General Care Discussion :: General Tank/Turtle Care Questions

[Kuromi]

Hi there! I'm very new to the turtle world, despite owning a red eared slider for several months now, and I apologize in advance if I have this posted in the wrong topic discussion.

Gleeba (the turtle in question) was pretty unexpected. I'm unsure of how everything went about, but essentially my brother asked me if I would like a turtle. Thinking that he was referring to a desert turtle, I said yes. As you can imagine, I was pretty surprised to be the owner of an aquatic turtle.

I received her around June of last year, and I really had no idea what I was getting in to. I'm unsure of how old she really is. It seems she was passed around a few times before she made her final stop here. I'd like to incorporate more activities in her tiny schedule, as she seems to be getting bored. (She is picking at the lining of the tank and being a tiny pest in general!)

From what I've read, gravel is a huge no no. Unfortunately, her tank was filled with it when we received her. I replaced the smaller tank with what I believe is a 75 gallon one. There's still a bit of gravel in there to form the foundation her basking rock resides on. I've tried covering it up with river rocks, but naturally she has unearthed a good amount. (Any recommendations on how to do that without gravel? I feel as if the river rocks wouldn't be able to support it correctly.)

She's a bit of an odd ball turtle. I don't think she ever really had an opportunity to practice her swimming, so she spends most of her time hanging around a large rock in her tank, much like a little kid would hang on to the edge of a swimming pool. I want to keep her nice and healthy, so I've prepped a few questions and it would be great if anybody could offer assistance with them! c:

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• Is it safe to add sand to her tank? If so, how much and what kind?
• Is there anything I can do to improve her shell health? I give it a light scrub with a toothbrush whenever I feed her, but is there anything else I can do? Right now she is growing and losing the old panels of her shell.
• What should I toss in to her diet? Currently, she eats Reptomin Plus every other day. Should I incorporate lettuce or anything else?
• Are there any recommended toys to give her? She gets bored and tries to eat gravel, pick at the lining of her tank as well as just poking around at the ground of it looking for things to eat, and I'd like to put a stop to that.

Any advice is really appreciated!

[kerby]

Sand is safe yes and you can add like and inch and a half and blelow (just wach him/her make sure she is not eating to much of it) and play sand will do fine you can find it at a local hardware store. I personally scrub the turts she'll when it starts getting moss. Don't pick at the scutes ( I think that what their called feel free to correct me )

I would put some greens like lettuce I the diet on the days you don't give her pellets
I put treats that don't just melt in the water under the sand and let the turtles find it thru the week. And you can't put plants in the tank turtles seem to like that. Maby even let them roam around the house for a change of background. Take them out Side to get some sun (just keep an eye on them . But yo have to keep in mind that turtles will be turtles and they will do things you don't want them to do weather you like it or not :/

[CactusJohn5]

• Is it safe to add sand to her tank? If so, how much and what kind?
http://reviews.homedepot.com/1999/20200 ... eviews.htm
I have seen as little as 1/2 an inch up to 2inches really as long as it's now interfering with you filter you are good.

• Is there anything I can do to improve her shell health? I give it a light scrub with a toothbrush whenever I feed her, but is there anything else I can do? Right now she is growing and losing the old panels of her shell.

the panels are called "scutes" and it is healthy to lose them, a UVB bulb is necessary for healthy shell growth.
http://www.amazon.com/Repti-Glo-Compact ... 0+uvb+bulb

• What should I toss in to her diet? Currently, she eats Reptomin Plus every other day. Should I incorporate lettuce or anything else?
Red and Green leaf, romaine, kale all good additions, stay away from iceberg and spinach both are unhealthy for turtles.

• Are there any recommended toys to give her? She gets bored and tries to eat gravel, pick at the lining of her tank as well as just poking around at the ground of it looking for things to eat, and I'd like to put a stop to that.

Eating at stuff is how all RES roll, they like to destroy things, i would say remove the gravel asap, but no, they do not make turtle toys.

[Kuromi]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to this. I'll be sure to put some of your advice to good use. :>