Baby Turtle

[SarahFair]

A lady I got a chicken from a few months ago said she uncovered a nest of them on her koi farm and couldnt keep them around cause they eat the fish. Well we got one for free with the purchase of a chicken

Ive had it in a 10 gallon tank with rocks that for like a beach leading into the water.
Its about 1/2 water 1/2 pebbles. Thats it.
I dont know what else to do for him. He seems so bored.
His water isnt very deep and Id like him to be happy. Are cleaning rocks from the outside and putting them in there going to be ok? How should they be cleaned?
How deep should the water be?
Hes a little over the size of a quarter now..
And what is the proper diet for one?
The lady gave me a can of shrimp and he eats them but they smell SO bad..


I think she said it was a slider belly...?

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Is there any way you can post a picture of it?

If it is indeed a slider or painter, then they like pretty deep water and they enjoy having mostly water in their tank. You could probably just do with one or two pieces of rock for him to go on when he wants to get out of the water. Also, you'll probably want to invest in a nice powerful filter. I've seen the ones with the very long tubes that can go down into the water and hook onto the side of the tank, but there are several varieies out there. Turtles are messy messy messy!

As far as food, you can try turtle pellets. You can get them from most pet stores, and they usually have a picture of a slider or painter turtle on the side. I use to just sprinkle some in the water for my turtles and they would eat it all up. Mine liked veggies as a treat too, but yours may need to get a little older before he'll eat them.

The ten gallon tank is fine for him now, but a healthy turtle will grow like a weed. In a few years you will have a turtle the size of a small dinner plate. They grow pretty fast that first year. Eventually you will need to upgrade his tank to a 20 or 30 gallon...or you could make a nice tupper ware box set up for him too. Those work very nicely and are much cheaper than an aquarium!

Good luck with him. If I can think of anything else I will be sure to let you know. I am heading off to class now so I don't have time to see if I missed anything.

 

[gypsy2621]

Get the turtle pellets but be sure to get the ones for juvenile turtles, otherwise the pellets will be too large for it to eat.
alps boil an egg and give it the crumbly yolk put it on a flat rock. its high protein and good for it.

Baby turtles don't get bored, he will mostly lounge around and e quiet, remember he is a baby and needs to build up strength and grow. they are not very active for a few more months.
do you know if this is a snapping turtle or a painted ?
the 2 will have different feeding requirements, snappers generally will eat small worms, crickets, small fish,
painted will require green type feeds, pellets do well with them.
you can also feed them both( types) flake goldfish food as a supplement.
I would hold off on the shrimp for now, they really don't need it at this age and its a bit more than they can digest properly.
I hope you find this helpful.
cant wait to see pictures.

 

[SarahFair]

Thanks guys!
I know for sure its not a snapper cause I asked her when she gave it to me.
It looks as if it hasnt grown in the 6 months Ive had it.
Can I use rocks from outside?