Best products from r/turtles

I still can't figure out exactly what kind of turtle he is.

Here's my recommendations. Please keep in mind that this is based on 1) Never owning a turtle of this type 2) Assumptions that it is some kind of common musk turtle, and 3) Limited research. Do a lot of your own reading over the next few days and see if you come to the same conclusions regarding diet and habitat. Hopefully this will give you a place to start though. All prices in USD.

Tank - 40 gallon breeder. You could probably get away with a 20 gallon long, as they are a pretty small species. I like to give my critters pleanty of room to move around though. A breeder tank has more floor space (36" x 18" x 17") than a 40 gallon long, since they don't need a very deep habitat. You can usually get tanks like this for 1$ per gallon, so $40 here. Local aquarium store

I personally like Flourite for a substrate, it looks natural and turtles tend not to try to eat it for whatever reason. 1-2 bags of this at ~$15 a bag, lets call it $30. Make sure you rinse this stuff really good first! https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-Fluorite-Red-Clay-Gravel/dp/B00GJX0E08 <-- should be the stuff, I got mine from a local aquarium store though.

Canister filter rated for around 35-40 gallons. I'm forgoing my earlier rule of a filter at least 2x the size of the tank for two reasons. One, from what I'm reading, they don't like strong currents. Two, you only want about 6" of water. I'm not sure if this is a good call, but it's what I would go with. Fluval 206 might work here, but it might also be too strong. You can play with the output though (place it below rocks or something) to dampen the flow. ~$100 https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-A207-206-External-Filter/dp/B005QRDDM4

36" T5 Terrarium Hood + T5 UVB 10.0 bulb - $50 for the hood, $25 for the light, change every 6 months. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQU8FR4/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQU8HKO

Ceramic Heat Emitter + CHE Dome - $20 for the CHE, $15 for the Dome. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Ceramic-Infrared-Emitter/dp/B001F9CV7K/ https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Sun-Dome-Reptile-Lamp/dp/B001OS0SB8

Air pump - Optional, $30 or so plus some air line/air stone. https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Whisper-30-60-Gallon-Aquariums/dp/B00IZLRK36

$300 total for brand new equipment, not shopping around or anything. If you pick up some of this used you can probably do better.

I would make about a quarter of it to one side a few inches out of the water for him to rest and bask, place the heat lamp over this area. You can use larger rocks to pile up here to get it out of the water. Basking area should be 85-90 F. Gradually slope this down into the rest of the aquarium. Give him about 6" of water off the bottom of the substrate to swim in and decorate this however you see fit.

http://www.insectivore.co.uk/pdf/common_musk_turtle_caresheet.pdf

Feeding should be pretty much what I said before. As /u/Ra_Cha_Cha said, they love movement. I had a box turtle too, and while she got used to the usual greens and pellets, nothing got her quite as excited as seeing a wiggling worm.

He doesn't look too big, but some can grow really fast. This tank size may last you a couple months while you look for another. Supplies that you need ASAP are the UV light/Heater lamp and more water with filtration. When adding tap water remember to treat it with a dechlorinator that also gets rid of heavy minerals. If you're looking to save money on a tank, wait for a pet store nearby to have a dollar a gallon sale, or look locally for deals on used tanks w/ accessories on craigslist.

I recommended a thermometer for your water and basking area because particular species of turtles do better at different temperatures. I'm not sure what size that tank is but I'm guessing around 10-20g and would do well with a smaller heater. Your filtration should be rated 2-4 times the amount of water in your tank, and have 3 stages of filtration because they can be super messy.

P.S. If you know what size tank you have, and what you're planning to upgrade to I could recommend you some tank media that would work for you

I've been using Eco Earth's coconut substrate with good success for a few years. However, a turtle expert I know doesn't like it because it can be "dirty" and easily ingested, and because it can pack down. She recommends orchid moss, which I'm going to try next. Amazon has a 1lb package of it currently on sale for $13.55. Whatever you use, you'll want to keep it damp.

You can keep your boxie indoors in a container over the winter. You'll need to provide him with 14 hours of light (preferably a UVB lamp) and probably some heat, as they generally do best in temps around 80 degrees. I have lights and heater on timers, so they mimic the outdoors. This is the lamp I use and here's the heating element.

If you decide to put him outside over the winter, make sure he has a safe, predator proof area to dig into of soft earth with plenty leaf cover for insulation. You can let him select the area, then add leaf cover, or you can put a pile of leaves and see if he climbs under. I like to know where mine go down so I can check on them during the winter.

I have two lights set up for my male slider as well as the water heater itself. One is a heat lamp and the other is a uvb bulb which is like artificial sunlight to help with colors/shell/digestion. I personally recommend a turtle topper, sliders love to swim so it allows a full tank of water as well as a basking area that you can clamp your lights on.

edit: turtle topper

Rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch with a 20 gallon minimum...

Get a bigger tank (go for 50 gallon) and a bigger filter. I just put one of these in for my RES's tank, and I'm finally happy with the filter after screwing around with the zoo-med ones. It's huge, but it's way easier to clean.

You should also change the water out periodically, I at least half-empty the tank every few months myself and refill with fresh water.

And yeah, rocks and "stuff" in the tank just makes it a pain to clean and gives algae something to grow on and poop to hide in.

Very cool. I will warn you that this tank is long and heavy. It took two people to cary it into the house. Also water is heavy so this setup will weigh around a thousand pounds when filled with water. Our house is on a concrete slab so weight is not an issue for us.

My turtles are smaller than your slider so I have not tried to build my own basking area. I use large Zoo Med floating docs for my map and painted turtles.

These are what I use:
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Turtle-Gallon-Tanks/dp/B00178LI50

They also make an extra large floating doc for larger turtles but I have not tried it out:
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-78098-Turtle-X-Large/dp/B01AYBRVN8

I do not have a sump on the tank. I just run the FX6 and a UV sterilizer. Also the FX6 and power strip barely fit in the center compartment of that stand.

I used to use a syphon kit that I bought from the pet store to drain the water but that was expensive and a bit slow so I bought a cheap pump on Amazon and purchased a pipe to hose adapter at the hardware store. I start up the pump and let it run for a few minutes and then detach the hose so I can get the hose into the hard to reach corners of the tank.

Pump I use (it has a lot of different adapters for various tubing but no hose adapter):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018X2XT4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The adapter I have looks similar to this one except the one I have is male hose thread to 3/4" female pipe adapter (you can find these adapters in the irrigation section at Lowes and Home Depot):
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DIG-3-4-in-Female-Hose-Thread-x-3-4-in-Male-Pipe-Thread-Swivel-Adapter-50007/100186564

I clean out the tank about once a month and clean reusable media and swap out filter floss and polishing pads. Even after a month my water is still clear and my ammonia and nitrites are at 0 but my nitrates are in the 40-60ppm range.

Older pics (pump I use with the adapter is in the second to last image in the gallery): https://imgur.com/a/2c4d0

Even older pics: https://imgur.com/a/xOieq

I did a DIY sump filter that you can find plans for all over the place.

https://imgur.com/a/o4DED

I have a siphon overflow on my aquarium with a small pump attached to it to prevent losing it's siphon or restarting it after power failure/water changes.

The water flows into the top draw of filter floss for filtering, then trickles into the second drawer over top of plastic scrubbies and finally into the the third drawer where it is filled with lava rocks that are permanently submerged in water. A water pump returns the water to the top of the tank have the process repeat itself over and over.

I further ran a small water line (think freezer ice maker water line) that constantly tops off the tank from evaporation and cycles the water to some extent to the point where I do water changes about every two-three months. In the second photo of the sump you can see an overflow tube that takes any excess water down to my basement to a drain there. Water changes every couple months isn't so much a necessity as the water clarity and pollutants really don't change in that time frame but I do it for peace of mind/get the gunk the guppies aren't eating off the bottom.

For water changes I can't recommend the python enough. It is crazy how easy this has made water changes for my aquariums.

https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Python-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506469996&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=python+aquarium+water+changing

I keep my turtle tank bare because they can create a lot of waste but if you want to spruce it up a bit you can add some river rocks! Make sure to wash them a bit since they are a slightly dusty

Exo Terra Turtle Pebbles, Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035HD408/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UZMODb2Y843TK

Also I dunno if Tuck has a uvb or heat bulb? He'll need those to properly shed and prevent metabolic bone disease

This is what I have for my girl

Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle UVB Heat Lighting Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CYDEARU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_g7MODb4DVDTNA

Zoo Med Reptile Lamp Stand (Large) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255OUO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_99MODbSNSH1X9


Hygger Submersible Aquarium Heater, Adjustable Fish Tank Heater Compact Reliable Betta Heater, Heat-Resistant Milky Quartz Made, with External Temp Controller, 50W/100W/300W, 7-60 Gallon (300W) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G4BKPHB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_f.MODbB3P6Q26

I hope this helps you out!

Tank sounds too small. Turtles produce a lot of waste. A powerful filter helps as well. I have two full grown YBS and one fluval filter. We only have to do a filter clean every two months. A proper basking area with UVB light helps as well, it prevents alagae from growing. Also this stuff keeps them from stinking and helps break down waste https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E6BZNC4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526595363&sr=8-2&keywords=turtle+clean&dpPl=1&dpID=41byXGijlAL&ref=plSrch

This is what I use with my 40 gallon tank and it works great. I’ve had it for about 16 months and it’s been doing fine.

http://imgur.com/a/eM0M2 I just made one of these. Works really really well for cheap. Get one of these pumps.

I got it on Amazon, it's this one. Oh he's still a baby, 3 months old a little over 2 inches.