Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Green Chimneys, Sun June 7th, 2009

On Sunday, we went to Green Chimneys, (a children's school) where my boyfriend grew up. . . they had Raptor Day there. . .

We had a great day!! Visit my post at Silk Creek Portal to see a couple pics;)))

Hopefully, I will be blogging more again soon! :)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Painted Turtles



This blog posted is for my almost 7yr old daughter, Rayna. She LOVES turtles. We currently have 6 painted turtles. She has 1 with her at grandma's & the other 5 are at my ex-husband's house, which I am hoping to go get this weekend, along with my frogs & tarantula.



Painted Turtles
Chrysemys picta picta


Painted Turtles have a hingeless shell. The top is called the carpace & the bottom is called the plastron. The shell sheds.


Males will grow to approximately 4-6" and the female will reach approximately 6-8" in length.


Eastern painted turtles have quite a large range in habitat & are found in a variety of habitats from southeastern Canada through New England & the Atlantic coastal states, south into Georgia and west into east Alabama.


Turtles have certain temperatures they need to be maintained in a healthy environment. The air temperature for the turtle should be maintained around 80 deg. The basking temp should be kept between the high 80's & low 90 deg. The water temp should be maintained around 70 deg.


Eastern painteds are apparently a relatively hardy animal according to what I've read. However, just because the animal is hardy, doesn't mean that you should be neglectful. Always be sure that you are able to provide the best care possible for your turtles.


Eastern painted turtles become accustomed to their handlers & are not shy. They become quite tame & have quite a personality.


It is very important that turtles be given a variety in their diet to avoid too much protein, or other problems in their diet. They should be offered aquatic plants (such as: water lilies, duckweed, anachris, water lettuce, water fern, pondweed, etc.), fresh veggies (such as: zucchini, squash, collard greens, beet leaves, romaine (please avoid regular lettuce), kale, dandelions, etc.), a few fruits, crickets, mealworms, and bloodworms.


Painted turtles should be fed every day until they are about 6mos old. You can then go to every othe day feeding. Watch your turtles growth & health and adjust accordingly. Some turtles may need more feedings (or less) than others. Be sure to feed the turtle until full (about a 45-min eriod), but don't overfeed. Turtles in captivity can be prone to obesity. Overfeeding your turtle with too much protein can cause the turtle to grow too fast, shell deformities, or even possible problems with their liver and/or kidneys. Turtles LEARN to beg for food. They don't do it just because they hungry, they also do it as a learned response. Don't fall into overfeeding your turtle. Although omnivorous, young turtles are more carnivorous, becoming more herbivorous as they age.


Painted turtles love to bask! It is imperative that they have an adequate basking area. It is important that you use a "light" that provides UVB for them. UVB is extremely important to reptiles.


Turtles really need a tremendous amount of space to mimic their natural habitat as much as possible. Turtles should have deep water, with areas they can access to climb out & bask, or get out of the water if they choose.

Substrate in their habitat is not as important, but could be nothing (bare bottom), stones, etc. Be sure that the substrate you choose is safe for your turtle. I actually prefer no substrate because it makes cleaning the habitat much easier. Water should always be kept clean & clear. When ever you see waste in the cage, clean it out & not just at the time of cage cleaning.


The more turtles you have housed together, the more room is needed. You should not keep full-grown turtles in anything smaller then around a 75-gal tank (for 1). All the turtles kept together should be approximately the same size. In general, they are peaceful enough amoungst other painteds, but some males will fight. Care should be taken to monitor your turtles & their behaviors for any aggression, as their sharp beaks can cause a lot of damage to their cagemates.


If you have a female, she may lay eggs. They lay anywhere from 2 to around 20 eggs per clutch laid. This seems to be dependent on the size of the female. incubation periods run from approximately 65 days to 80 days, and temperature ranges should be kept in 71.6 to 89.6 deg F. From my reading, they say males are produced between the 71.6 to 80.6 deg F and females between 86 & 89.6 deg F. Mixed genders will be produced in the 80-86 deg F range. In the wild, these turtles nest May-July and will produce 1-2 clutches a year. The eggs are oblong & buried in a nest, about 4" deep. The young that hatch out may winter over in their nest. Hatchlings have an egg tooth.


In the wild, painted turtles prefer lakes, streams & rivers with slow-moving water. You will often see many turtles basking on the same log together.


Males & females are distinguished through the length of claws (males have longer claws on their front feet) & the space of the cloaca from the base of the tail. The males cloaca is beyond the edge of the carapace, where in females, it does not extend out past the carapace.


Turtles should be considered a LIFELONG commitment. They can live 30yrs or more, with adequate care.




Here are some pages for you to check out!

Care Sheet - Eastern Painted
WNYHS - Painted Turtle Care Sheet & Information
Eastern Painted Turtle
CentralPets.com - Reptiles & Amphibians - Painted Turtles
Painted_Turtle

Introduction to my newest Blog!

I've been away from my blogs for so long, I feel. . . LOST! LOL I love to blog & have missed it tremendously!!

So here is my newest addition to my blog family!

In this blog, I am planning to take an animal a day (kind of like my bird blog, but this will be any animal in general) & give some information & links for it.

:)

I may even take requests. If you comment in my blog, I ask that you to put in a request for the animal you would like to see in a future post.