turtle questions
I have a Aquatic turtle. It is about four inches long and three inches across. It is not a slider or painted turtle, but it is not very big and cannot be a map turtle. I live in utah. I have searched the internet and cannot find a picture of one like it. any sugestions?
also my tank is 20 gallons, lots of swim room but i only have a small landing pad, the tank is over half full, he seams to like it, but does not get out of water very often. And if i come in the room it jumps back into the water. Do i have to much water?
Answers:He might just be shy. He might be basking when you're not looking. Water turtles need a lot of water. Make sure you have proper UV lighting and proper basking temps on the dry area. Also just because he's small now doesn't mean he's not going to get bigger. You will have to buy him a bigger tank when that happens. Here is a page with Lots of pictures and care instructions of different types of turtles. Check it out and you'll probably find your turtle on there. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com.
I had a western paint for a long time and what I did was built one end of the tank up with land for him. It was maybe 5 inches long and the width of the tank.
Mine would jump in to the water when people would walk in.. its a natural reaction.
Just make sure he has some spot to dry off and sun himself when he wants. Sounds like he has a pretty good home.
yes you do have too much water
water- not to low so the turtle can put his head down underwater. not too, high , they'll want some air to breathe too..
Most aquatic turtles require a minimum of 25 gallons of water per animal. Do you have a light for him to bask under? Most pet stores carry flood lights which offer full spectrum light sources. Turtles must have a minimum of 8 to 10 hours of basking time every day to stay healthy. Most turtles will "Jump" back in the water when startled which is where "Sliders" got their names from. Once they get to know you during feeding time, they will actually swim toward you because they will recognize you as their food provider.
try the website www.kingsnake.com you can post a photo there and someone will recognize it. they also have info about ANY other type of pet you may have and ANYTHING you may want to know about feeding, housing, mating, sleeping, etc
A popular aquatic turtle is the African helmeted turtle (pelamedusa Subrufa) http://markmlucas.com/images/turtles/hel.