well in that size tank. Unfortunately -- they will not stay 5 and 6 inches an larger accomodations would be necessary. Two one hundred gallon tanks (that would super!!) but really not a matter of life or death for you animals. I think that the 10 gallons per inch is a good way to be sure you have a good amount of space but the focus always seems to be on gallons NOT the amount of room you animal has to move around in.

For example a 3 ft wide by 6 ft long by 12 inch deep body of water seems like a good size space for maybe 3 10 inch turtles right? It is. They can swim freely get lots of exercise and live happily. According the 10 gallon per inch rule we should have 300 gallons for them minimally yes? Well this is barely 175 gallons. Don't get me wrong 10 gallons per inch IS a good rule. You can't go wrong going bigger but I think the focus should be space and not so much number of gallons.

Again let me state for those ready to jump in rabidly BIGGER IS BETTER AND AS BIG AS POSSIBLE THE BEST WAY TO GO.

Steve

I agree with Honuman whole-heartedly! I think 10 gallon/inch is ONLY a rule of thumb, not something set in stone. In fact, I've been meaning to ask if anyone knows the source of this rule. If such a reputable source exists, how was the 10 gallon/inch figure arrived at? Any scientific basis for it? Why not 5 gallon/inch? Why not 20 gallon/inch?

Not trying to say that we should skimp on space, and of course the bigger the better. But sometimes we can also just look at a tank with turtles in it and get a feeling whether there's enough space or not. Are they swimming freely? Are they constantly bumping into each other? Do they look like giants living in a dwarf house?

well i believe that it does go by how much 'room' the turtles have leftoever. but my question is... what would be TOO SMALL? 2 gallons/inch? 10 gallons/inch could be 'appropriate'(possibly more than needed, though bigger is always better). is there a space too mmall for a turtle to live in? what do they live in... in the 'wild'? puddles? rivers? just wondering, sorry bout all the questions lol
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~ Evie

Pets:
0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.1 Snail {Gary}

In the wild they live in ponds, and it would be nice if we could provide that sort of setup to them. Swimming space is more important than the number of gallons, for example a 40 gallon breeder is better than a 75 gallon hexagonal tall tank, because it gives the turtles more room to swim around. I would say if your turtle can't dive off of his basking area and swim hard across the tank, or can stand on the bottom with his head out, he is in a tank way too small because he can't exersize properly. I have two four inch sliders in a 55 gallon tank, which is too small based on the ten gallons per inch rule, but I have too happy healthy turtles who swim and bask to their hearts content. We had planned on putting a pond in the backyard for them this summer, but since I am having a human baby in about 2 weeks, those plans will have to wait until next summer.
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Good thing turtles are pretty self sufficient. They are about to get a lot less attention!

Congratulations! Nancy

Congratulations!!! Best of luck. How many cubic feet per inch of baby do we need? LOL!!! Seriously -- best wishes for the new arrival.

Steve

I think people get a bit too caught up in the 10 gal/in rule, especially since, as a generalization, it is flawed from the get go. Basically, as long as your turtles aren't running into each other and the ammonium/nitrite levels stay fairly low, your tank is adequate. Sure the 200 gallong setup is more ideal, but what most 10 gal/inchers forget is that the most ideal situation is in a real pond or lake.