Yellow Bellied Terrapin Help Please.

[hedgehog738]

Hello, im going to be getting some yellow bellied sliders/terrapins/turtles soon, i have a few questions, please take the time to answer them for me if you have the knowledge.

'can you handle them /should you handle them / how often
'do they bite ifyou handle them, how should you hold them?
'how often should you feed them, how much, what to feed & when?
'how big will they get & how long will it take?
'how much space will they need in the future ?
'how many other tank mates & what else can they live with, i saw a video on youtube of 3 different types of turtle living together and with angel fish & clown loach?


thats 13 questions, if you can answer them all i will be impressed!
any other information would be great!
thanks and happy christmas

 

[rlhirth]

Alright ill try my best here

With handling you should always start young! Keep them used to you so if there is say a medical issue there easier to deal with! How often is a harder question I would say at least once a week maybe with you water change! I had gotten 2 rescues some time ago and they were never handles so when I did pick them up they would hiss at me and the large female would try and bite

Compared to my other turtles they had a shorted neck (I have a florida softshell currently) but if you hold them behind there front legs with one finger on the top of each side and one on the bottom you should be safe but do watch the claws they can hurt a good bit if they catch ya right

As babies they should be fed daily! With a basic diet of a high qualiety turtle pellet (I use reptomin) and sound also get leafy greens and veggies daily! They should only be feed as much as can fit inside of there head! As they grow larger feeding should be pushed back to every other day

How big depends on if they are male or female! Females can be double the size of males! With out actually looking it up im going to guess-tamate females at 12 to 14 inch shell length and males say 6 to 8 (but don't quote me on that) as for time the only yellow bellies I've rescued were about full grown!

As for tank size more is better! A single male I would say about a 40 gallon (min) and females about 65 to 70 (min)but this is with a hefty external canister or egual powered filter (turtles are very messy creatures) and if not kept clean they can develope serious issues!

I never have tank mates with turtles maybe if they were very young but as they grow you are just asking for trouble! Any turtle will see that thing swimming past as food eventually! And even if you think you can keep them full they will stuff themselfs to the point of no return! I have kept a male and female together before but the male bugged the female so much it was a shame! They now live in a 1000 gallon pond in my parents garden!

As for different turles together you have to watch also because of size different and temperment! I am highly against "hard" shelled turtles and soft shells together ( were some softshells can be rather mean) hard shells can cause some damage to them I have also witness nomorous turtles bullying others by biting legs and tails to the point of messing limbs

So if you are seriously concidering a turtle please please do LOTS of reseach! And know what your getting into and are able to provide all the necessary equipment and time that is needed! If you have any other questions please feel free to pm me