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 #2024601


Piper83
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 Mixing Questions

Okay so these may sound dumb but hey, I somewhat new to the turtle thing. Can you mix different species of turtles together. Im specificly looking at res and painteds. Also can you house babies with adults. Obviously I know size of the enclosure will matter but I have a 120 gal so I know I have enough to have multiple turtles, I just wanted to know about mixing sizes and species.

Thanks!
06/18/09  01:02pm

 #2024665


Bearded_dragon_0
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   Message To: Piper83   In reference to Message Id: 2024601


 Mixing Questions

I don’t think you should mix babies with adults. I have a bad experience with that. It would be fine to mix res and paints. Probably it would be ok with most types to mix. Most water turtles like warm water and to bask so the type really doesn’t affect any thing. Its always good to have variety.
06/18/09  03:08pm

 #2024693


Tpau15
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   Message To: Bearded_dragon_0   In reference to Message Id: 2024665


 Mixing Questions

You may not have as much space as you thing you do. Female RES’s can reach the size of dinner plates (12 inches long!) Male Res’s usually get to be about 8 inches long. Painted are usually between 8-10 inches, depending on the sex. Aquatic turtles should have 10 gallons of water provided per inch of carapace (top shell) length. If you end up with a female RES, your tank is maxed out. Even if you end up with a male RES, there really isn’t enough room for another turtle. If you are looking at putting multiple species, yes, you can do that, but I would choose smaller aquatic turtle species, like Musk, African Side-Neck, Bog, and/or Mud turtles. (These species usually stay around the 5 inch mark.) Be sure that you get specimens that are the same size if you are to put them together; mixing sizes will end badly more often than not.

Even if you only put one turtle in your tank, I would strongly recommend buying a canister filtration system, if you don’t have one already, and I would get one that is way more than "what is needed." By that I mean that when you look on the box it came in and it tells you what size tank it’s made for, get one that is for a way bigger tank. Canister filtration systems in the fish section of a pet specialty store are going to be rated for the waste output of fish, not the massive amount that turtles produce. Also, be sure to do more frequent maintenance on the filtration system to keep it at optimum efficiency.

I would also recommend not putting substrate on the bottom of the tank if possible. The substrate, like the ever popular aquarium gravel, will trap feces and food stuffs and decay on the bottom of the tank. In essence, it will greatly diminish the effectiveness of your filtration system. It will also cause large spikes in chemicals like nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia all of which are food sources for algae; greatly diminish or eliminate the food sources for algae and it’ll make it hard for it to grow int he first place, won’t it?

For example, I have a 7 inch male Florida River Cooter in a 75 gallon tank (with about 60-65 gallons of water in it; a little short on the gallon/inch rule, but it’s close enough.) The tank has no substrate on the bottom, but I do have 2 large (fake) decor pieces shaped like brown colored drift wood. There is a dock in the tank for him to get dry on and it is also where the heat source is. (Most turtle species need about 90 F for a basking temp.) I am using the strip light that came with the tank, but I have replaced the bulb with a reptile rated UV fluorescent bulb. There is no top on the tank for proper air flow. I have a shatter proof water heater in the tank to heat the water to a constant 78 F. (Most turtle species have this requirement.) The filtration system is a Rena XP3 canister filter. It filters 175 gallons per hour! I do maintenance (scrub it out and replace media) on it every two to three weeks, depending on what and how much he has eaten. I also add aquarium/conditioning salt tot he water as my aquatic turtle species can tolerate brackish water conditions. It helps keep away diseases and green algae hates it. Brown algae is very tolerant to it. I also add a waste degrader to the water to aid the process of the break down of the various wastes in the tank; it helps out the filtration system. Sulfa-blocks are also added to the water to keep away diseases and curb algae growth. As a result, my tank is crystal clear and I only need to add water weekly for evaporation and scrub a little algae growth off the glass.

-tpau15



06/18/09  04:20pm

 #2025160


Piper83
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   Message To: Tpau15   In reference to Message Id: 2024693


 Mixing Questions

Thanks for all of your input. The reason I asked is because I was looking for a baby but found and larger painted. Then yesterday i finally found myself two babies, a painted and a res. They are in sepparate tanks right now. I grew attached to the big guy and cant let him go. I now am on the look out for a giant tank or pond so that when the little guys get larger they can all be mixed. Again thanks for all the help. I will post pictures within the next few days



06/19/09  10:39am


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