Tartarughine - Basic indoor setup

BASIC INDOOR SETUP

Tank dimension

The tank must be as large as possible. The one I use is 21,7x13,7 inches,
it has been enough until now, but surely next year I have to replace it. The average length of an adult turtle must be considered before buying a tank. This kind of turtles ( Trachemys ) can reach 10 inches of length in females, while males remain smaller. When you buy a baby turtle it's not possible to distinguish sex. It's possible to know their sex when they are at least 5 inches long. Male turtle has very long front legs crawls.

Water depth

Water depth must allow turtles to swim, but it doesn't have to be excessive.Turtles, like all reptiles, have lungs! They have to breathe air. They must come to the surface to breathe.The water must be at least as deep as the turtle's shell is wide. For baby turtles water depth must be under 2 inches, then it will be increased as they grow.
In the tank there must be a basking area.

Water temperature

Water temperature must be between 78-80°F. All you need is a submersible aquarium heater, and set the thermostat at the right temperature. It's very important : without a heater the turtle will get sick and die. You have to follow all instructions to avoid breaking it. The heater must be set at the same temperature for all the year.
A lot of people asked me the same question that is: “do I need to buy a heater?”
The answer is Yes! Turtles can’t keep their body temperature constant, if we keep them cold they will eat less, get sick and die. Heater is cheap, easy to use; there is no reason why you should not buy one.

Hibernation

Baby turtles won't hibernate. Turtles of 1 year or more can hibernate even with the heater on, but it's not a proper hibernation, it's not possible to recreate indoor a right habitat for hibernation, so this "hibernation" is a period of time, more or less extended, in which the turtle sleeps nearly all the day and it does not eat anything. When this period is over the turtle will make us understand it very well.

Heating the air

In order to heat also the air enough we can use one light bulb, to the maximum of 40-60W. If the light bulb coincides with the basking area we can say we have recreated an ideal habitat.

Cleaning the tank

It's not enough to use a filter to keep the water clean. A pump filter is indispensable but it's not sufficient. I have been facing this problem for 2 years, cleaning the whole tank takes more than one hour, so I have found some ways to keep it clean. Water gets dirty mainly while turtles eat. My turtle eats in a separate plastic tank. Another way is to change some water every day. I do it while my turtle eats, I take some water from the big tank and put it in the plastic tank (so i avoid changes of temperature ), then i put clean water in the big tank. In this way I need to clean the big tank after 10-15 days. Do not use coal in the filter, it seems to make water clean but then it pollutes it more. Don't put gravel at the bottom of the tank. Turtles may swallow them, and gravel would only make cleaning more difficult.

Tap water

Tap water can be used. In order to improve the quality of the water it is sufficient to take to the water a day before and make it rest in an uncovered container.