turtle owning tips!!

since ive owned my painted turtle, poptart, for over four years now, ive decided to make a blog post on everything i do for my lil lady!! (and btw, i do know about care for tortoises and non aquatic turtles aswell but this is focused on aquatic turtles like the painted turtle and red eared slider)

Basic Care:

When I first got her, I kept her in a 10 gallon tank with a basking spot, a filter, uvb/uva heat lamp, decor, and lots of turtle food. After two upgrades to a 20 gallon and a 40 gallon which my baby is currently living in and four years of doing non-stop research (like the reptile nerd i am) heres the list of basic care I currently provide and believe are necessities for my turtle.

- A tank. The tank should be at least 10 gallons per inch of shell length. Obviously, the bigger the better, but if you wanna start off with something smaller and upgrade as your turtle grows, thats a-okay!!

- A basking area + uvb/ava heat lamp. Your turtle must be able to fully dry off and warm up under their lights in order to digest food and protect themselves from diseases such as shell rot and metabolic bone disease. You can pick between multiple different kinds of basking areas. Some basking areas float and others are above the tank, but no matter what you choose, make sure your turtle fits and that water doesnt frequently splash onto the area. A good uvb bulb to pick is 10.0 and a good uva is 100w. 

- A filter. I'd reccomend using a filter meant for at least twice the size of the tank, as it is a nessecity to keep your tank from turning brown and smelling horrendous aswell as preventing other diseases that could impact your aquatic turtle. I choose to use two filters to help keep my tank clean even further. 

- Decor + substrate. Substrate is very important for a lot of aquatic turtles as it allows them to dig and forage (sometimes), which is a very good way of enriching your turtle. I believe that both sand and gravel are good substrates for turtles though sometimes turtles enjoy eating the gravel. As for decor, live plants can be good with filtration for the tank but are not a necessity, I'd reccomend using rocks, driftwood (only if its properly cleaned), and pretty much anything else from your local petstore (going to big petstores like petsmart and petco are okay, but I'd reccomend visiting somehwere else if possible as big petstores aren't good for their animals)

How to keep your tank clean: 

- A filter. Now, I've already touched on filtration, but I'll add it to this section again since its a key way in keeping your tank clean.

- Biological Filtration. Not everyone can do this, but if you can it helps a LOT. Live plants, snails, fish, and other bio filtration help a lot as they turn harmful bacteria into benificial bacteria.

- Feeding in a seperate container. Feeding in a seperate tub helps a lot as turtles are MESSY eaters. Always fill the tub with water (turtles can't swallow outside of water) and give your turtle as much food that could fill their head if it were hollow.

- Air bubblers and other surface agitation. Having plenty of movement in your water is a lifesaver fr. You can do this by adding an air bubbler to your tank or having your filter produce a heavy stream. Surface agitation prevents harmful bacteria from building in your tank and prevents your tank from getting a thin film at the top of it. I personally use two filters and an air bubbler to help with this.

Food:

- I'd reccomend using a base of regular pellets (preferably a mix of different pellets but just one is okay). When they are hatchlings or simply aren't a juvenile or adult yet, using a growth formula or baby turtle food is a great idea. 

- When turtles are young, its important to add a lot of live food and pellets to their diet rather than vegetables and fruit yet (though its good to make sure they like it so they don't have a hard time eating it when their older). Always check if its ok to feed your turtle new feeder fish, snails, and insects by doing your own research.

- When turtles are older, its important to add a lot of vegetables and pellets to their diet and shift away from the live food slightly. My turtles favorites are, romaine lettuce, carrots, and strawberries. Always make sure you check if the vegetable/fruit is safe for your turtle before feeding it. If your turtle refuses to eat their greens, try dipping it in tuna water to trick them into thinking its one of their favorite live foods.

Other health issues

- Egg laying. I remember when my female turtle laid her first egg. It was infertile but it was still scary. If you have a female turtle, you should expect to see them laying eggs semi-frequently. You can tell when they are gravid (carrying eggs) by their legs and body, but mine just lays her eggs in the tank. When your turtle is gravid, try taking them outside for around an hour and a half to let them nest, they most likely wont lay them the first time they are out.

- Shell-rot. My turtle is currently suffering from that but I know just how to fix it! Bring your turtle to the bathroom and wash your turtles shell with a safe soap (I use dawn) and a toothbrush. Make sure to wash the soap off and dry the shell completely. Then, add some Povidone Iodine to the shell and rub it in, do not wash it off. Once its on, leave it on for about twenty minutes and let them walk freely in a safe area. Once its been enough time, you can place them back in the tank for the rest of the day! Try doing this every day for around two weeks!!

anyways, thats almost all i can think of for my turtle care guide!! if u have any questions, comment it! ill answer :)