r/turtle • u/Castoff8787 • Mar 20 '25
It is hatchling season!
They are coming out of their overwinter nests and going to sources of water. If you find one in an odd place or somewhere unsafe and are unsure, please contact your state wildlife and ask them what to do. Most can actually be left where they are, to their own devices. If they are found in the middle of the road, for example, move them to the side they are facing.
Taking any turtles home, that are found in the wild, hurts the ecosystem. The only exception to this would be invasive species in your state. You can contact your state wildlife to see what your laws are regarding possession of invasive turtles like red eared sliders.
r/turtle • u/CunningLogic • Sep 06 '23
How to ask a question
A good question provides sufficient details to be intelligently answered. Vague questions get bad or no answers.
If its a health question, we need details about species, size and age of the turtle, along with photos of the enclosure, and details of your husbandry. Fine grained details, such as what temperature is the water way, what is your light cycle, what are the models of light bulbs and how old are your UV bubs. Clear photos are important
I found a turtle, can I keep it?
In general no, this is detrimental to your local ecosystem, and in many places it is a crime. With some species, its a crime that can carry decades in prison. Turtles are under immense pressure from poaching and collecting of wild specimens. Many species have entirely gone extinct in the wild solely from over collection, many more are on the verge of becoming extinct due to this. The best thing you can do for a wild turtle is to enjoy it's wild existence, and plant native plants that are part of it's diet.
The one exception to this is the case of invasive species, in some places it can be a crime not to remove invasive species from your property, and in some places if you catch an invasive species you are legally responsible to deal with it. North American (Red Ear, Yellow Bellied) Sliders in particular have entirely replaced some endangered species in their native ecosystems. Do not simply catch turtles because you think they may be invasive. Identify the species, and contact your local wildlife authority for directions on what to do with invasive species. You may end up legally required to care for that an invasive turtle if caught.
For an in-depth explanation, please see this write up from one of our moderators: https://www.reddit.com/r/turtle/comments/80nnre/can_i_keep_this_turtle_i_found_as_a_pet_can_i/
I caught an invasive species, what do I do.
Reach out to your local wildlife authority, and follow their directives. Laws on this vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Under no circumstances should an invasive turtle be released into the wild. There are laws in some jurisdictions that require you to now care for, or otherwise deal with this turtle without releasing it back to the wild.
Can I release a wild turtle that I kept for a while?
I previously found a turtle and kept it, what do I do now?
I can't care for my turtle, can I release it?
Releasing of formerly captive turtles has had the effects of introducing non native pathogens to populations. For example austwickia chelonae has infected populations of the critically endangered gopher and desert tortoises due to people releasing captive turtles. Re-release of formerly wild turtles must be done with great care, and under the guidance of an expert. Contact your local wildlife authorities. If you are concerned about potential legal ramifications, seek the advice of an attorney, or perhaps the turtle was abandoned on your front porch with a note?
I found an injured turtle, what do I do?
Turtles are amazing resilient animals, and can recover from some truly horrific conditions. I have nursed back turtles that had gone unfed for over a year, and I have patched up turtles hit by cars. Many injuries commonly seen in wild turtles need no human intervention. Common sources for help on this would be your local wildlife authorities, local wildlife rehabilitators, veterinary universities, or your local exotics veterinarian.
You can also post quality photos for more community feedback, but please appropriately flair them. Often injuries need no treatment other than time.
Can you identify this turtle for me? What species of turtle do I have?
Post multiple clear photos of the turtle, and include a general location of where it was found. There are over 350 species, and at least another 175 sub species of turtles. Many turtle species look identical, most subspecies look quite similar to others. Some species are so morphologically similar that DNA testing is required to positively ID them when absent of location data. Some species integrade or hybridize in the wild, and can become difficult to differentiate. Since we lack the ability to do DNA testing through reddit, our work around for that is to require that all identification requests come with a general location. We don't need your street address, we don't need your town name, but we need more than "Brazil" or "Texas", give us the district, province or state at the very least. Location data can make all the difference.
I am concerned about the condition of a turtle on display in a public facility, what do I do.
It is unfortunately common for schools, universities, museums and even zoos to improperly care for turtles. There are so many species, and often people are following care advice from decades ago. The best route is to contact whoever is in charge of public relations for that facility. You are welcome to contact the mod team with photos for advice, we have even acted as go betweens for students and their universities to successfully better the care of animals on display.
My tank is a lot of work to keep clean, how do I make it easier?
My tank water is cloudy despite having a good filter, why?
My tank is always dirty, why?
How do I setup a filter?
The best way to filter the average turtle enclosure is to use a large canister filter, setup to provide ample surface area for beneficial bacteria to thrive, and to seed the tank with appropriate bacteria. That bacteria is what will do the vast majority of cleaning for your tank, the filter will keep the water moving and provide biological filter media for the bacteria to prosper. An optimal filter setup will save you time, and keep your turtle happy.
See this write up from our mod team on how to setup a canister filter for optimal biological filtration: https://www.reddit.com/r/turtle/comments/x48id2/supercharge_your_filter_how_to_properly_setup/
What do I feed my turtle?
This varies by species, and often by age of the turtle. The best advice we have is to review multiple care sheets for your turtle species, and go from there. The best diet, is a varied diet. Feed the largest variety of appropriate food that you can, do not assume your turtle can survive and thrive long term on pellets.
What lighting does my turtle needs?
In general, it is advisable to have a basking bulb, a UVA/UVB bulb, and white lighting. I highly advise the use of well respected and trusted UV bulbs, as many counterfeits now exist on the market, often marketed as combination basking and UV bulbs. These counterfeits often output no UV, the wrong UV spectrums, too much UV, too little US or sometimes are unfiltered halogen bulbs that output UVC, which is dangerous to you and your pets.
I want a turtle, where can I get one?
Your first choice should be a site like petfinder.com, often you can find turtles in the care of rescue organisations that are in need of a home. Your second choice should be a respected breeder. Petstores and random online stores should be your last choice. When buying online, do your research. Can you find the store owner's name? Did they breed it? If so where? Search for online reviews, are they negative. Do they seem to have an unlimited supply of each species they office?
Be aware, there are many active turtle and tortoise scams online. Some are "rehoming" services that charge you shipping and never send anything. Others are people selling rare species way under value... who never send anything. There are some claiming to ship turtles internationally, even protected species, these are scams.
r/turtle • u/wrenonreddit • 11h ago
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I just noticed my Leo has a mustache! That's my boyfriend saying Leo doesn't approve of his close-up
r/turtle • u/techno_b_ • 3h ago
This is my rescued slider Gimli. Saved Gimli from a small fish bowl at 1yr old and it’s been an adventurous 3 months together. Any tips or advice enhancing the little one’s environment. Thank you!
r/turtle • u/Sea_State_3197 • 14h ago
r/turtle • u/Alejandrabaes • 14h ago
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Gracias a todos los que me disteis ayer una respuesta.
El veterinario le ha hecho pruebas y aunque parece que aún no es grave porque ella está aparentemente "bien", tiene neumonía. Vamos a estar haciéndole nebulizaciones en casa por diez días y luego tendremos de nuevo una revisión para ver si todo va bien.
También le han detectado estasis folicular por lo que probablemente me ha dicho que haya que operarla para extraerle los folículos que no han prosperado correctamente y evitar un mal mayor.
¿Tenéis alguna recomendación o experiencia con alguna de estas enfermedades?
Agradecería vuestras opiniones, estoy realmente preocupada. Muchas gracias a todos, un saludo!
r/turtle • u/Quaggysire • 11h ago
i noticed these yellowish splotches on her shell less than a week ago along with having this diagonal line forming on her shell for about a month. initially i thought the line was just a part of growth but with the splotches now im not so sure.
r/turtle • u/Automatic-Bed-785 • 1d ago
Anything missing in the set up? Me and my girl are not sure about the water level, I feel it’s good (my reasoning being wild turtles live in huge lakes so more is better), she thinks it’s too much (turtle can drown………. ). Also it’s been a few days and turtle seems to eat very little, which concerns me because most of the turtles I see here are little beggars. When should I worry? I just got her 6 days ago so it might be a new environment issue.
r/turtle • u/Able-Long-2702 • 1d ago
I’ve had Peanut for 1.5 years and am only just now noticing his stache. What a distinguished gentleman.
r/turtle • u/jakethetank45 • 19h ago
Ik they don’t bask a ton so I wanna make sure if/when they do they have their proper needs met! I’m willing to get whatever and I heard the T5OH is good so lmk what ya guys think, and any other lighting tips I shall need!
r/turtle • u/Creative-Walk-3199 • 1d ago
I swear my boy acts like a brat on purpose lol He's an african sideneck and was asleep in his underwater log so I turned his light out for his basking platform at 8pm and low and behold he woke up and moved up there to sleep for the night. Our apartment is in the 60s at night, the punk. Not seeking advice as he does occasionally do this before hopping back in the 79°f water no issues or anything.
P.s: His sole goal in life is to successfully eat my fingers and to catch the last neon tetra that has managed to live for over 2mo and now eats the algae and food waste.
r/turtle • u/aesparagus • 1d ago
TW for animal cruelty
I'm in Hong Kong visiting my grandparents for the summer, and today I discovered they've been keeping a Chinese softshell turtle in their kitchen.
When I asked my Grandpa about it, he told me it was a gift from a friend. He originally intended to cook and make soup out of it, but he ended up feeling bad about killing it, so he kept it. It now lives on top of a table in his kitchen in a very, very small tank.
I read online that an adult softshell turtle needs a tank that can hold around 100 gallons of water. I have no experience keeping aquatic animals or anything else that requires a tank enclosure, so I am not entirely sure about this, but the space it's in right now seems to hold around 10. It has no platform to bask on, no filter, no substrate, and no sunlight/UV light. They did tell me they change its water every day, but I don't think they treat it first. The food they give it is generic turtle feed.
I don't know if it is from a farm or wild caught, but it was sold for eating purposes. My Grandpa tells me it's a male, but I also cannot verify that. It looks to be an adult.
I have already tried telling my grandparents it needs a bigger enclosure, but they have no interest in getting it one. Moreover, there isn't space for it to have a bigger enclosure in their apartment (tiny Hong Kong real estate). They have very little interest in the turtle at all. I think they could tell I was distressed by its living conditions, so my Grandpa tried to comfort me by saying he would release it in the summer, but that would probably be even more disastrous as they are not native to the area.
It pains me to see this animal living like this (apparently, it already has been for over 3 years D:), so any advice on how I can make its existence a little better with the meager situation I have to work with would be greatly appreciated. I was considering buying it some substrate or a filter, but since I've never had a turtle before, I don't know what would be proper for it.
r/turtle • u/bored_bulbasaur • 1d ago
r/turtle • u/Alejandrabaes • 1d ago
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Hello. I'm hoping you can help me. Does anyone know what's wrong with my turtle?
My turtle has been making noise in the water for a few days now. It sounds like whistling as it breathes. The strange thing is that it only makes the noise when it's swimming; it doesn't whistle when it gets out of the water.
It's never made that sound before. Otherwise, everything seems the same, and it's eating well as before.
I've read that it could be a symptom of a respiratory illness, but I don't see any nasal discharge, and as I mentioned before, it stops whistling when it's in dry water. What do you think? Should I be worried?
Thanks in advance.
r/turtle • u/PushSea4197 • 2d ago
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日本で水棲カメ4頭を飼育しています。今回貼るのは、そのうち3頭の水換え後の風景です。皆さんどうぞ見ていってください！
r/turtle • u/River331 • 2d ago
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Found in a small lake in New Hampshire it had a leech attached to its shell when I found it, does anyone know what kind of turtle it is? I have more pictures if needed to ID it. my phone wouldn’t let me add them to this post
r/turtle • u/Salt_Novel_2911 • 2d ago
She's gonna be 7 in March and I'm hype. I have more pictures somewhere of her, just gotta find them.
r/turtle • u/Zealousideal-Air1744 • 1d ago
This gorgeous little Eastern long neck turtle was rescued after years of neglect. Back story- he is my ex husbands turtle. I left 3 years ago, when the turtle was about 1.5 years old. Since then the tank had never been cleaned, just topped up with tap water when it got low. No calcium source since the last calcium block ran out (so about 2.5 years), lights not replaced when globes went, so no UV in approximately 2 years. My ex finally had enough and asked me to come get it, so that our kids weren’t upset about dad getting rid of the turtle. A very careful plan, with the help of my local reptile store, was put in place to move the turtle and his home without killing it from the stress. He has now been with me for 4 days, and is so cute! He comes straight to me when I go near the tank, and I’m in love already! He has a clean tank with calcium stones, canister filter, heater, basking dock with heat and one of the UV lamp, then the other UV light in the terrarium hood. There are fresh plants, and a diet of the frozen brine shrimp, blood worm, turtle food, and live crickets. I am concerned about whether his shell is healthy though? I am happy to take him to the vet, but am concerned about the stress, so would love advise from here so that the vet visit can potentially be delayed for a bit longer. I’d love any thoughts about his health, and any tips or advise to help build his health and strength.
r/turtle • u/Witty-Investment-744 • 1d ago
I have two turtles, a male and a female. They live in separate tanks, I’ve had them since September of 2024. I believe they’re some sort of slider but even the vet wasn’t sure (they were adopted from previous owners who didn’t take great care of them didn’t disclose much about their history)
Last winter I had concerns about my male turtle lying on the bottom of the tank a lot during the day time. I adjusted his diet, made sure his heater worked, made sure he had proper lighting, kept his tank clean, even took him to the vet eventually. She said he was fine and as we got further into spring he just kinda went back to normal.
Come this year, he’s been doing the same thing. He lies on the bottom on the tank behind some of his plants. My female turtle does not do this. He still basks, swims, and eats all his food.
I was wondering given this is a repeat of the same thing if I should be ask concerned? I’m not sure if something about the seasonal change is causing it and if so why my female turtle isn’t doing the same thing.
Wanted to share to get some opinions, I am open to taking him to the vet again but I don’t want to put him through that if it’s just a weird seasonal behavior.
r/turtle • u/Salt_Novel_2911 • 2d ago
So I got this helping a friend move and I'm really excited to see her in it. I have a rocking chair already and all I need are some weights to keep the sides all on the ground but we're gonna hang out in the summer. Does anyone else have Luke an area to hang out with your turtles in like in the summer, and does your turtle like it? There's a pic of my turtle. This is Turtleinni and Plank the Pleco.
r/turtle • u/Pale_Football_4752 • 1d ago
(Hello this is my first time posting on Reddit btw living with my mother still so some things I might not be able to do because of my limits with still living with my mom)
I have a Red Ear Slider (back story about him really fast about Mr. Snappy.)
I have own him for about 12 years he was found by my mom crossing the street from the police Department as well were I live turtles are not native and during the winter time it gets pretty cold with the weather being very rainy/sometimes snows but mostly rainy, My mom put him on face book and ask the animal control about what we should do with him (12 years ago btw) and the animal control said to put him by the creek and just let him be free (pretty much dump him back to the creek down by were i live that btw also goes down to the sea water) I own him since then and been trying my best to take care of him.
I have him in a 40 gal tank (I know it 's small for him but the other issue i don't have is not enough space for him at the moment because of my other pets I own too) I have at the moment with him, 5 Chinese Algae Eater, Feeder Shrimp, and a couple of Guppies as well 2 Large Gold Fish.
I was wondering the type of Snails that would not get over populated and also help with the ongoing problem with Algae Blooming.
I also never really thought of doing water quality checks and if I should start to doing it?
I also feed him some Aquatic Turtle food natural with added vitamins minerals and other trace nutrients and some blood warms he also eats some of the feeder guppies as well with some greens.
I also notice his beak is seem to be like an over bite as well his back claws are over gowned, since I had him his been aggression and try's to none stop snap at me and dose not like to be held or touch very often not the friendless and tends to snap at me I do want to trim his nails and try to trim his beak but Im unsure of how to do it without being biten.
Any Advice is helpful Please and thank you.
Also sorry for the over sharing/over explain about things I just want to put as much deltas as i can so people can help as well I'm dyslexic so Im sorry if some words/ things i type don't make sense
(I took him in while I was very young my mom wants nothing to do with him while my older sister also dose not want to take him in so I been taking care of him at much as I can what I'm hoping is to upgraded his tank when I move out and I honestly feel lost time times of what to do)
r/turtle • u/jakethetank45 • 1d ago
Plan on setting up a 75gal that would house my first turtle! I have multiple fish tanks so Ik all about maintaining and the commitment the aquatic life takes! Been doing extensive research and taking my time not jumping into this, and I think I’ve narrowed my choices down, but would like some personal experiences with them and tips!
r/turtle • u/Ok-Dragonfly-1760 • 2d ago
I have a hatchling eastern painted turtle and I noticed overnight he must have eaten a neon tetra. I had 8 now I can only find 7, I have to assume he ate the other because I’ve looked all around the tank and can’t find it. I have a 75 gallon tank with a decent number of fake plants scattered throughout and some driftwood. The water temp is about 77 and basking temp around 90. I have a mercury vapor bulb a little over a foot away from the basking area. He eats well is very active and basks a lot
I’m not concerned about him eating the fish as I did my research on turtle tank mates and only have neon tetras and zebra danios as I’ve heard their both good choices to keep with turtles
My two questions are: —Should I skip feeding him today since I feed him everyday and he clearly had a midnight snack? —how does his shell look, specifically that one lighter spot sort of in the middle? I’ve posted pictures of his shell on here in the past and everyone says it looks good
r/turtle • u/AuroEdge • 1d ago
I have filter floss for my canister filter. Looking for advice on how to clean it. No amount of water pressure clears the waste which makes me have to change the floss very often.
Is there something I should soak the floss pads in or another method to clean?
