How to Keep a Turtle Healthy
Provide an enclosure with adequate space., Provide proper filtration for aquatic turtles., Clean your tank regularly., Provide a balanced diet for your turtle., Make sure your turtle has proper lighting., Maintain proper water temperatures., Look...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Provide an enclosure with adequate space.
Ten gallons per inch of your turtle is a general rule. 50 gallon (189.3 L) minimum for a baby turtle (younger than a year old) and 120+ for an adult.
Make sure that you have a general idea of the size your turtle will reach when full grown so you are not blindsided with keeping a turtle you cannot maintain.
Decide on a land or aquatic turtle.
Common turtles like box turtles will require a desert like landscape.
If you want an aquatic turtle make sure there is dry land and adequate room to swim, and that your enclosure is sealed enough to hold water. -
Step 2: Provide proper filtration for aquatic turtles.
A turtle needs a canister filter.
A Rena Filstar XP3 or XP4 is highly recommended in keeping a turtle healthy.
Without good filtration your turtle can get extremely sick as old food and feces can build up.Even with proper filtration, you'll need to regularly change your turtle's water.
When you change the water, make sure that the filter is not clogged.
If you see waste or old food lingering in the filter, it may cause a clog that prevents it from filtering the water properly.
You can buy a dechlorinator or water conditioner at any pet store. , Remove everything from the tank including all of its basking spots and empty the water.
Wash everything with warm water and anti-bacterial soap.
Let rocks sit in warm water and soap.
Wash the soap out thoroughly.
Let the tank sit until it is dry.
Put everything back in and fill the tank with clean, non-chlorinated water.
If it is a land turtle, make sure to replace with clean substrate on the bottom of the tank each time, such as sand, wood chips, or newspaper.
How often a clean is necessary will depend on how messy your turtle is.
It is generally a good idea to do this at least twice a month.
Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning the tank. , A proper diet for Red Eared Sliders and similar species should have the following proportions:
Vegetables and water plants 50%; Commercial foods 25%; Live protein 25%.
A turtle under a year old should be fed every day.
A turtle over a year old should be fed every other day as to prevent them from getting overweight.
An example of vegetation for your turtle are aquatic plants like duckweed, azolla, and water lettuce.
They also enjoy fruits and vegetables like papaya, carrots, apples, and leafy greens like romaine lettuce.
For protein, your turtle can eat cooked chicken, turkey, or raw beef.
If you want to feed your animal live protein, mealworms, snails, wax worms, beetle larvae, or even small goldfish are great.
There are also commercially available diets, such as pellets, that can provide complete nutrition for turtles.
Make sure that you read the ingredients carefully and that proportions of protein and vegetable based matter are at proper ratios. , If your turtle does not have regular access to sunlight, you will need to provide UV light bulbs for basking.
Turtles in the wild are exposed to sunlight every day and the nutrients they provide are essentially for healthy growth and development.
The amount of light it needs will be based on the species with land turtles usually requiring more.
Keep in mind that that UV cannot penetrate glass and will need to above or in the enclosure. , You will need a water heater.
Turtles are cold-blooded animals and thus rely on external heat to warm up their bodies.
If the temps get too high or too low it can turn fatal.
The water should be 80
- 82 degrees Fahrenheit (
26.5
-
27.5 Celsius) for a hatchling or a sick turtle, and 77
- 80 degrees F (25.5
-
26.5 C) for a healthy turtle over a year old.The basking (dry land) area should be 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) warmer than the water to entice the turtle to warm up by basking. , Even if you do your best to keep your turtle healthy, there are many diseases that can commonly affect the health of your pet.
However, most are treatable if you look for certain telltale signs, you can start quickly getting your pet better.
Vitamin A deficiency.
This occurs when your turtle is not getting a proper diet and manifests as lack of appetite, swelling of eyelids, swelling of ears, and persistent respiratory difficulties.
This can also affect the buoyancy of your turtle when it's swimming.
You can correct this by making sure your turtle has a balanced diet.
Respiratory infections.
The most common signs of this are wheezing, difficulty breathing, bubbles and mucus in their nose, and frequent coughing.
If you see these symptoms, take your turtle to the vet who will give them an x-ray and determine the proper antibiotic course.
The most common cause of these issues are improper basking and water temperatures or an exposure to drafty conditions.
Shell rot.
This is a fungal condition to the shell.
The symptoms include: white, slimy, smelly appearance of the shell and sometimes puss.
The symptoms may also include small abrasions on the turtle's shell.
If you see any of these signs, take your turtle to the vet who will prescribe antibiotics.
Parasites.
These are the most common cause of illness.
The most common parasites for turtles are: pinworms, roundworms, and hookworms.
The signs include lack of appetite, undigested food in stool, weight loss and sometimes spit up of food.
Your vet will ask you obtain a stool sample to test for parasites and give a medication targeted to rid the turtle of the specific parasite.
Find a good vet that specializes in herpetology.
Not all vets will deal with exotic animals.
Make sure that whatever vet you choose has a specialty in herpetology and can help your turtle.
Look online for a good local herp vet with strong reviews and demonstrated speciality background.
Call local vet offices to see if they can treat turtles, or if they know a good colleague that can. -
Step 3: Clean your tank regularly.
-
Step 4: Provide a balanced diet for your turtle.
-
Step 5: Make sure your turtle has proper lighting.
-
Step 6: Maintain proper water temperatures.
-
Step 7: Look for signs of sickness in your turtle.
Detailed Guide
Ten gallons per inch of your turtle is a general rule. 50 gallon (189.3 L) minimum for a baby turtle (younger than a year old) and 120+ for an adult.
Make sure that you have a general idea of the size your turtle will reach when full grown so you are not blindsided with keeping a turtle you cannot maintain.
Decide on a land or aquatic turtle.
Common turtles like box turtles will require a desert like landscape.
If you want an aquatic turtle make sure there is dry land and adequate room to swim, and that your enclosure is sealed enough to hold water.
A turtle needs a canister filter.
A Rena Filstar XP3 or XP4 is highly recommended in keeping a turtle healthy.
Without good filtration your turtle can get extremely sick as old food and feces can build up.Even with proper filtration, you'll need to regularly change your turtle's water.
When you change the water, make sure that the filter is not clogged.
If you see waste or old food lingering in the filter, it may cause a clog that prevents it from filtering the water properly.
You can buy a dechlorinator or water conditioner at any pet store. , Remove everything from the tank including all of its basking spots and empty the water.
Wash everything with warm water and anti-bacterial soap.
Let rocks sit in warm water and soap.
Wash the soap out thoroughly.
Let the tank sit until it is dry.
Put everything back in and fill the tank with clean, non-chlorinated water.
If it is a land turtle, make sure to replace with clean substrate on the bottom of the tank each time, such as sand, wood chips, or newspaper.
How often a clean is necessary will depend on how messy your turtle is.
It is generally a good idea to do this at least twice a month.
Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning the tank. , A proper diet for Red Eared Sliders and similar species should have the following proportions:
Vegetables and water plants 50%; Commercial foods 25%; Live protein 25%.
A turtle under a year old should be fed every day.
A turtle over a year old should be fed every other day as to prevent them from getting overweight.
An example of vegetation for your turtle are aquatic plants like duckweed, azolla, and water lettuce.
They also enjoy fruits and vegetables like papaya, carrots, apples, and leafy greens like romaine lettuce.
For protein, your turtle can eat cooked chicken, turkey, or raw beef.
If you want to feed your animal live protein, mealworms, snails, wax worms, beetle larvae, or even small goldfish are great.
There are also commercially available diets, such as pellets, that can provide complete nutrition for turtles.
Make sure that you read the ingredients carefully and that proportions of protein and vegetable based matter are at proper ratios. , If your turtle does not have regular access to sunlight, you will need to provide UV light bulbs for basking.
Turtles in the wild are exposed to sunlight every day and the nutrients they provide are essentially for healthy growth and development.
The amount of light it needs will be based on the species with land turtles usually requiring more.
Keep in mind that that UV cannot penetrate glass and will need to above or in the enclosure. , You will need a water heater.
Turtles are cold-blooded animals and thus rely on external heat to warm up their bodies.
If the temps get too high or too low it can turn fatal.
The water should be 80
- 82 degrees Fahrenheit (
26.5
-
27.5 Celsius) for a hatchling or a sick turtle, and 77
- 80 degrees F (25.5
-
26.5 C) for a healthy turtle over a year old.The basking (dry land) area should be 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) warmer than the water to entice the turtle to warm up by basking. , Even if you do your best to keep your turtle healthy, there are many diseases that can commonly affect the health of your pet.
However, most are treatable if you look for certain telltale signs, you can start quickly getting your pet better.
Vitamin A deficiency.
This occurs when your turtle is not getting a proper diet and manifests as lack of appetite, swelling of eyelids, swelling of ears, and persistent respiratory difficulties.
This can also affect the buoyancy of your turtle when it's swimming.
You can correct this by making sure your turtle has a balanced diet.
Respiratory infections.
The most common signs of this are wheezing, difficulty breathing, bubbles and mucus in their nose, and frequent coughing.
If you see these symptoms, take your turtle to the vet who will give them an x-ray and determine the proper antibiotic course.
The most common cause of these issues are improper basking and water temperatures or an exposure to drafty conditions.
Shell rot.
This is a fungal condition to the shell.
The symptoms include: white, slimy, smelly appearance of the shell and sometimes puss.
The symptoms may also include small abrasions on the turtle's shell.
If you see any of these signs, take your turtle to the vet who will prescribe antibiotics.
Parasites.
These are the most common cause of illness.
The most common parasites for turtles are: pinworms, roundworms, and hookworms.
The signs include lack of appetite, undigested food in stool, weight loss and sometimes spit up of food.
Your vet will ask you obtain a stool sample to test for parasites and give a medication targeted to rid the turtle of the specific parasite.
Find a good vet that specializes in herpetology.
Not all vets will deal with exotic animals.
Make sure that whatever vet you choose has a specialty in herpetology and can help your turtle.
Look online for a good local herp vet with strong reviews and demonstrated speciality background.
Call local vet offices to see if they can treat turtles, or if they know a good colleague that can.
About the Author
Jean Freeman
Brings years of experience writing about creative arts and related subjects.
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