Tiny southern painted - housing advice

KrissyLeigh

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Today is my birthday!
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south Texas
Hey y'all, looking for advice for digs for my new tiny turtle, Flash. I have had juvenile and adult red eared sliders, Midland paints, and eastern paints, but never one as tiny as this little southern painted! So my question is, can he be kept in a normal aquarium with filter or still too small?

His carapace is a little bigger than a quarter right now, and I'm keeping him in a round faunarium, no filter - it's about a foot and a half diameter. I'm changing his water daily, he has a basking spot and uvb light. Eating well. Like I said, I am well versed in turtle care and I have multiple sizes aquaria to move him to once I'm not worried about him drowning or getting too much current with the filter. :)

He is SO mischievous- the first day I brought him home I had him in a styrofoam cooler while I went and got some stuff for him. When I came home he was GONE. I totally flipped out, scoured the house looking for him, found him all dried up behind a tortoise tank across the room. I thought he was dead, but he received when I put him back in the water and has shown no I'll effects since. So he either scaled the vertical walls or a dog got in our dog-proof room and fished him out, leaving no trace of the deed. Very mysterious.

Anyway, Flash seems to be happy and healthy and hasn't pulled a Houdini since. Just wondering if I can set him up in an aquaria with filter now or if I should wait. Thanks y'all!
20170310_070832.jpg 20170307_181327.jpg
 

Teetertotter

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Apr 24, 2017
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Janesville, WI
I just picked up my new male Southern Painted Turtle hatchling [I" dia] at our local UPS hub this morning, shipped over night by Myturtle.com. I have a 20 gallon, 30 X 13 X13 tank and filled it to 8 inches or 10 gallons. I called Myturtle this morning and they recommended 6 inches, but 8 inches is okay. I had also ordered the food from them and was in the shipment. Four tiny pellets in the morning and evening served in a separate Tupperware rectangular container for how long? I will have to call them later on.

After I unboxed Buddy, it was recommended to put him in 1" of my treated tank water for about 15 minutes. Then I place him on the floating dock and a he jump right in the water. I do have one tall bushy YELLOW plastic plant with tons of leaves. This is where he has the perfect place to rest or have solitude/piece of mind. I had to get my hand in the tank a couple times to move the filter and heater and did not bother him. He does hang out around the Fluval U2 filter once in a while and just found him under the heater hiding, that was not secured down. I will have to fabricate something he can get under and hide, not to get stuck, of course. He knows me in just a short period of time and not afraid.

His tank is located in the kitchen with 1/2 of it exposed to a large window peering out to the bird feeders. Yes, he poked his head up to peer out. When there is sun in the morning, I think it will brighten up his day, like mine. Buddy will be handed to our granddaughter, after I am gone, who is a pet lover.
 

KrissyLeigh

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Today is my birthday!
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
south Texas
Thanks for the response! I actually just updated Flash to a 20 gallon filled with about 10 gallons. He was showing symptoms of a respiratory infection, and I was having a really hard time keeping the temps up in the small faunarium without frying him. The temps are spot on in his new tank, and I just got a fancy filter today. Still deciding on substrate. I normally use aquarium gravel but I feel it gets so dirty, I'm looking at options with less intense ckeaning.

Buddy sounds so sweet! Is this your first turtle? They are super entertaining.
 

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KrissyLeigh

Active Member
Today is my birthday!
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Location (City and/or State)
south Texas
This is after about 6 weeks of growing! I can't find the pic from when I first got him, but he was slightly smaller20170423_173430.jpg
 

Teetertotter

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Location (City and/or State)
Janesville, WI
Flash really looks good......pretty healthy to me! Nice work. My Buddy gets 6 tiny pellets and one meal worm 2 times a day per instructions. The food came from Myturtlestore where I bought him. They said to use for about 3 months. When that time is up, I will call them to see if time for adult size pellets. I am in the learning process. The only thing extra I put in his area are 2 tall leafy neon color artificial plants. With the water 8" the some leafy branches are at water level and above about 3 inches. He sleeps/rests in one of them that is not as dense, but with soft leafs. Then when he basks, all fours are out with head up sometimes. I do feed him outside of the tank and he will let me pick him from the tank when time to eat. Ya, what substrate do I want or any, for that matter. I don't want High Maintenance! :oops:
 

KrissyLeigh

Active Member
Today is my birthday!
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
136
Location (City and/or State)
south Texas
Flash really looks good......pretty healthy to me! Nice work. My Buddy gets 6 tiny pellets and one meal worm 2 times a day per instructions. The food came from Myturtlestore where I bought him. They said to use for about 3 months. When that time is up, I will call them to see if time for adult size pellets. I am in the learning process. The only thing extra I put in his area are 2 tall leafy neon color artificial plants. With the water 8" the some leafy branches are at water level and above about 3 inches. He sleeps/rests in one of them that is not as dense, but with soft leafs. Then when he basks, all fours are out with head up sometimes. I do feed him outside of the tank and he will let me pick him from the tank when time to eat. Ya, what substrate do I want or any, for that matter. I don't want High Maintenance! :oops:

Thanks, he is a cutie! Flash does the same basking behavior, i thoight he was just wierd. :)

For adults I figured out low maintenance - doesn't help with babies, but what I did was have a 40 gallon breeder tank with a submerged filter at one corner, and an overhang filter catty-corner so it made a current through the tank. Aerators in the gravel kept stuff from settling too much, and I had a herd of minnows that are all the leftover food and turtle poop. It worked great - I never fed the minnows, they ate whatever tidbits out of the tank. I only had to vacuum the tank every 6 to 8 weeks.... with the little one I'm vacuuming weekly. Ugh. Can't wait until he gets big enough for the same setup.
 

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