# little worried bout my turtle.



## jesters22 (Dec 11, 2010)

i have had this turtle since he/she was bout an inch big. now bout 3 or 4? anyway bout a month or so ago i noticed the turtle stopped eating (or should i say i noticed i didnt see him/her eat). and the most recent past few days i have noticed this weird white foam/froth on top of the water in the tank. also the water in the tank looks a little milky..

i have a filter, and a small water heater (heater is bc with out it the water is like ice in that room)..

anyone have any ideas? ive changed the filter insert already.

should i be taking everything out, boiling all the stuff in side the tank. and going with fresh bottled water?








edit- forgot to mention their is a goldfish in the tank aswell..


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## sharpfang (Dec 11, 2010)

The Goldfish pollutes more than the Turtle probably - JK 

I just lost our little Hypomelanistic Slider the other day.....But our Map turtle is fine, and undergoing second wintering 

My tank has Live Plants and special gravel mediums though. So I cannot "clean" the gravel. A Chinese Algae Eater, & a 4 yr. old Algae Shrimp 

Your set-up looks pretty good. Cleaning the tank/accessories is O.K. Is there a carbon insert ? GL


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## BQC123 (Dec 11, 2010)

Can you give some more details on the setup.

Temp?
What type of lighting?
Water changes?
Food?

Lots of factors could be at play here.


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## jesters22 (Dec 11, 2010)

temp is (forgive me) luke warm to the touch.. i dont have a thermo in their yet.
lighting is just day light. set up in my dinning room next to the sliding glass door. (sunlight is direct almost all day in this spot)
since i got the turtle it has been in tap water with the filter.
the food i got originaly was the "tetrafauna reptomin select a food" in1.55 oz and now i got the 10.59 oz version. (i noticed the ingredients are slightly different on the food sticks)

filter is the tetra whisper for up to 40gallon.


since the gold fish was added.. the water was always clear. but now the water is milky.

edit- also just to add this in their. i scrubbed and scrubbed and boiled the rocks b4 i put them in their, also rinsed off the gravel b4 putting inside.


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## Bug Trader (Dec 11, 2010)

Your water temp should be around 72 degrees for them to thrive. Your turtle may have a respiratory infection if its gotten too cold for a period of time. I did see your working on water temps but what about air temp? Turtles love to bask, this is how they keep their body temp up. You need a basking or heat light above its lounging space. This is what turtles come out of the water for. A basking area at 85-90 degrees would be the optimal temps and they will appreciate it whether its a UVB bulb or not. 
Also keep in mind turtles are very nasty. That filter will not likely be enough to keep their water clean. I had to use two canister filters and a skimmer to keep my albino red ear groups water clean.

Michael


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## the toe cutter (Dec 11, 2010)

Poison beauties has many good points. Turtles are pretty nasty and can make an absolute mess of a tank, but this also heavily depends on the species. I have a young Diamondback Terrapin and with the one large filter I still have to clean the tank about every 2 weeks. You may just want to give it a good cleaning. And they very well do need a good basking spot with the appropriate heat.


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## BQC123 (Dec 11, 2010)

First, you need to get a thermometer and get an accurate temp reading.

You need to provide a light that gives both UVA & UVB. Glass filters out UV. A basking lamp also needs to be provided, as stated above.

A basic turtle diet is a good start, but give more than one brand, and do some research on supplemental foods as well. 

There is so much more to turtle care than most people realize. A young turtle especially needs proper lighting and nutrition to grow, and be healthy.

Please get a good book or two, and do some research on the proper requirements. I've heard this forum is pretty decent:

http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload/index.php?act=idx

Sorry, I'm at work  and cannot provide  better detail at this time.


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## jesters22 (Dec 11, 2010)

my main question is why is the water normaly clear as can be.. but all of a sudden it became mikly and white foam floating on the top???


and i will get some sort of light for the top. and a temp guage.


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## JColt (Dec 11, 2010)

white is urates. How often do you exchange water? Now that it is getting bigger you should change more often.


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## sharpfang (Dec 11, 2010)

jesters22 said:


> i will get some sort of light for the top. and a temp guage.


I assumed by the look of the Pic, that you had those items  Mine has a "turtle-dock" 2  & a floating log.

My H20 turtles live OUTSIDE in the day, and come INDOORS, @ night......till this week...

...When they come back inside where it's warmer  
{I am willing to bet by the sounds of sun hitting tank regularly, that your Turtle is Not especially COLD - however like all turtles, thermoregulation to an 85* spot is nec. to Digest food properly, and UVB rays to absorb Calcium efficiently - that formula should be a givin 2 Reptile & Amphibian owners}


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## Wadew (Dec 11, 2010)

jesters22 said:


> my main question is why is the water mostly clear as can be.. but all of a sudden it became milky with white foam floating on the top???
> 
> 
> and i will get some sort of light for the top. and a temp guage.


Jesters22,
Aside from the good advice in previous posts:
 Like an Aquarium you need to establish a septic system ("Good bacteria") to maintain water clarity and to more importantly consume ammonia from the turtle waste produced. If food lays around in the water un-eaten this will also cause quite a mess sometimes more then an established filter can handle. The "septic system" you are trying to establish requires balance in temperature and it is important to maintain water quality before pH falls to the low end so far that it decimates any good bacteria you have cultivated. Unless you want to change water often it would be wise to figure out some balance with maintaining water quality. 
 Some people have more success with canister filtration. The most successful way would be Wet/Dry filtration IMO

                              Turtles are Awesome !
                                Happy turtle keeping
                                          Wade


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## jesters22 (Dec 12, 2010)

wadew... have have zero idea wat your post says.. 100% new to all of this.. soo please explain in simpler terms.. including pictures!! 

anyway.. got a thermometer. says 82-84 degrees on the opposite side of the heater.


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## dtknow (Dec 12, 2010)

Has no one asked what kind of turtle this is?


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## jesters22 (Dec 12, 2010)

just a normal painter turtle. found it at the bottom of my stairs 1 day.

an update. foam is still their. im thinking i may start over with the tank, clean everything and rebuild the good bacteria.

also the turtle is only eating the baby krill and baby shrimp that comes in the reptomin select a food. he will not eat the turtle sticks.


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## Crysta (Dec 12, 2010)

did you try fresh vegetables?


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## jesters22 (Dec 12, 2010)

no i have not. wat kind?


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## dtknow (Dec 12, 2010)

with a painted turtle you need to provide a basking light or other means of radiant heat above water so the turtle can easily dry off and warm up when it comes out of water. Think of all those painted turtles you've no doubt observe baking themselves on logs.

Cleaning out the tank and starting over will do you no good. You need a better filter. Live plants would also help-but the turtle would likely eat/destroy them.


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## Nicole (Dec 12, 2010)

Are you sure there is no chance that soap or some other contaminant got into the tank?  I suppose if the fish is still kicking that's probably not likely though.  It may be that your turtle has just finally outgrown the filtering capacity of your setup.  If the tank has been running for more than a few weeks -which it sounds like it has, then you already have beneficial bacteria in there, and sterilizing everything will just set you back.


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## BQC123 (Dec 13, 2010)

OK, what size tank is that? Honestly, I would consider a 20 long the minimum size for that size turtle.

A canister filter rated for a much larger tank should be used. Turtles
produce lots of waste.

I would get the water temp to 75 F myself. 

Provide UVA/UVB lighting and a basking bulb over one end of the land area.
I usually go about 85-88 F for the basking spot.

Give a varied diet.

Here are a couple care sheets to get you started, but do more research than that.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-eastern_painted.htm

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


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## Tleilaxu (Dec 13, 2010)

www.turtleforum.com

The best site for turtle care that I have found, go and ask your question there.


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## DrAce (Dec 15, 2010)

I ain't an expert, but I do have a few clues on these matters...

Milky water + foam would SCREAM bacteria/yeast to me. Something microbial is growing in your tank.

Why?  Who knows... chances are something is rotting, and a REALLY good clean is needed. Your turtle may have been infected with something by now... I don't know.

I'd go to the turtle forum and post there.


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