Habitat - Indoor :: "Water depth of 3 to 6 inches"

[CReeder14]

So I've been looking at some care sheets for painted and map turtles and I have a question...

Generally, most of the care sheets that I have seen all say something around the lines that for hatchling turtles they recommend a water depth of 3 to 6 inches... My question is this... Does the water depth HAVE to be at that depth, or would it be ok for my to fill my tank up with water like I normally would...

And just to give some perspective, I have a 6 foot long 150 gallon tank... Lots of water... besides the length, the tank is about 18 inches high and 24 inches in width...

Me being my uninformed self, I would assume that more water would neccesarily be a problem, and my sarcastic persona wants me to say something like "Whats going to happen? Are they going to get lost?"

But then again, I admit I don't really know what I'm talking about... =]

Thanks

[megcornell]

Hatchlings are born swimmers. The advice I usually advocate is to fill the tank up as high as you can ( this usually applies to the small 10-20 gallon starter tanks... so I'd fill yours up 10 inches or so) and see how they do. One thing hatchlings do need-- especially in a large tank is plenty of resting areas beside the basking dock. A good way to do this is to buy fake plants that they can float with and rest on.

[marisa]

Many (older) caresheets advocate a minimum water level of a bit more than the width (sometimes length) of the shell to allow a hatchling to right himself if he tips over. With newly-hatched turtles, I've kept the water level on the shallow side before starting to gradually raise it. I don't know how big your hatchling is, but if he's a few months old, he can handle more depth. If you go deep, they will need places (ledges, plants) in addition to the basking area to be able to rest if they tire of swimming, especially with a big tank like yours. It is possible for them to drown if they tire and have nothing to rest on.

[Bumby's Mom]

I would start it lower until you are sure they are fine with swimming. My turtles had a hard time getting to the surface of the water to breathe when they were first put in the tank. If the hatchling is older then I would raise it as high as you like. My turtles are almost 3 months old now and they are awesome swimmers, completely opposite of when they were only a few weeks old.

[CReeder14]

I havent actually gotten the turtles yet, I probably won't for at least a month or so, I'm just trying to cover as many of the bases as i can before I actualy get them, so i'm not in a situation where I just throw them in the tank and hope for the best =P

anyway, I was probably going to look to buy turtles that are at least a couple of months old, not sure though... when the time comes and i decide on the turtles, I'll worry about the water depth more i guess...

[SpotsMama]

You should be a model for people who are going to get a turtle! Most of us do our planning after we get the turtle. Your way is much better. Kudos to you.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Take a cue from nature on this one: in the wild, the babies swim in lakes which can be 12 FEET deep or more (!). They are born with a natural ability to swim, so you don't have to worry about them drowning due to depth of the water. The only babies that drown are the ones that get trapped underwater (like under a tank decoration!), so make sure your tank decorations allow plenty of space so that the baby can't get stuck. Babies sometimes dig under things (like the filter or whatever).

Plastic plants are a great addition to a baby's tank. It allows them to "hide" and feel safe without getting stuck under a rock, or whatever.

[shannon_nicole]

You should get the turtles and try them out in some shallow water first, to see if they are healthy and good swimmers. If the turtle isn't a strong swimmer, then you can keep shallow water for a while, but if they seem like they are swimming fine then I'd go ahead and fill it up. I've had hatchlings in a full 65 gallon (17 in. deep) and no problems with it. But I also have a lot of the plastic aquarium plants just floating on the surface of the tank so that they can rest on it if they get tired.

But really it depends on how your turtles are when you get them. Check them out and if they can swim then let them