Turtle care info

This information is designed to keep your turtle happy and healthy. Most health issues are related to poor housing and / or poor diet so that is what the emphasis is on here.

Habitat

For keeping your small turtle indoors, you need

• A fish tank or aquarium of at least 3’ (90cm) size. A 4’ (120cm) tank is better especially if you have bought 2 turtles. Don’t use any glass lids or a hood on the tank (they cause an increase in humidity). Ideally the tank’s filtration system will have been running for 2 weeks prior to adding a turtle. The tank should have:
• A floating turtle dock so the turtle can get out of the water, dry off and bask under a heat lamp. Preferably don’t use a fixed dock, it will limit the volume of water you can use.
• The heat lamp can be an ordinary clip on bedside lamp with a 40 or 60w incandescent globe. A halogen globe will also give off heat and do the job. The air temperature above the dock should be several degrees warmer than the water temperature (approx 30 degrees).
• Good quality large external canister filter (not an internal type of filter). Ebay have good ones for about $100.
• Water heater with guard, set to about 24-26 degrees for most commonly kept species.
• Aquarium thermometer to check the actual temperature.
• Fish tank fluorescent type light fitting with UV tube (5% or preferably 10% UVB), positioned close to the water and without glass lids in between. The UV tube will need replacement every 6 months.
• Timer to control the lights and give a day/ night cycle, eg on from 7am to 7pm.
• Calgrit (crushed limestone) as a substrate. You won’t be able to get that Aquarium Shops, however you can buy it from produce stores, eg online from Enfield Produce (phone 8003 4121) or Berkshire Park Bird Farm (phone 4572 5166). Don’t use gravel or small pebbles as it can be ingested and cause a fatality. Larger pebbles can be dislodged and trap a turtle causing it to drown. Calgrit is safe for the turtle even if ingested and will also keep the ph of the water stable.
• Plenty of water, although for hatchlings start off with shallow water 10cm deep. If using tap water de-chlorinate it first.
• Water plants for the turtles to hide in, rest on and in the case of short neck turtles, to eat.
• Add aquarium or pool salt. 5 grams per 10 litres of water, it will help prevent infections.
• pH of 7 to 8 is preferred.
• Doing partial water changes (a bucket full or two of water) every week is a good idea.

Let your turtle settle in to the new environment, don’t play with it, you will only stress it, stress can cause health issues.

Feeding

A natural diet such as the turtle would find in the rivers or dams is always the best. Therefore, uncooked fresh water fish, fresh water prawns, yabbies, bloodworms, brine shrimp, fresh water snails. NO white meat, no red meat, no vegetables.

Whitebait is suitable if soaked for a few hours to remove the salt. Likewise salt water prawns, but they should also have the head and tails removed. Leave the shell on. Fresh is always better than frozen, and freshwater fish are better than salt water fish.

Insects like crickets are ok. Short neck turtles can have some plant matter to eat as well, eg ribbonweed available from Aquarium shops. Duckweed is particularly good for them. Turtle pellets are ok, including Hikari Cichlid Gold, which is actually for fish but has vitamins etc that turtles need also.

Vary the diet, don’t get the turtle stuck on one food alone. Feed a small turtle once a day an amount equal to the size of their head. When they get to 10cm shell length you can feed them every second day.

Don’t overfeed your turtle, despite it seemingly being hungry. You will only be “killing it with kindness” as it will grow too big too fast, get fat and have associated health issues including a shortened life span.

Avoid the frozen turtle dinners from pet stores unless the contents are fish products, even then use sparingly as part of a whole varied diet.

Add feeder fish to stimulate their natural hunting instincts and provide a potential food source.
 

Natural sunshine

There is no substitute for natural sunshine, even with your UV tube above the tank. Give them time in the sun at least twice a week for about 20 minutes. Put them in a tub (no water) that is partly in the sun and partly in the shade, so they can regulate their body temperature. Keep an eye on them.

Turtle aggression

It is quite common when two turtles (especially short neck species) are kept in a relatively confined space that aggression will occur when one bites the tail, feet or neck of the other. If this happens ultimately the only solution will be to separate them or get a bigger tank.

Turtle size

No turtle will stay small, they all grow. When your turtle gets to about 15cm in shell length it is really better off in a 6’ tank, or better still in an outdoor pond. We can help in re-homing it at this stage if necessary.

Outdoor ponds

Outdoor ponds can be in ground, above ground (eg if you have a concrete slab in your yard) or partly in ground and partly above. In ground is preferable for reasons of insulation from heat and cold, although an above ground pond on concrete can be insulated to some extent by placing it on a bed of polystyrene. My above ground ponds (which can also be put in ground) were purchased from the Australian Koi Farm. Smaller pre-fabricated fibreglass or plastic ponds often come up on ebay (look under garden pond or fish pond). Avoid the ones with a pebblecrete finish as they can cause abrasion to a turtle's plastron (lower shell).

Alternately, a free-form in ground pond with rubber lining can be made to look very attractive and natural, resembling a turtle's natural habitat. Whichever way you go, bigger is better and try to make it at least 30-40cm deep so that the water temperature will not be so easily affected by the air temperature.

Please note, I am not qualified to give veterinarian advice. Before you phone me with any questions please read the FAQ page and the information above, your questions will probably be answered there. This page is also recommended reading if you are considering keeping a turtle as a pet.

For enquiries contact Shane on 0404 463446 (please don't text) or email info@turtletownsydney.com