confused. what kind of turtle do i have?

[pr_princess_6]

the only reason i have this turtle is because my uncle had found it in my granmas backyard, and by accident he almost killed it, but he didnt, so i named it lucky. anyways (back on subject) he rescued it, and he gave it to me, cusz he knows i love animals. so i think im doing everything right so far, i have it(idk if its male or female) in a plastic cage with some rocks && water. i give him about 2-4 pellets of some turtle food a day, it seems to love it, cusz he always takes it. heres some photos, please help me. idk if im even taking care of it right. ohh && by the way, i live in central florida, if that helps in anyway.?



*will post more later(im not on my computer.)

[allstar2]

cute. I suggest as of now, it may be a Painted Turtle, or some kind of slider.
How big is the tank, a 10 gallon would be good, or 20 gallon if you intend to keep it as an adult.
Try posting a pic of the belly. I have a breed baby R-E-S, about the size of a quarter, how big is it?

[pr_princess_6]

ooh, ok, thans thats what i kinda thought, (i did some research)but yea, the turtle is really small, hes about only a few inches long, and he is a little thing, it fits in one hand.

[Cazsamps]

Does he/she has like little red ears? If so it looks like it could be a red-eared slider!!

[Ravnos]

Looks like a Florida cooter to me. I have one just like it.


Their care is virtually identical to red-eared sliders. They get large. Often large enough to require a pond at adult size, and will outgrow an aquarium in pretty short order. They require UV lighting, a basking spot with a heat lamp, and water deep enough to swim in. Their diet is pretty easy - fish, worms, crickets, and turtle pellets... as they get older they will sometimes eat more vegetable matter. Various leafy dark greens, etc. There's plenty of care sheets/sites out there if you do some Google searching.

That being said... you should check the laws in your local area. It may not even be legal to keep native wildlife without a permit.

[chicojo]

It kinda looks like what we call around here a Green Slider. As a kid I could buy a chameleon(anole) or one of these "Green Sliders for about $2 at the county fair. They sold these for years along the northeastern part of the states until someone started to get salmonella from handling these little guys. I think there was a little more to it than that but anyways they(the government) put a band on the sales of these creatures. They said pet shops as well as fair vendors were no longer allowed to sell them anywhere in the US until they were at least 5 inches.
I also had a Map turtle that also looked very much like this turtle when it was only 2" long. I had this turtle for only 3yrs and it went from 3 to 11". I started him in a 10 gal tank with a baby red eared slider until they were both about 4". From there they went to a 20gal tnk. When the red eared was 5" and the map was 7", I had to separate them both into their own 40 gal. home. The map turtle was dominating the other and the red eared wasn't getting the proper nutrition.
The Map turtle was recently given away to someone who does reptile shows in our local schools. I still have the red eared.
From what I heard, the growth of a slider and the map are about the same. As far as feeding them, when they're young, you can stick to the pellets. As they get bigger (3 - 4"), both types of turtles will eat about the same foods such as a good grade of calcium enriched floating turtle pellets/sticks, worms, collard greens and occasionally live small fish as a special treat. A cuttle bone can be floating in the tank for them to nibble on for their calcium. UV lighting is also important. But be prepare because water turtles are very messy and require a great deal of care. A higher end submergibal pump/filter should be installed in the tank like a Fluval Plus 3. Every 2 weeks their water should be changed and filters washed in it's own water. It sounds like a lot of work but if you like turtles as much as I do it's worth the effort. - Chicojo

[Jess]

He looks like a painted turtle to me. ^^

You should really consider letting him go tho- animals are really much much happier in the wild, and turtles along with other repitles reguire special lighting and heat, and turtes also need strong filter.
And its illigel to keep wild animals in most places- I almost got fines $30,000 for keeping a baby snapper turtle that was the size of a quarter! If you really want a turtle, you are much better off buying one from a pet store and letting this little guy be free in the wild, like nature intended.

[chicojo]

I agree with Jess that if it was taken from the wild it should be left in the wild. In PA it's illegal but I realize that doesn't apply to all US states.
If you still insist on keeping the little guy, here's some food for thought:

It kinda looks like what we call around here a Green Slider. As a kid I could buy a chameleon(anole) or one of these "Green Sliders for about $2 at the county fair. They sold these for years along the northeastern part of the states until someone started to get salmonella from handling these little guys. I think there was a little more to it than that but anyways they(the government) put a band on the sales of these creatures. They said pet shops as well as fair vendors were no longer allowed to sell them anywhere in the US until they were at least 5 inches.
I also had a Map turtle that also looked very much like this turtle when it was only 2" long. I had this turtle for only 3yrs and it went from 3 to 11". I started him in a 10 gal tank with a baby red eared slider until they were both about 4". From there they went to a 20gal tnk. When the red eared was 5" and the map was 7", I had to separate them both into their own 40 gal. home. The map turtle was dominating the other and the red eared wasn't getting the proper nutrition.
The Map turtle was recently given away to someone who does reptile shows in our local schools. I still have the red eared.
From what I heard, the growth of a slider and the map are about the same. As far as feeding them, when they're young, you can stick to the pellets. As they get bigger (3 - 4"), both types of turtles will eat about the same foods such as a good grade of calcium enriched floating turtle pellets/sticks, worms, collard greens and occasionally live small fish as a special treat. A cuttle bone can be floating in the tank for them to nibble on for their calcium. UV lighting is also important. But be prepare because water turtles are very messy and require a great deal of care. A higher end submergibal pump/filter should be installed in the tank like a Fluval Plus 3. Every 2 weeks their water should be changed and filters washed in it's own water. It sounds like a lot of work but if you like turtles as much as I do it's worth the effort. - Chicojo[IMG]file:///F:/DOCUME%7E1/JOEPAG%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]

[allstar2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jess He looks like a painted turtle to me. ^^ You should really consider letting him go tho- animals are really much much happier in the wild, and turtles along with other repitles reguire special lighting and heat, and turtes also need strong filter. And its illigel to keep wild animals in most places- I almost got fines $30,000 for keeping a baby snapper turtle that was the size of a quarter! If you really want a turtle, you are much better off buying one from a pet store and letting this little guy be free in the wild, like nature intended.

I had two snappers the size of turtles, after two years they couldn't even fit in a 1 gallon bucket diameter. No one knew...