Hi! I was wondering if you could help me with some questions I have about a new hatchling I found. My mom’s friend found a turtle in her yard (she thinks a bird dropped its egg or something) and she gave it to us because I have a tortoise I bought about 4-5 ish years ago. Since I wasn’t expecting him I didn’t have much preparation to do for his arrival. He’s a baby Red Eared Slider Turtle and I watched videos on things that I need to take care of him and bought some things for him on amazon. Right now, he’s in a big glass jar like container with some filtered water and rocks and shells and I’m trying to feed him carrots and things until I get his food. The thing is I don’t have a heater or anything for him, just a light that I use for my tortoise that I’m alternating between the two. I’m just worried about him and I don’t know if I should leave the light on all the time since it’s his only form of heat or what. I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to keep him alive and happy, but I’m just worried that my Amazon things won’t come in time since he’s such a fragile hatchling. Thank you, any helpful advice is welcome!
I have had various turtles throughout my younger years. If you plan on keeping and raising it as a pet you are doing the right thing about reading up on the care of the turtle.
Make sure the tank is long enough so he can find the heat of the lamp, but be able to walk away from the light to hide, or regulate his body heat. Make sure he has fresh water, and a well balanced diet.
10 to 12 hours a day for that warming bulb, and a heater for the water would be a plus. A 10 gallon aquarium is a good starter size. Good luck!