Getting a turtle

[jake7722]

After thinking about this for some time im going to be getting a turtle (red eared slider to be exact) and i was just wonding i was thinking of keeping him in a 20 gallon long tank and then when he gets to be about 6'' im going to move him into this mini pond tht to my guess would prob be around a 90 gallon tank would this be ok for the turtle or not enough room? what should i keep i te tank basking light? what type of bottom sand or fine rock? i heard they are very messy so besides the constant water changes what type of filter would be best for it? Should i keep a couple air stones in there to keep the water moving? What food would you recomend besides pellets and feeder fish (would aquarium plants work)? 75 through 80 degrees for the water would be good for it right? what type of basking platform would you recomend? Thanks for any help. Also could Sliders be kept with newt or would the turtles eat the newts? Thanks again for any help

[Gourami Swami]

a 90 would be enough room, yes.

[flamingo]

1. The pond would be fine as it's fully grown.
Larger is always better though. He should be moved over well before he/she reaches 6", a 20g would suit a hatchling.

2. Preferably, all aquatic turtle tanks should be barebottom. It's much easier to maintain, since you'll be doing water changes every few days.

3. For the basics, use an internal filter, a basking light with good UVA/UVB qualities, a sectioned off heater if needed, and a basking area.

4. They'll eat pellets, possibly veggies such as romaine lettuce, spinach as a snack, collard greens, earthworms/leafworms, feeder fish, fruit, and probably hundreds of other things. They're more carnivorous when younger.

5. Around 76 or so should be fine.

6. You definitely wouldn't want to keep them with newts.

Just remember they're "fairly large" as they grow, and need a large area to swim- I've seen them do well in 150 gallon tanks. Be sure to change the water often, smaller tanks should have daily or every other day 50% changes. Otherwise, you could potentially stunt the turtle, cause shell curl, eye infections, etc.
HTH

[ash9494boo]

i have a 4" in false or mississipi map turtle in a 10 gallon and this summer we are going to build him a 500- 1000 gallon outdoor pond

[Kaikoura]

If you really are interested in getting a Red-Eared Slider, then I suggest you take a look at this site. It'll tell you everything you know from housing to feeding, and everything in between. It's really handy and a good thing to read up on if you're a beginner.

http://redearslider.com/

[Gourami Swami]

Kaikoura, I know its not related to the topic, but your stocking lists in your signature are pretty bad. Come to chat some time and get some advice or make a topic, your fish get WAY to big for the tanks they are in.

And about the turtle, I believe a 90g would be enough room personally. There are much smaller turtles though. Maybe you should look into some musk/mud turtles.