Yellow Belly Slider Turtle - Anything I Can Keep With This?

[didz04]

Hi can I keep anything else with a yellow belly slider turtle e.g. bigger fish or blue lobster?

I am looking to keep one and just setting up a tank starting from a 2ft shallow temporarily and moving everything over to a 4ft.

Thanks

 

[MBOU]

Sorry but no... tehy are incredibly predatory and fish and crustaceans form the main part of their diet!!

And you do realise that it will outgrow a 4ft tank dont you?!

They get huge and messy and are nothing short of a nightmare and no one will want to take it off your hands when you no longer want it/can no longer look after it (inevitable, they live a ridiculously long time...) and there are so many in recues and getting euthanized every year because they make such poor pets...

Not terrepin/turtle/slider is suitable for keeping with fish, some people do it but its incredibly cruel and risky, its like locking someone in a room with lion and waiting to see what happens, even if its not hungry enough to kill or eat the person, they are going to be scared out of their wits!

If you want shelly creatures, look at Map or Musk turtles and find a reptile specialist! They are all species that like to sit out of the water (you do need to provide land for all of them!) and bask in the sunlight, this means you will need to provide a hot basking lamp and a UV lamp to replecate that sunlight.

They arent an easy pet. Not very cuddly! Yellow and Red Bellies are more than capable of taking th end of your fingers off and might well do given the chance..... at very least.. i can assure you it hurts like anything!

 

[didz04]

What size tank should one look into when considering yelly belly sliders?

Thats interesting, so in your opinion they shouldn't be sold at any fish shop really?

 

[creeker]

Here's a telling observation for you. These turtles are not native here, yet I've seen them in practically every lake around here, sometimes up to a dozen of them at a time. They are all the unwanted former pets that got dumped in these lakes. I agree with MBOU. We used to sell them at the fish shops I worked at years ago. They really are not suitable tankmates for any fish or crustacean. I guess they could be ok pets if you had a big plastic wading pool lying around that you were dying to use and clean turtle poo out of on a daily basis.

 

[MBOU]

Personally no, I dont think fish shops should be selling them unless they are gonig down the route of reptiles as well as it means stoking a whole different range of dry goods.

The only kind of settup really usefull to slidrs is purpose built turtle tables that have a big pond area and a slope up with 1/3 being land area that you put woodchips or soil on and having basking lights over.

Better still, the 250L-500L Mayfly/Damselfly/Dragonfly Blagdon preformed ponds sunk into a bed of sand (with a frame around it that also forms a wall to stop turtles getting out) which can be topped with soil or wood chips around the outside of the pond and can have the basking and UV light over so they can bask properly and of course a decent filter for the water!

Creeker, we have the same problem in the UK, IMO its only a matter of time before the red bellies and yellow bellies are banned and for once, it will have been a good decision! They are causing havoc in rivers like the Thames! I can walk by the river and see them basking on the tow path sometimes! Have seen them take ducklings too!

This is a great setup for them as babies! See hpw much land they have compared to water? One little rock to balance on isnt fair on them!
http/www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/attachments/shelled-classifieds/48683d1318761731-yellow-bellied-slider-babys-tank-imag0347.jpg

Now imagine doing that for something much MUCH bigger!

 

[didz04]

Thanks for the input. In that case I will stay clear from these types. You mentioned the musk turtle which seems to be smaller than the map. What size aquarium should I look into for one or two of them?

Thanks

 

[MBOU]

Im no expert by any means! but I believe a 1m or 3ft tank is ok for them, so long as you provide platforms for them to get out of water and the correct basking and uv light for them too

The musks are cute as anything, you can get Razorback Musk Turtles too