a turtle question??????????

Question

i own a red eared slider....and i have two questions.....one is that he lives outside in out pond and he has no way out,,,,should we build him a ramp to get out or is he okay being in the water 24/7....and the second question is it looks like his shell is shedding of some type.....is this normal?

Answer 1

yeah virtual robin hood helper is right. You have to build a basking platform of some kind. Turtles would drown if they were forced to be in water 24/7, and they would die because turtles are reptiles. Meaning they are cold blooded and require an addition heat source to keep them warm, since they can't produce their own heat! And they also very importantly need the sun because of its uvb rays, these rays shell strengthen the shells of turtles, and helps them absorb vitamin d and calcium so they can grow! - same way as people need and get calcium from dairy, well turtles get it from the sun...and well also addition sources like aquatic plants(which you should provide, like water lettuce, anacharis, water hyacinth,etc.) Also if you live in a somewhat shady area. please put out some uvb lighting, outdoors or indoors, they should be getting at least an hour of uvb, whether artificial or from the sun on a daily basis.

Answer 2

You RES needs to bask for warmth and to get some sun (for vitamin and calcium absorption). It would be better to provide a basking platform in the center of the pond instead of using a ramp to the land. He'll be safer from predators on an island, than on the rim of the pond.



In my ponds, I had a graduated bottom (slanted from shallow to deep end). About midway I used either 2 cinderblocks standing on end side by side, or 2 large diameter pieces of PVC pipe, just barely under the water's surface and placed a large slab of flagstone or textured ceramic tile on the top, like a table top. Just be sure the base is solid, so it can't tip when the turtle climbs onto the flat top surface. with the sloped bottom, it provided an angle for the top slab, so one edge was in water and the other just above the water, for ease of the turtle crawling up on it.



Enjoy your pet.

Answer 3

Good questions!



Turtles can't live 24/7 in water. Place a large rock or some other easily accessible structure that your turtle can climb out of the pond onto. They bask on these rocks to regulate their temperature and gain vitamins they need to keep their shell healthy.



And yes, shedding of the shell is normal for turtles. It just means he's growing! Like humans lose skin cells, and must replace them, turtles replace old scutes on their shell.

Answer 4

Ok here's what you do, the turtle has to have some place to "rest" or stay in the sun. So here's what you do, get like a huge rock -depending on what the dept of your pond is.---Anyway create like a small island(not too steep,kinda flat) for the turtle in the middle of the pond(in sunshine). If the shell is molting thats ok, i don't really know about the shedding thing. I hope this helps .

Answer 5

1. Put some big rocks that go out of the pond for him to rest on, that way he will not escape.



2. This is perfectly normal, and its good to ask.





Thank you so much for being a responsible tortoise owner, I know he'll be fine!

Answer 6

The turtles headed all the way down.