AboutMark Adkins Expertise I will be glad to help with your tortoise- and turtle-related questions. My specialty is Red-foot and other Tortoises, but I can help with many aspects of turtle care.
Understand- I am not a vet, and the more information you can give me, the more accurate my answer can be.
(Because of the number of questions I get, I reserve the right to direct you to a good website that will help rather than re-inventing the wheel.)
Experience Tortoise and other reptile keeper since 1964.
Member of the Nebraska Herpetological Society.
Author of books and articles on tortoise care.
Currently own five Red-foot Tortoises.
Expert: Mark Adkins Date: 7/11/2008 Subject: my painted turtle
Question My dad found a baby PAINTED turtle.I don't know what to feed it or put it in really.
Answer I would encourage you to watch it for a week, then release it where it was found.
To do this, just take an aquarium, or even a large plastic tub, and fill it about 1/2 way with water.
Then, make a basking area in the water by rigging up a piece of clean, dry board so it gently slants out of the water, without letting the turtle crawl out of the tank.
Use a clamp light or another way to shine light in the water, and warm the basking site to about 90F.
A filter would be nice, otherwise you'll have to change the water every couple days.
For food, get a small container of Reptomin Turtle Sticks- the ones for baby turtles if you can find it. Feed the baby a few sticks a day, and remove uneaten sticks after about an hour. Instead of the sticks, you can try blood worms from the pet store.
Understand- this is not the way to keep it for a long time, just for a week or two. It is a 'turtle hotel', not a 'turtle home'.
This is because turtles are not really easy pets. It takes a lot of money to make a nice house (we usually say it takes $150-300, mostly for the tank and filter), and turtles are kind of a lot of work to do them right.
