r/turtle

Hello. My turtle today and yesterday started making gesture like that. Is it normal? Like drinking/eating water. She is 5 years old. Has uvb Light. Recently i bought for her 100 l aquarim a fluvial fx4. She swims and eats normally. She is active.

Though I think I have up to 4 years to do so (when they start to hit sexual maturity). For now they seem very content.

I have a 3” juvenile reeves turtle. Will have to upgrade in a year or so but for now he looks tiny in this

Not sure what the bubbles in the corner are.

No para de intentar rascarse contra la roca ! Se la ve desesperada , tanto que la saque del agua y la he rascado yo y se ha dejado cosa que siempre intenta huir … esta vez no .
Debo preocuparme ? Llevarla al veterinario ??

Hi there! Brand new to this page & I’m seeking turtle aquarium maintenance & diet advice!

If anything I’m asking is against the rules I’m sorry🥲 pls remove

This is the worst the tank has ever gotten since we got the turtle from my sister :( we haven’t had any issues until now. And THE HEALTH OF THE ANIMALS ARE OUR BIGGEST CONCERNS NOT ASTHETICS

My sister & Nephew had a (legally on the East Coast) wild caught musk turtle. She ended up moving closer to her son and his dad & she left my state. She’s had this turtle for around 2 years. We wanna guess the turtle is 3/4 years old

That being said she only had so much room in her car & her dog she took with her & couldn’t also transport an aquatic animal safely. My boyfriend’s favorite animal is turtles and was very excited to take on the turtle!

However.. we both have never cared for aquatic animals. My mom has beautiful aquariums with numerous species & my sister & nephew took care of many aquatic animals throughout their lives.

I’ve gotten so much random information on what to do for his tank, I just have no idea the best route to take and how to apply the information. Same with my boyfriend.

He gets fed once a day & has a basking area with light for 8-12 hours daily! There are also two Danios friends in the tank.

Obviously turtles are high waste producing animals & messy eaters.

My sister had giant rocks in the bottom of the tank and no gravel (to my knowledge) so that the turtle wouldn’t mistake rocks or gravel with food.

Now- this is where I need guidance and correction-
I have just learned you’re supposed to rake the gravel to loosen any sludge and build up.
We haven’t been doing that..

We replaced the turtles filter last night and also used a bio ball from Zilla. I know that the bio balls are for maintenance and to reduce the build up of waste not to just magically make the waste disappear.

My mom advised to NOT do anything with the gravel today since we just replaced the filter last night . She said it would crash the ‘cycle’? I am assuming she means the ecosystem?

My sister also told me to replace 1/3 of the water at least every 3-4 weeks. And she gave us a ‘extracting tube’ is what I’m going to call it because I don’t know the technical term🤣 she mentioned this was a good tool for going between the gravel and sucking up the large debris when you do a water change.

Where should we go from here?

I was also given another chemical from my moms freshwater tanks(I’m at work and don’t have a picture but can post them later) & I was told to get Purigen as well.

Our only concern is that both the fish and turtle are HAPPY AND HEALTHY. Aesthetics are not the biggest concern.

His basking area is also on driftwood. This is also growing algae. Google said it wasn’t the toxic to turtles blue algae. BUT PICS WILL BE POSTED SO YOU GUYS CAN TELL ME.

I really just want to do a good scrub of the tank because I don’t want the turtle or fish getting sick ?? Or any reassurance would be appreciated😭

We’ve been told so many things that we just don’t know the best steps to take and order of operations lmao
Please help 😬

Better pics to come, we are still getting situated. He is 1 gram smaller than Mr. Tortillinii. 🐢 ♥️ 🐢

My turtle (5y 2m) , he stopped eating two days back , this is now the third day. He now lays under water stretched out like this with his eyes closed , he reacts to me walking past but doesn't move for food or basking.

I had issues with the heater so it was off for awhile. But the first week of the month I kept the temp back on 25°C . I have now started keeping in a dry tub with the heat lamp for a few minutes and he is responding positively trying to get under it. I do this a few times and then keep him on his basking platform to let him enter the water when he's ready as always and he does go in after awhile.

Please any suggestions would be helpful. :)

(P.S. I have reduced the tank's water level thinking it might be easier to breathe because he lays tired....and I'm just slightly paranoid he might drown..not sure if that's a thing)

He’s been here for a little over an hour and I noticed he floats a lot. Is he just chilling or should I be concerned. He will just stop and when he does, he doesn’t sink. He just stays put. This video for example.

He's almost 2 years old, it's a mauremys sinesis. He has normal behaviour, but I have seen some pic of pyramiding of the shell, and I began to ask my self if everything is fine with mine. Thank you in advance, and if you have more questions feel free.

I went to walk into my garage and almost passed out from seeing this snapping turtle at my feet. I live in the country and want to put him somewhere safe.

EDIT: he made his way out of the garage and is on to greener pastures. Thanks for all the advice!

So my Eastern painted turtle has had a sand bottom tank now for just about a year prior to this she had a bare bottom tank, and she’s started to eat the sand nearly daily when I’m in view of her and even if I feed her she’ll stop for a bit then go back to eating sand again. Should I take the sand out? She’s also about 17 years old.

Edit: she’s also been laying eggs lately too

i’ve never had a turtle before and recently moved in with my partner who has a turtle so i don’t know much. over the past week or two i noticed the turtle likes to just prop herself up on random things in her enclosure and sit there. is this normal? i know their shells are tough but i wanna make sure she won’t like deform her shell from doing this 😅

Also I think he is a boy. His shell is 8 cm lenght. He eats turtle pellets every day and twice a week gammarus. He doesn't want veggies. He will only eat on the basking spot when no one is in the room . Should I change something? He is a Mississippi map turtle

Found in eastern MT, no bodies of water or ponds for miles. I've actually never seen a turtle in this area at all. Is this a painted turtle perhaps?

My painted turtle’s plastron has become noticeably red recently. It was never red before. I’ve read that there can be redness in rapidly growing young turtles. But I switched my turtle to a juvenile diet about a month ago and she’s been growing much slower since so I don’t know why her belly would suddenly become red. Basking spot temp is 31-33C.

She is very alert and active and eats vigorously. She doesn’t show any signs of illness otherwise. Should I be worried?