Small starter turtles?

[Dow]

My little sister wants a pet turtle but she can't find much informations as to what would be a good turtle to keep. I told her a mud turtle would be a good pet but she can't find much research on mud turtles as pets.

Any suggestions would be awesome! Links would be too!

[fishboyt]

Try red eared sliders or painted turtles. Just be sure you can give them the right suppliments and light for their shells. If you don't, they will die

[Nickintex]

+1 on a Mud turtles. Musk Turtles are suitable as well.
I keep 3 musk turtles and 1 mud turtle in a 30 gallon long tank.
You can catch Common Musk Turtles easily in Duessen Park in Lake Houston.
IMO, Red Ear Sliders, as well as Cooters, and Soft Shell Turtles are not good beginner's turtles as they all can get quite large and are better suited for large aquaria or ponds.
Keep in mind, turtles are like fish. They are the kind of pets that are to be enjoyed by watching them. They should not be carried around like a puppy or a kitten. If she does that with a mud or musk turtle, they will activate their scent glands. Also, for the record, all turtles bite and have the potential to carry salmonella.

http://www.popularpets.net/turtles/care-sheets/musk-turtle.php

http://www.chelonia.org/articles/sternotheruscare.htm

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-razrbk.htm

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/oderatus.html

http://www.turtlesarchive.com/care-sheets/musk-turtle.php

[mnemenoi]

Nick is quite right, as far as aquatic turtles these would be the most appropriate species to try a hand at. The others grow very large and eventually would need to be released or housed in tanks that are something most aquarists do not have access to.

[Mzungu]

eventually would need to be released

I hope you mean released into a larger aquarium...

[bschulle1]

Well I have Red Ear Sliders, Musk Turtles, and a Yellow Belly Slider. All three of these are fairly easy turtles to take care of and they are always fun to watch swimming. I also had a soft shell turtle when I was a child. here is a website that is dedicated primarily to aquatic turtles. http://www.turtletimes.com/forums/in...=login&CODE=00 pet turtles should never be released into the wild as they are pron to catch diseases that wild turtles have developed an immunity to. while the RES does get quite large, keep in mind that it will take a pet turtle years to get to the size of wild turtles. i currently house 4 red ear sliders, 1 yellow belly slider, 2 musk turtles, and 2 21" plecos in a 175 gallon tank which we will be upgrading to a 210 gallon tank in October. any turtle under 4"s in diameter is at risk of carrying salmonella. be sure to wash your hands throughly after handling any turtle. a good filtration system is needed for the tank or else you will be changing water and cleaning the tank several times a month. i use an eheim cannister filter for mine, however there are submersible filters that work just as well.

[black_knight]

Actually, alot of aquatic pets harbor many dangerous pathogens. Hand washing is essential to prevent anyone form getting sick. Apart from Salonella, theres Pseudomonas, E.coli, various enterobacter.
I use to keep the musk and mud turtles (20 years ago), they stay small, but still need fairly large tanks. They are fairly hardy. S&S exotics has quite a selection. Many turtles can have a nasty bite (not just the snapping turtles). Softshells have a nast bite and have long necks allowing them to reach around to some unexpecting hands- personal experience.

[Nickintex]

Where is S&S exotics? I'm interested in other species of mud turtles. Thanks.

[black_knight]

www.sandsexoticanimals.com is their web site. They are in North East Houston. They have exotic reptiles , birds, and mammals. I use to buy exotic finches from them. They keep many sepcies of turtles and have a Vet whose knowledgable with reptiles who comes by.