Terrapin Turtles

EasycomeEasygo

Hi, i got a present of two turtles for christmas but i know very little about how to care for them
can anyone tell me what i should feed them?
what tempreture the water should be?
should i use the oxygen pipe with the filter?

thanks in advance
also it would be great to hear any other tips on how to care for them

RaeRae

Do you have a UV light for them? If not, get one. They need it.

dbrock

water temp about 24 degrees is good

feed them a complete turtle food like king british , nutramax , stay away from the likes of supra (in a pink Tub) its just full of shrimp and fatty foods,

they need uv light to 3 to 5% will be perfect

give them a basking spot out of the water, if you buy a compact uv bulb you can use this lamp as your basking area to,

i wouldn worry to much about the oxygen pipe, just make sure the filter is moving the water surface a good bit,

personally i would do 50% water change every week, but 20 % would be fine, and always clean the filter in the water you take out,
use a good water conditioner when replacing the water, (to remove all the good stuff they put in for us to drink) reptisafe, is a good conditioner or stress coat,
watch out for eye infections if not using the conditioner, (this is easily treated)

oh these guys get very big and need very big enclosures later on, and will need bigger filtration systems to

Liam90

Do you know what kind they are?

Do alot of research on them! i have a feeling you might get a shock at what they require, tank size etc.... depending on the species, most need a MASSIVE tank!

This should help you http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheets.htm

EasycomeEasygo

Ive a 85 litre tank so that should be enough for them
The light on it is a fluoresent one is that okay for them?

Magenta

They will grow to the size of dinner plates*

*This is the part most pet shops don't tell you.

EasycomeEasygo

How much water should i put in the tank, its a 85 litre tank
Does anyone know if the fluoresent light (18 watts) i have will do as a basking light or should i get another one
if it will do should i leave it on day and night or just some of the time?

EasycomeEasygo

Liam90 wrote: »

This should help you http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheets.htm

thanks for the link but i dont know what type they are

star-pants

EasycomeEasygo wrote: »

thanks for the link but i dont know what type they are

Can you maybe get some pics of them and post them up here so that someone might be able to identify them? (I've not a clue myself, but there are others here who might know by looking)

tallus

The ultra violet lamp you need for them is UVB.

whitelightrider

Folks the terrapin food I have has both pellets and shrimp/krill in it. My guy wont eat the pellets but will eat the shrimp/krill.
Is this ok?