General Care Discussion :: completely new help!

[Billhedrick]

well i am a completely new to owning a turtle my brother called me up said a guy in a parking lot was selling turtles so i said sure why not.

he is just a baby no shell is no bigger than 2 inches across for sure. i got him all set up in a 20 gallon tank the temp set at 77 for the water and basking area is between 85-100ish depending on where he wants to relax i have a uvb bulb / strip covering the whole tank as well as the water being filtered.

I am currently feeding him reptomin baby pellets he had 4 for lunch today only feeding him once a day i know i need to get him other food such as veggies i was at petsmart today and didnt see anything in the food section just treats. im gonna assume i just buy at the produce section of a regular grocery store?

any ways his name is optimus prime when i got him i thought he was dead the next morning all tucked in his shell in a small container as i had no real home for him till i was able to get to the pet store and get him set up 250 dollars later he is a happy turtle swimming and basking he is a bit shy and dives in the water when i walk in the room i will work on making his basking area a bit more private

any ways here is optimus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbOP4rlv ... e=youtu.be

[mark_alexandre]

Looks like you have a pretty good set-up so far! He looks happy and healthy. They're so incredibly cute at that size... can't even fight the current!

There are more knowledgeable people on this forum, but yes, you'd get your veggies from the store. There's some stickies in this forum on the best foods to feed your turtle.

[josephkr]

Sounds like you're doing great! Good luck!

[steve]

Looks pretty good, though you don't want any direct sunlight reaching the tank. Hatchlings will very likely ignore veggies, but you can keep trying to see what he likes. Carrots are usually a safe bet. You can also get some freshwater aquatic plants... so if he shows no interest in them, they will survive in your tank.

[Billhedrick]

Looks pretty good, though you don't want any direct sunlight reaching the tank. Hatchlings will very likely ignore veggies, but you can keep trying to see what he likes. Carrots are usually a safe bet. You can also get some freshwater aquatic plants... so if he shows no interest in them, they will survive in your tank.

no direct sunlight?
i will look into some of the aquatic plants. wont i need dirt or sand to plant them in? i dont think i want anything like that in the bottom of the tank just for cleaning purposes maybe i can put it in a little pot and drop it in!

[steve]

Sunlight reaching the tank can cause wild temperature swings and issues with algae. You can get floating aquatic plants like Anacharis. You can get rooted plants as well, but that's up to you.