What you need for a red-eared turtle in an aquarium for keeping at home (list of necessary)

Before you bring home a red-eared turtle, you need to carefully prepare everything you need to care for it. First you need to purchase the basic equipment, without which it is impossible to ensure the correct conditions for keeping the reptile. Additional accessories can be purchased later – they will make the pet’s life more comfortable and interesting, help decorate the aquarium (aquaterrarium). Some of the items will be needed only when the turtle reaches adulthood.

Basic equipment

Often, inexperienced owners believe that an ordinary jar or basin of water is enough to keep a red-eared turtle, and some try to add a reptile to aquarium fish. Such errors can cause the death of a pet or significantly reduce its life expectancy. To keep a reptile at home, you need to purchase a number of devices that will help keep your pet healthy and ensure its proper development. Everything you need for a turtle at first can be found in a specialized department of a pet store:

1. Aquaterrarium – the size of the container depends on the age of the reptile, for a small turtle a device with a volume of up to 50 liters will be enough, for an adult you will need a container of 100 liters. It is better to choose wide models so that there is more space for swimming and arranging landfall.
2. Водонагреватель – in cool water, the reptile will quickly catch a cold, the heater must maintain the water temperature at least 23-25 ​​degrees.
3. Shelf or island – the pet must periodically get out of the water, it is on land that the first stages of food digestion take place; both an ordinary island and bulk soil, separated from the water by a partition, can be used; it is important to have a gentle descent so that the turtle can comfortably get out of the water.
4. Incandescent lamp – models up to 75 W are suitable, the lamp is located above the island and usually remains on throughout the day, acting as additional heating; the temperature under the lamp should be about 28-32 degrees.
5. Ultraviolet lamp – the body of a turtle needs UV rays to digest food, assimilate calcium and other useful elements; devices labeled UVB or UVA are suitable – such a lamp should be turned on daily for several hours, usually after eating.
6. Filter – in order to purify water from pet waste, you will need to purchase an internal (suitable for containers up to 50 l) or a more powerful external filter; for large containers, it is better to choose models with an additional bio-section – such filters purify and enrich the water with useful substances using bacteria colonies (an aeration installation is required to ensure the operation of the biofilter).

For the red-eared turtle in the aquarium, you also need to pour a layer ground a few centimeters wide. So the pet will be able to comfortably move along the bottom and push off from it in order to emerge. As a primer, it is better to use pebbles or mineral filler, which will simply be washed when cleaning the aquaterrarium.

IMPORTANT: It is not recommended to use fine fraction soil (peat, sand) – its particles will be swallowed by animals, which will lead to diseases. Such materials are also poorly washed; dangerous bacteria often multiply in them.

Accessories

In the aquarium for the red-eared turtle, you can install additional items that will make its appearance more spectacular and diversify the pet’s life:

• grotto or arch – pet stores offer various products made of ceramics or shells that will replace the standard island and become an aquarium decoration;
• plant – artificial models made of plastic or silk look very beautiful in the water, but can be dangerous for the animal (the turtle can bite off and swallow small pieces of plastic or fabric); live plants will decorate the aquarium, but require additional care and can also be eaten by a pet;
• decorative elements – beautiful seashells or colored glass granules located on the ground will make the appearance of the aquarium aesthetic, and interestingly shaped driftwood will help diversify the landscape;
• cord heater – is located under a layer of soil and frees up additional space for swimming;
• thermometer – although you can use home thermometers to measure the temperature of water and air, it is better to purchase a special device for installation directly in the aquarium;
• aeration – required when installing a biofilter or in the presence of live plants, but waves of rising bubbles also decorate and enliven the aquarium;
• ladder or ladder – the place of descent into the water can be ennobled with a special strip of plastic or glass, always with a ribbed surface so that the turtle does not slip under the weight of its weight. Ladders are sold with pebbles or plastic pile simulating grass glued to the surface – such a coating is often installed on the island itself;
• left-behind – a separate container in which water is collected and the turtle is planted at the time of feeding; in a small space, it is easier for the pet to catch pieces of food, and food remains do not pollute the water in the main aquarium.

In order to beautifully arrange in the aquarium and keep in order all the accessories for the aquatic turtle, it is recommended to purchase a special cabinet-stand. When choosing, it is important to pay attention to the size and strength of the product; the aquarium itself, external filters and the lighting system should fit on the surface of the cabinet. There should be enough space in the interior compartments to hide the wires from the appliances and all the items needed to care for the turtle.