OT - Anyone have pet turtles?? help needed.

[D&D's Mom]

My husband & son found a baby turtle in the back yard & brought it in so the other wildlife (racoons, owls, etc.) wouldn't eat it. It's about the size of a half dollar coin. I don't know what kind it is, but it is probably just a box turtle. We put it in an aquarium with half the base covered in small rocks, the other half sand & add water to the rocky side. There are also other larger rocks my son collected from the creek. The turtle LOVES cucumber, but has also eaten some lettuce, squash, worms from the yard, and some box turtle pellets from the pet store. I haven't actually seen it eating, but the cucumber has little turtle bites out of it & just the rind is left. He tends to dig & bury under sand & rocks most of the time. Good luck with yours.

 

[GotFids]

D&D's Mom: I don't know what area you are in....but from the description you may have a young desert tort...if so...he'll need a lot of sun and grass, good greens, etc.. here is a pic of my young tort...he's a few years old now, but you'll get an idea of the general look...

If you need any info...please just let me know...

Julie

 

[D&D's Mom]

GotFids: Thanks for your suggestion on turtle ID, but since we are in Virginia, I don't think it's any type of desert tort. I used a field guide from the science department at school & eliminated many species based on geography, a few more based on appearance/markings and was left with a few to choose from. Of those, Eastern Box turtle seems to most closely fit, but the photo wasn't exactly like this one looks. I am thinking it's appearance could change as it grows though. He was found underneath a concrete splash guard at the base of a rain gutter & likes to bury. On a side note - how does one tell whether it should be named Franklin or Freida, if ya know what I'm asking......

 

[salmoneous]

On a side note - how does one tell whether it should be named Franklin or Freida, if ya know what I'm asking......

In many common turtle species, they best things to look at are the tails and plastron (the shell covering their underside). Males have longer tails and more concave plastrons. Females have shorter stubbier tails and flatter plastrons.

Of course, this is really only useful if you have two turtles and can compare them to each other. With one turtle, it'll help you guess but it's really hard to know for sure.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Is there any chance of contacting the place where you got the turtles (receipt?) Maybe they could give you more information, inluding what they were feeding it. Though I've learned the hard way not to trust pet venders all that much. Many times I've been outright lied to.

However, your local pet store might also have some ideas, or least be able to idendtify what type of turtle it is. The internet is a great place to get info on pets.

 

[Chelley00]

Our turtle loved red lettuce, kale, spinach, dandelion greens and canteloupe. We would try the turtle food and meats (snails, fish, crickets etc) and he'd NEVER touch them.

 

[hsmamato2]

ds has red eared sliders from chinatown- we got them a year ago- researched a bit on what they eat- found out when they're babies they need LOTS of protein,less turtle food- as they get older,they eat less protein, he feeds them mealworms daily- some greens like kale etc too- but they love the bugs! -he dips them in calcium powder before dropping them in the water for their shells.....man does he love his little babies!

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

This thread is almost 5 years old. I wonder if the original turle is even still alive. Hope they found it something to eat by now!

 

[okeydokey]

aquatic type turtle

thanx for all the suggestions

lisa

Just noticed this thread was bumped from ages ago. Weird.

 

[Secretmagic]

This thread is almost 5 years old. I wonder if the original turle is even still alive. Hope they found it something to eat by now!

I've had my two painted turtles for 18 years. They eat dry cat food.

 

[cm8]

This thread is almost 5 years old. I wonder if the original turle is even still alive. Hope they found it something to eat by now!

me too and thanks for the advice

 

[surfergirl602]

My turtles are from china town too.

How big are they?

If they are a bit bigger, try some small guppy feeders.

Don't feed them the turtle pellets from walmart - even my turtles won't eat them. Go to a pet shop and get them the fruit and veggie pellets.

Also, aquatic turtles need water in order to eat. They cannot eat on dry land.

 

[surfergirl602]

Oh lovely. I just replied to an ancient thread.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

I have a red ear slider that is about 14 years old. He eats turtle pellets and I was in a speciality pet store and they told me that for feeding I should skip a day of feeding, next day greens and next day pellets. I'm hoping I don't have a fat turtle because I'm already working on slimming down the cat!

The turtle does eat every time I put food in the tank, interesting.

It is funny how an old thread has lots of activity.

 

[Cruise]

Just noticed this thread was bumped from ages ago. Weird.

Oh lovely. I just replied to an ancient thread.

It's because these spam advertisers do a search for the keyword of what they're trying to sell and then revive ancient threads just so they can throw their advertising into their signature. They usually only have the one post ... sometimes two if they find two different subject specific threads to reply to.