set up i had in mind for a potential future painted wood turtle

[mommanessy247]

ok so my daughter wants a turtle but not an aquatic one that just lives in an aquarium all the time so i figured on a semi-aquatic one. \after much frustrating research i finally bumped into some info about the painted wood turtle.
it's semi-aquatic, small & colorful (from what i can tell from the pictures i've seen thus far) and is said to have an outgoing personality.
the set up i have in mind is this...please feel free to correct anything that is wrong.

habitat - exo terra glass terrarium 36" L x 18" D x 18" H.

pool - cat litter pan measuring 14.5" L x 18" W x 4" H (since terrariums are not really designed to hold water, i figured i could get the cat litter pan to use as a pool. this can be removed for periodic cleaning.)

ramp leading in/out of water - zilla reptile basking platform-large (i figured i could place this with one ramp inside the "pool" and the rest of it out)

land/dry side - (didnt know what else to call it...) potting soil with some zoo med forest floor bedding on top. (most of the basking platform that would be sticking out of the pool would be buried in the soil.)

heating/lighting - exo terra glow light porcelain clamp lamp-medium 8.5" (figured i'd need 2, one for day time light/heat and one for night time heat), exo terra day glo basking tight beam bulb,100w, exo terra heat glo infrared bulb,100w (both of these lamps would be over the land/dry side to create the basking spot)

water heating - marina submersible mini aquarium heater-25w, top fin floating glass aquarium thermometer (all the thermometers, including this one, got bad reviews but this one had the best out of the worst. any suggestions on a better one would be appreciated.)

water filtration - tetrafauna repto filter

water cleaning/conditioning - tetrafauna aquasafe water conditioner (treats tap water and is said to be best for use with reptiles.), nutrafin turtle clean

feeding - zoo med aquatic turtle food, zoo med turtle bone, zoo med can o' snails, can o' grasshoppers & can o' crickets, i'm thinking live earthworms too but not sure where i'd get them & live fish-rosy red minnows (obviously the turtle would need a wide variety of fresh foods such as veggies & maybe some fruits but these were mentioned as well.)

feeding dish - exo terra granite rock feeding dish- 4.25" L x 5.5" W x 1" H

hiding - mac's creations & critters pet refuge (half log) x-lrg 9.75" W x 9" L x 4.5" H

i would like to put some plants on the land/dry side but i saw that plastic & silk plants would be a bad idea due to a turtle possibly trying to eat them.

[Christine]

Wood turtles are not my forte,
I am not sure what species of wood turtle you are talking about but I would recommend going to austins turtle forum. There is a large community of people who can help you get started correctly with turtles. I have aquatics and a tortoise. Keep in mind turtles are not cheap and are a lot of work. Also depending on the age of your daughter. A young child should be supervised while handling a turtle. Its very important that hands are always washed with soap.
Just another thought. Many states have strict laws regarding wood turtles.They are threatened in many states I know a few breeders who wont sell them to you unless your provide proof of a permit. That is why I never bothered getting into them.
Good luck


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

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

[mommanessy247]

i originally posted this on austins page turtle forums but it seems to be dead there so i came here. the wood turtle i'm talking about is actually from central america as it is also called the central american wood turtle.
there IS a north american wood turtle...maybe that is the one your talking about...hmmm. ok well i wasnt planning on doing this anytime really soon but was just getting as much info as i possibly could first.

[Christine]

I would try posting your thread again in the turtle forum. There are a select few that keep wood turtles there and they might not have seen your thread. Wood turtles are just not as commonly kept like a red ear slider.

[mommanessy247]

ah okee dokee.
thx.