Habitat - Indoor :: 2 4 inch turtles

[musicalturtles]

i need help, very inexperienced. even though ive had my turtles (Terr and Tull) for like... almost 7 years. theyre 4inches each right now. but theyre both in one small container (the biggest version of the containers they usually come in at pet stores). i want to give them a better treatment now. but i dont know what to do.
they have no filter (i clean them once every 2 days)
they dont have water even covering their shells
they no basking light or anything like that. i just used to put them out in the sun for half the day every week.

do i need a minimmum of a 80 gallon tank for 2 4 inch red eared slider turtles? and with everything all together, about how much does it cost at the cheapest and how much at most expensive?

[SpotsMama]

Greetings and Welcome to the Forum. We'll try to help in any way we can.

Why don't you start with some reading. Here's a good place to start. After you've read through the Basic Care info, then look at the Nuitrition, Habitat, Water Quality and other sections. After that, you'll probably have lots more questions so ask away.

http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_care.html

To answer your specific question, the rule of thumb is 10 gallons of tank for 1" of turtle, so yes you're looking at an 80 gallon tank at their present size. However, they should be growing more in the future so they will need even more space.

On the cost, it can range from a few hundred to over $1000 for a good setup. In the Basic Care section is some more specific info on the cost of a good setup.

One thing you should be aware of - your turltes are really pretty but it looks like they've got shell problems, probably fungus. After you get oriented to the basic setup we can talk about it some more.

Good luck! You've brought your turtles this far - it's good of you now to get them the habitat they need to be happy and healthy.

[musicalturtles]

thank you yes, i know it looks like some kind of problem on the turtles. but i dont know what it is. searching books and internet, but still dont know. >< its kind of white ish and wont come off even if i scratch at it. it also looks a bit like they have airbubbles under their shell layers. and i am very worried.

i dont know what to do once they get bigger. how long does it take for them to grow? i have kind of limited space. and i dont know WHERE to put them. the tv room? dining room? isolated bedroom? but i dont like the isolated not used bedroom idea because i dont go there often and its fluffy carpet. and ill be in BIG trouble if theres any spills.

gah. so much problems.

i even have a 10 gallon tank of tropical fish that i want to upgrade to. too much money! i guess i REALLY didnt know what i was getting into when i was 9 years old.

[SpotsMama]

Air bubbles under the top layer of shell are not a problem. It means the very top layer of the scute (shell section) is getting ready to shed, which is normal. If the shedding proceeds normally, you'll see little clear pieces of shell on the bottom of their tank. The white, though, is another matter.

As for growing, the males get to be 7" to 9" long, and the females get to be a whopping 9" to 12" long. How fast they grow depends on a lot of things - their diet, their genetics, their general health - so it varies.

None of us knew what we were getting into when we got started! We've learned to love our turtles so much, though, it doesn't matter. We'll do what it takes!

[musicalturtles]

where do you put your turtle tank/bucket/pond/etc?

RAHH shoulda got just one turtle. (i got them for christmas when i was 9)

[SpotsMama]

Yes, having two turtles is challenging because of the space requirement and because when they get older they often tend to fight and then have to be separated, necessitating two complete setups.

People with stock tanks or great big rubber tubs sometimes put them on the floor. With two glass aquariums, people sometimes just have two tanks on two different walls. One guy that needs two tanks has designed a rather clever L shaped configuration that will enable him to save money on lighting (which is one of the more expensive parts of the setup). Here's a link to where he's describing it:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10119

[musicalturtles]

i like that L shaped configuration.
now all i need is a good way to ask my parents. you see, i am only 15 years young. and very inexperienced.
i looked at the fungus symptoms whatnot, and decided that it has to do with the basking and filteration. because it said usually caused by "inadequate basking and filteration" which is both extremely true.
thank you so much for your help. but still. i think i need more help.
how did you come to be so knowledged in turtle-ism(>w<@)?

[SpotsMama]

Just hanging around this site is the best way there is to find out about turtle keeping. There are some very experienced hobbiests here that know a great deal (not me - I'm a novice compared to some of these people). Fortunately, they are also anxious to be helpful to newbies. I've had my turtle for four years and until i found this site a little over a year ago I was making lots of mistakes. As a result, my turtle developed a rather severe shell infection. Thanks to the help I've received here, I've made a whole lot of corrections to my setup and Spot's healthy now, and I'm enjoying it all tremendously!

[musicalturtles]

oh so YOURE the person that had Spot. well. theres not one way that my turtles will get a 80+ gall tank. we rent the house so we cant make a pond. my dad says id have to settle for a 30 gall. what should i do? my turtles have been in their super super tiny environment for so long. do you think theyll think its fine? and a lot more spacious? (cuz to them theyd be in heaven with a 10 gall. most likely)

[Threepwood]

Well, I'd say anything more than what you have is an improvement, so go for the best you can give them. Just make sure that when you do get a larger tank, you outfit it with the proper basking materials, a heater, and a filter. That would be a great improvement for your turtles.

How has their overall health been during the seven years you've had them? I'm honestly curious, because those conditions aren't the best (as you know), and it's pretty remarkable they've come this far. They must be pretty sturdy.

[musicalturtles]

yes i know. according to what i heard my dad say this evening, both my parents thought they would die in a year or so.
from 9 ~ 12 i remember my mom always did the cleaning... and usually only once every 2 weeks. sometimes they would have no water at all in their sad tank.
i also think its remarkable how theyve come this far. many of my friends have also had RESs and none have made it over a year in that small little container that they tend to come in.
their overall health hasnt been that bad. the only thing thats troubling me is the white fungi-like growth on them. which was the true goal of my journey of researching about RES. that that growth has been there for around... 3months. and nothing else has really ever happened to them.

[musicalturtles]

i just realized from reading one of the guide (boy/girl) things, that both Terr and Tull are girls. short nails, the butt hole is close to the shell. and they dont have the dent in the stomach that guys have (to mount the girls)
^Terr. ^Tull.
Just for the record, Tull is the shy one, Terr is more adventurous.
what they live in now... for the moment. i put them back in their itty bitty container at night though.^ittybitty container i just talked about. theyre both 4inches. and they can just barely go to the opposite sides without climbing over each other.
the container next to them is the container that those little hatchlings tend to be sold in.[/img]

[musicalturtles]

well.. the cover of the ittybitty container.

[musicalturtles]

so if i were to get a minimum size aquarium for them, they need a 80 gallon tank?

i read somewhere that if you have 2 turts, then they can live in an aquarium that is ([turt#1size x 10] + [[turt#2size x 10 ]/ 2]) so 2 4 inch could live in a 60 gallon tank.

[Tenodera]

Well..just go for the biggest one you can afford to get right now. They can barely fit in that thing! lol