General Care Discussion :: im not sure if this is normal behavior

[slider_keeper]

The problem with rocks is they collect debris that the filter can't suck up. This will cause the water condition to be unfavorable. The great thing about sand is if they do eat it, it shouldn't get stuck. As a hatchling I wouldn't expect a turtle to eat the sand. The reason is they tend to not spend much time at the bottom scavenging for food. Another thing I notice about sand is they will try to bury themselves in it. Sand is a lot like a bare bottom tank, in that it allows the debris to move across the surface and get collected by the filter intake. My turtle is almost 4 yrs old and I have had him since less than a month old, he was hatched in late Oct, I got him in early November. His shell was soft and I could compress the back half if I wanted to (didn't do it of course). It is a natural thing and will harden up with the proper diet and lighting/heating. I have been using sand since he was a hatchling, never had a issue with impaction. I notice now he scavenges the bottom of the tank for food and no problem with the sand. He will dig in it and sometimes bury himself partially when sleeping on the bottom of the tank. I have had my turtle almost 4 yrs, he is still extremely flighty when I walk in the room. It is a natural reaction they have, part of their survival trait. This is one reason why Turtles have been around since the Dinosaurs. I have read where Turtles where around during the Dinosaur age.

[Winters_wonderland]

Awesome! thanks, I will head to walmart tomorrow to get him some playsand when i'm on my mom's side of town (they have the nicer walmart if such a thing exists).

should i get the border for his tank, because he may run out of energy swimming to the corners? (though he hasnt really been doing that as much)

i am trying to lurk on him from a distance as not to scare him, and to give him some space.

*GAH* he is just so cute i want to watch him all the time.

[slider_keeper]

I know exactly what you mean, we have a two Wal-Marts here too. I prefer the one closer to my house, haha. If you like the look of the rocks, remember you can still put a couple of them in the sand, half buried. I think that would look really nice. When getting play sand it will in 50 lbs bag quantities, so use what you want and you can still save the rest for later or you could just add all 50 lbs to get a deep substrate. Of course, we want to see pics;) I think you will like the sand. Did you look at me build thread in my signature? I think it looks so natural. I don't use a border, nor do I have a background, although I will get one day, promise:) Don't worry about energy they know when to stop. Give the right filtration, lighting, heat, and diet, your turtle will do just fine. I know what you mean I watch my guy from a distance and wake up to his lights every morning, bright and early. I watch him for a few before getting out of bed everyday:)

[Winters_wonderland]

i have crept through your album and it is a very natural looking tank set up, which i like. I will post pictures as soon as i get everything re set up. I feel kind of bad for my little guy, his home keeps getting updated, and thats good for him, but i just dont want him to stress him out too much. Though i also want to give him the best home possible. life is so hard man


he has been eating well, i will drop pellets in his water (i dont want his diet to be mostly pellet, but im not sure what else to feed him at this size) one at a time, and he will swim after them and eat them. sometimes he claws them and just kind of holds on to them for a bit before finishing the second bite.

i will also drop a few pieces of cut up mealworm in his tank every few days, (i have heard these are to be more of a treat and less of a main source of food) is there anything else that he is likely to be able to eat easily, that wont be hella expensive?

i have tried to put some shavings of carrots in his tank, to encourage veggie eating but he didnt seem to be a fan of those.

One more question for now, at least,
i noticed the coloring where his "red" ear should be is more of a faded orange. I originally ID-ed him as a red eared slider based on face shape, and plastron design. after seeing how red the ear part is on other turtles and how not red it seems to be on sal, im not so sure. Any opionions?


My father had originally thought he was a snapping turtle and was bummed when he realized he wasn't. which i am confident is why i was offered him as a pet.
(other than the fact my mom finds turtles to be "smelly" and "a lot of work")
(i volunteered at a local aquarium, and spent most of my sundays in the coastal river room with the terrapins so i thought he looked like them)

[slider_keeper]

Red ear sliders can have orange or red marks. Snappers get big! And need a pond as adults, not aquariums! I'd say your glad you don't have a snapper. For the first year or so they are carnivores and as they get older are omnivores. Meaning, they eat more meat as hatchlings and then eat about 75% greens as adults. Don't feel bad, it is the improvement that counts;) We all improve and update, sometimes we back track, finding stuff that didn't quite work out.

[Winters_wonderland]

My father had kept a snapper from hatchling to semi adulthood (five years) before the snapper decided he was happier living in nature than with us. My mother hated this turtle, since it was mainly her job to do upkeep when dad was deployed.) he eventually escaped during one of his tank cleanings, we lived near some swamps and rivers so we weren't terribly concerned. It was summer and he was not very tamed. Hindsight I still feel a little bad about him getting away, but I am gonna keep sal as a forever pet, and I can't undo the mistakes of the past.

I am happy sal is not a snapper, I had no interest in trying to make an animal that can and will try to bite my fingers off when I try to feed, clean, care for him, be my friend.

[Winters_wonderland]

I have Yet another question, how exactly can you tell if your turtle is sleeping, and what is considered sleeping a lot for turtles this age.

[Winters_wonderland]

also i have been informed by my boyfriend that our filter for Sal states we should not use sand in his tank, are there other suggestions as to what can be used for a substrate? i know its not necessary, but i would like to have something if possible.

[ljapa]

What are you using for a filter?

[Winters_wonderland]

we have the reptofilter 90 GPH for frogs newts and turtles