What type of turtle is this

Cheryl Hills

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Well, I guess my rescue has just opened. I was just given this turtle. I think it is a yellow belly slider. Any help here? He is very cold at the moment. I have to setup a tank, well, I already have tanks, just need to figure out what I need with him.



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xMario

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Cheryl Hills

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Yellow belly slider
Big room to swim cause good swimmer
A basking platform where he can fully emerge from the water
95 degrees under heat bulb works fine and don't forget uvb light they also like gravel under water this one looks young mostly insects and worms a little bit of aquatic plants
Thanks, How warn should the water be?
 

Markw84

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@Cheryl Hills That is a peninsular cooter. Pseudemys floridana peninsularis

They get pretty big. Omnivorous when young and get progressively more vegetarian as they age. Great pond turtles as they never show any aggression towards any other turtles, despite probably ending up being the largest in the pond. Almost as big as Suwannee cooters.
 

Toddrickfl1

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He's not huge right now so you can get a large tote to house him. Walmart has them pretty cheap. I like to use River Rocks as substrate, also big bag really cheap, you just need to wash them real good because there's a lot of sand and dirt in the bag too. Provide something for him to bask, Cooters will spend a lot of time basking. I got a turtle dock for my little ones. For filtration you can get a HOB filter for about $30 too. For UVB I use the solar glo Mercury vapor bulb. You can find them on eBay or Amazon cheaper than the pet store about $35 and you can get a ceramic dome fixture at Walmart too for $9. And last but not least a 50 watt fish tank heater would work and you can get them on eBay or Amazon too for about $10. This would work for a while but they grow fast. In the future look into a stock tank. Here's where my little guys live for now.IMG_20190130_185513704_HDR.jpg
 

Cheryl Hills

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Ok, one more question. Can I use sand with gravel over the top for a substrate? I have a big aquarium, 100 gal, I am setting up for him.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Ok, one more question. Can I use sand with gravel over the top for a substrate? I have a big aquarium, 100 gal, I am setting up for him.
Ya but The small gravel can cause impaction if eaten. Make sure the rocks are too big for him to swallow.
 

Markw84

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So, in this case, would thesand be ok?
I don't like sand for turtles. It creates a substrate that simply traps too much waste and creates dead areas of no aerobic action. You will find your nitrate levels will start to climb and stay too high with that as a substrate in a tank with turtles.

I use pebbles that are about 1/2"-3/4" in size. The turtles love to constantly hunt through them searching for food bits and its good exercise. It is easy to vacuum out once a month or so for cleaning.
 

KS Ruby RF Slippers

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Yellow belly slider
Big room to swim cause good swimmer
A basking platform where he can fully emerge from the water
95 degrees under heat bulb works fine and don't forget uvb light they also like gravel under water this one looks young mostly insects and worms a little bit of aquatic plants
Looks like a slider to me...
 

Toddrickfl1

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I don't like sand for turtles. It creates a substrate that simply traps too much waste and creates dead areas of no aerobic action. You will find your nitrate levels will start to climb and stay too high with that as a substrate in a tank with turtles.

I use pebbles that are about 1/2"-3/4" in size. The turtles love to constantly hunt through them searching for food bits and its good exercise. It is easy to vacuum out once a month or so for cleaning.
I've got River Rocks in my tank and my sliders love digging thru them for food bits. Only problem is sometimes I end up hearing clank clank clank from the rocks on the glass hours on end lol
 

TammyJ

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Beautiful! Looks like a girl.....????:oops:
 

TammyJ

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It is a bit small to be 100%. It is looking very much like an immature male at this point. That is good in that it won't get quite as big - but still will end up being a 10"+ turtle.
I thought maybe it was old enough if it's a male to have those elegant, long front claws that the males get to "wave" in front of the female in their mating ritual.
 

Cheryl Hills

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Well, I did get a tank set up. I have a filter, two heaters, a floating dock and some river rocks. I did have fine grain sand, which I took most of out. But, my water is still cloudy. I have a second filter set in there to help get it cleared up. I used spring water. Do I need to do chemical checks on it or just ph? I have set up aquariums before for fish but not water turtles. Figures, me first real rescue would be a water turtle. I just could not say no, he was so cold when I got him. I have him in a heated chamber temporarily until I get his set up. His name is Cooter, since he is a type of cooter turtle. Anyway, any other advice is more then welcomed. Nothing like learning on the go and I will not go anywhere else for my info!
 

Cheryl Hills

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Well, I got cooter into his new tank today. I put him on the dock and he shot into the water. He has not come out since. I think he likes it. The water is clearing up but I have to take the rest of the sand out in order for it to clear all the way. I will do this on my first water change. He does not seem to mind me handling him so that is good. He did eat some today. Monday is weight in day. We will see what he weighs. Let me know if you see anything that needs improving. This is my first water turtle.





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Toddrickfl1

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Well, I got cooter into his new tank today. I put him on the dock and he shot into the water. He has not come out since. I think he likes it. The water is clearing up but I have to take the rest of the sand out in order for it to clear all the way. I will do this on my first water change. He does not seem to mind me handling him so that is good. He did eat some today. Monday is weight in day. We will see what he weighs. Let me know if you see anything that needs improving. This is my first water turtle.





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Looks awesome, the sand should settle after a few days. It takes them a couple weeks usually before they're comfortable basking in front of you, and soon he'll realize your the food God and will become a beggar lol.
 

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