Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am wondering what the easiest turtle to care for is. Could you point me in the right direction?
Thanks
-Stage9

I like painteds. They have great personalities and stay semi small. But any turtle is not really "easy" since they require lots of money for big tanks etc.

Would you reccomend a painted or a red eared slider?
Thanks
-Stage9

I have a male western painted, males are smaller than females so he's pretty small for an adult. IMO he's easier to care for than a RES because he's small & doesn't require a tank as large as RES needs. That's just my personal preference.
I've found that what makes the difference in whether or not turtles & reptiles in general are easy to care for depends on equipment. Start out with the right equipment: appropriate sized tank, heater, filter, lighting, & it's easy. Get everything they need first, then get the pet.
If you don't then you'll spend too much time struggling to get the set up right & in the meantime the turtle could get sick.
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PHRatz

get a painted, RES's get huge... Just make sure if you get it from a pet store you know the difference between a res and a painted because stupid pet store people don't..

Very good advice...people usually get the turtle and hurry to get the right setup for it "now" and then don't ever want to upgrade when the turtle grows. I see that a lot. People ask me "he's small, will he be ok in the 10 gallon tank that our fish were in. They all died, so we're going to try turtles". THat one kills me...if you can't take care of FISH, what mekes them think they can handle a turtle?
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Thanks!

Scott

I have kept dozens of painteds over many years and found them FAR less hardy than good old Red-eared sliders. With good care, however, either will survive. One problem with RES: the males are very aggresive and make poor community tank-mates. One of my personal favorites, is any species of African Mud turtle (Pelosius of Pelomedusa). These are really hard to kill with even flagrant neglect, they are not beautiful but they are very personable turtles that respond to their keeper.

I'm inclined to agree. I've lost several baby painteds over the years due to shell problems and susceptibility to other illnesses. Maybe I'm just having bad luck with them but I can't seem to get them going as well as Red-ears or any other sliders for that matter. The sliders seem to be more aggressive as babies and that in my book is a factor for survival.

I still love baby Painteds over other species because they look cuter for some reason.