Ninja turtle Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 My son has 2 red eared turtles which are about 5/6 months old. They are growing heaps since we got them nearly 3 months ago. Just a couple of questions, Is it ok for them to be in the water 99% of the time? They have a ramp but don't use it and also at what age do they get fed once a day?? Thanks heap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 they can be in water for as long as they want as long they have the option of leaving it when they want to. if there is no sun or good lighting for them to bask in they generally don't come out of the water. turtle are not like fish u cant really over feed them they stop eating when they get full. however they're like human and can get over weight so have a balance diet and make them work for their food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x matt x Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 also at what age do they get fed once a day?? Once they reach 10cm in shell length they can be reduced to one feed per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 We inherited a turtle and set up, or lack of! She just had a rock to get out of water and a pathetic light, she never used to get out of the water. Her shell was really bad aswel. My husband then built her a ramp put in some decent lighting added a nice backdrop and most importantly we put a lid on the tank which covers about three quarters of the tank. We are not sure what done it but as soon as we put her back in the tank after the alterations she was up on the ramp basking, and now gets up there several times a day. We think it was the lid as this makes the room temperature inside the tank warm and not such a shock to the system coming out of warm water. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 as long as you have a good fluro (reptile tube init, replaced yearly) and a heat lamp or emitter of some sort (i just use a normal 60 watt houshold buld for 1 tank) theyll be up an basking all the time, they love the heat and need to dry out so a heat source for basking under is essential IMO. feeding wise a good rule of thumb is they can/should eat twice the size of the head each day, but ive also herd feed them as much as they can eat within a 15min period, generally i feed them once a day when young and once every second or 3rd day when 3+yrs old. You should soon know if your feeding them to much or nt, check under there limbs, a fat turtle will be bulging around the back legs and a skinny 1 will have a hole or large gap sorta thing, hope tht makes sence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 thats interesting to know mincie! i was just gonna ask what an overweight turtle looked like :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 The red ears are pretty good and will take alot to fatten up but i find my reeves are always hungry and they dont take too much before they are bulging out of there shell, at the mo im tryna keep they on a diet as funny as it sounds lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 MiNcIE, u can help by making them exercise. one very simple thing i do is just put a whole carrot in the tank and they'll have a hard time trying to eat it as it rolls everywhere as they bit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 very good point, always good to make them work for there food hence why live fish are good to but yea ive been slack so ill try get them working out abit more :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 I had a snake neck in my community tank, the info i got with him said that they do not spend much time when they are young under the light but will do it more & more as they get older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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