When choosing the turtle in the pet shop you should chech that the turtle is in good condition (the skin, the eyes and the limbs seem all right) and the color (the skin and the shell) is normal. Of course best would be to have with you a person that knows some of turtles already. A healthy babyturtle does not like to be handled very much and shows it off by either withdrawing into the shell and/or by wriggling when held. And be careful, although they seem small, they have powers you might not guess just by looking them. So they may bounce of your hands, if you do not handle them properly. In the shop the turtles are usually about 3-5 centimeters (1,5-2 inches) long.
When a turtle is bought, it is better if you
take it to see a vet, jsut in case. The vet may check the turtle in overall and give
instuctions of the vitamins or worming if needed.
For a bigger (or an adult) turtle it is better to take another kind of grip from the rear end of the turtle. Lift the turtle from between its rear legs (where the tail is) so that your thumb is on the carapace (the upper shell) and other fingers are below, under the plastron (lower shell). This grip is even tighter if you have rubber gloves on. This is a reasonable safe way to lift adult turtles around, but it is ALWAYS better to use TWO HANDS because of their powerful legs!!!!
Few other things to remember when handling a turtle are that their nails are sharp and the bite hurts. This goes for all over 7 cm (3 inches) turtles.
So do not wave your fingers for no reason
in front of the turtle. The movement is so fast you don't see it, when the turtle bites you.
(This is of my own experience.) IF it happens so that the turtle does bite you, it is far more less painful just to wait until the turtle understands that it has bitten to something that is not dangerous or that it is not food and lets go than to try to pull the finger away from the turtle, because the turtle pulls to the other direction.
It is wise to cut the nails of the turtles especially if they grow fast and there is no natural way (rocks or sand) for the turtle to keep them short by itself. But you must always remember not to cut them too much at a time, for in the turtlenail there is a vain and a nerve and it hurts very much if they are cut down too deep. A little bit from the tip of the nail is quite enough.
Handle all your turtle staff with care, because (no matter how small)
but there is always a possibility of salmonella infection. So wash your hands after
handling the turtle or the equipment. The salmonelosis is only transmitted through mouth,
NOT through the eyes or through the skin.
During summer time a day may be as long as 15-14
hours (as night is 9-10 hours) and winter time the night is 15-14 hours as daytime is 9-10 hrs.
Transition between summer and winter time is done by adjusting the timer 15-30 minutes at a time
once or twice a week in total time of 4-6 weeks.
Filters
Filter must be adjusted to the size of the tank and the turtle,
the bigger turtle and the tank, the more efficient the filter must be. At this point
you can buy peace of mind by investing more at one point. The more efficient the filter is, the
longer the water in the tank stays bright and good.
It is recommended to have an outer filter in the tank. Smaller filters designer to be placed inside the tank are rarely if never sufficiently efficient to keep the tank tidy. A smaller filter may be in the tank to gather the skin particles from the water and to keep the water in motion to give some excersice to the turtle.
This is an example of an outer filter.
The filter should take in the amount of the water in the tank 2-3 times an hour (if the tank is 250 liters, the filter intake should be 500-750 litres an hour).
Water heater
In Finlan a water heater IS NOT NEEDED.
If the water is too warm, the bacterial and the fungal infections are more
likely. 20-22 degrees is fine, if the air is the same.
Especially with babyturtles a water heater
is not good, beacuse too warm water (+26 centigrades Celsius) makes the turtle
grow up too fast so the intestines may not grow up fast enough and the turtle may get
sich later on.
Place for warming
Everu turtle must have a chance to climb to dry
on solid ground, wheather it is a piece of cork, plexiglass or so. Also a lamp to
provide the warmth is needed. A spotlight is good for this purpose. It is important
to check that the spot is warm enough for the turtle (over 40 degrees centigrade, maybe 45)
.(
In some instructions it is advised to keep an eye on the turtle for it may not stay too long on the warming place (at night time or so). This is not necessary, the turtle knows when to go to the water to cool. If you have doubts, check if the turtle is lively and healthy.
