Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I acquired two of these little guys yesterday from a customer in a pet store. She took them in after having them for a year in hopes of adopting them out. Store couldn't take them due to being under 4". I have been wanting some juvenile water turtles for awhile now, so I already had a tank (55g) and had done some preliminary research. I'm going to really deck their tank out today, so please excuse the bareness of it in the photo.

They are yearlings presumably as she got them last summer when they were itty bitty. Up until now, they were residing in a 10g tank!

They seem to be doing well - I have heat lights on them and a mostly water with little bit of land setup. For some reason I thought the water had to be super shallow, which is why it is in the picture. After researching much more last night, I see that it can be significantly deeper if they still have easy access to land.

Any good sites, info, etc..would be wonderful. I recognize the species, but can't seem to place the name. Shockinly, I can't seem to find a list, with photos, of different water turtle species.

I am located in Indiana, but I don't know if they were wild caught. She bought them at a fair/flea market type deal.

They look identical, except the one pictured is a good inch bigger than his/her sibling.
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Conure and Cockatiel)
1.1.0 Rabbits
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

I went out today and purchased river stones (way too big for either of them to even consider swallowing), a turtle dock (size large) and a couple plants. I plan on purchasing more decor in the near future. Do they like hiding places, or would they prefer more unobstructed swimming room? I am also planning on getting a filter soon - just haven't decided which variety to go with. So far I'm really liking the looks of the semi new whisper ones that can be completely submersed under water. I figured I'll be cleaning the filter cartridge constantly, but at least it'll get some water movement in there. Water changes as often as needed aren't a problem either. I own a python that hooks up in a couple minutes.

Here are some photos. I rinsed the rocks, but apparently not enough - they gave the water a slight dusty color, but the turtles seem uneffected.

Some questions:

The bigger of the two (is it most likely a female or is s/he just growing faster?) hovers over the smaller one at a little bit of an angle tipped downward. S/he then wiggles her front fins in the other ones face. Is this preemptive breeding behavior that I should be watching out for the older they get (I don't plan on breeding them, so I'll seperate them down the road if necessary)? Or is it just dominace behavior as in "I'm bigger than you and here's how I'm going to prove it." ??

Right now I'm dechlorinating the water with repti-safe. I've read that this is unnecessary. My water has not only chlorine (which I know dissipates after 24 hrs), but chloramine, which is a mix of chlorine and ammonia. It does *not* dissipate, so I was worried this would be harmful for the turtles. It would be nice to know down the road though that tap water is ok, but I'll keep treating until I hear otherwise. The water is pretty hard and the pH is around 8.2.

How many pellets should I be feeding them? The bigger one ate perhaps 10 - 12 tonight and would have kept going if I'd let him. The smaller only ate a few, but she seems rather shy and jumpy when I enter the room. So hopefully she'll come around and not be so scared. I finally walked behind the wall and peaked around the corner in hopes she'd eat when I left - she did. Not as much as the bigger one though. I've read about the horrors of overfeeding, but I can't find a clear answer on how much is too much (IE, with fish "whatever they'll eat in 3 minutes" type of deal).

I hope someone checks in soon.
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Conure and Cockatiel)
1.1.0 Rabbits
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

Well, I'm far from an expert, but since no one else has replied I'll give it a shot.

I'm thinking yellow bellied slider. (really cute pictures btw!)

A good place to start learning is:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

The behavor your described, the waving claws at the other's face, is usually a mating thing. The males have long front claws and this behavior begins courtship.

I can't answer you water question as we have well water and I never looked into that.

When my painted was a baby, I would feed her as much as she wanted to eat, a couple times a day. I would just feed her until she began to lose interest. When she was a couple of years old, I just feed her once a day. By the time she was 4 years old, once every two or three days. By then you get to know the turtle, and how much it will eat at a time.

The only horror of over feeding that I know of is an unbalanced diet, and too much protein, which causes pyramiding. But if you use a good turtle food and suppliment it with other fresh foods, it shouldn't be a problem.(Again, I am not the world's expert, I am only telling you what I've experienced, so you may find contradicting statements.)

The bigger one might be more aggressive and getting more food and the little one is only left w/ left overs. You might want to try separating them for feedings. I would feed the big guy in another tank and the little one in the "home" tank. See if she begins to eat more then.

It looks like you are off to a good start! Keep up the good work!
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0.1.0 snapping turtle
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
0.0.12 chickens
3.2.0 children
1.0.0 husband

I to live in Indiana, those are not native to Indiana. I dont believe those are Yellow Bellied Sliders, as the other person stated. They have many more yellow markings than a YBS has. I think they some kind of cooter, not sure of the exact type. Looks like you have a good start though. About the feeding, are you just feeding pellets? If so try a variety of foods such as rosys (feeder fish), romaine lettuce, and aquatic plants like Anacharis. Pellets are fine, just not if it makes up 100% of thier diet. I would say feed pellets every other day, then on the off days offer the romaine and just keep feeders and Anacharis in the tank all the time.
Hope this helps,
Chris
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0.1 Red Eared Slider, 1.0 Common Snapper, 1.0 Bearded Dragon and a 55gal Native Fish Tank with a LM Bass and Pleco.
I use to have a collection of Leopard Geckos that I bred, but have sold them.

ive had a similar issue. try feeding at one end . once the larger one starts feeding feed the smaller on the other side. as for ph and ammonia, (its only gonna affect turtles on high levels) test often with fish tank tests, you will find an equil balance the longer you keep the tank established) alot of different things change the ph, ammonia , nitrite , etc... feeding , water changes, size of tank. the first thing you shouid have done is establish a bacteria colony.( idont know if you did but) only a bacteria colony will help the tank environment cycle itself. ammonia turns to nitrite, nitrite turns to nitrate witch is harmless in normal amounts. (causes algie groth , ugly but benificial to a tank envirinment)keep this and ph in line with water changes and active carbon changes. as for the amount of pellets to feed , it changes with every turtle. thats something you should figure out yourself by watching them feed and deciding what is enough. (keep an eye on there wait and growth) thats all i can think of right now . anybody feel free to fill gaps i may have missed.( keep in mind those turtles are going to get large , so keep a bigger enclosure in mind)

Pennsula or Florida Cooter Looks identical to the pic at this website.

www.empireoftheturtle.com/ Florida/pseudemys_floridana.htm
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Jenea

1:3 Eastern Hognose
0:0:1 Florida Redbelly
0:1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle
1:0 Red-eared Slider
2:0 Cats
1:1 Kids
1:0 Spouse