I Need turtle info.(mississippi map) to be precise?

Question

Very sorry kinda long
Okay so um me and my sister are getting Mississippi map turtles.
she wants a girl and I want a boy turtle. So I have some questions.
Since males grow up to 5 inches and females grow up to 10 inches what size tank should I get?
And what size tank should she get?
At what age will they try to mate?
At what age should we separate them(we don't want eggs YET)
What items do we need in the tank?
What and how should we feed them?
Any advice for beginer turtle owners?
any turtle names we can use?
Please and Thank you

Answer 1

I don't know much about turtles, but I do know the rule of thumb is that you need 10 gallons of tank per inch of turtle. So you need a 50-gallon, and she needs a 100-gallon. You can cut that a *little* bit, if you change the water frequently, etc, but I wouldn't go below 40 for you and 80 for her. If you can afford it, larger wouldn't *hurt*.



I don't know everything you need, but I know you need some way for them to get out of the water (I think map turtles may need very shallow water, if not you can use a floating dock or the like), you need UV light, and you need a heat lamp for basking.



Aside from that... check several sources for information, *before* you bring home your new pets, so you can be ready. Try Google...

Answer 2

I used to have short neck turtle as pets. I had a 4 foot tank as I was told that turtles size grow to their surroundings. Because my turtles were from a warm area, I had to have a water heater. I bought pontoons so they could climb out of the water and had a uv heat light. I also had plants and feeding fish in the tank. Turtles need to be in light to kill the fungus that grow on their shells. Not hard to maintain turtles but need to keep a good eye on them. I never bread my turtles but did get a book on turtles that taught me about them.



You can purchase books from reptile or pet stores. It saved a few of my turtles lives having a book handy. Especially when they got sick.



Also depending on the weather where you live and what turtle you are after. Long neck turtles live in cold water and don't require heat light. Easier to maintain.

Answer 3

Your first purchase should be De Vosjoli's book on red-eared sliders. It's more general than that and he goes into some detail about equipment and conditions. You can learn what you really need and what you don't, possibly saving you more than the cost of the book.



Where I disagree with him is on food. IMHO, the best foods are earthworms, liver, and bait fishes.