So today at the store I work in a lady brought a fish bowl with a young map turtle in it wanting to get rid of it. We had no space for it because someone had already dropped off 2 adult red ear sliders last week, so I brought it home. The turtle itself is currently 3.5-4" and I've got it in a 36" x 12" tank with about 7" of water. I've got all the basics (heat lamp, basking area, UVB light, Filter, Water heater) but this is my first turtle, is there anything that i'm missing? any tips are more then welcome as well. Little guy will also have an outdoor enclosure to go in under supervision to get some natural sun light.
Mississippi Map Turtle Help
- Thread starter aidenb
- Start date
Nice work on the rescue... is he/she eating yet? Get a nice quality prepared food (I use reptomin, there are several decent options), but be careful not to overfeed! Feeding too much will cause pyramiding of the shell and can lead to organ damage or failure. I feed my turtles the reptomin every 2-3 days or so (they say that the right amount of the food should be about the same size as the turtles head for a single feeding), days in between I usually give them some romaine lettuce/diced tomato since it won't contribute to pyramiding and helps their digestive system. Occasionally I give them some chunks of thawed shrimp or leftover chicken breast to mix it up a little.
I don't know how tall your tank is since you just gave the footprint, but if there is space, give him as much water depth as you can. Maps are excellent swimmers. It sounds like you have the right general idea for turtle care though, full spectrum UVA/UVB lighting is essential and often overlooked by new turtle owners.
I don't know how tall your tank is since you just gave the footprint, but if there is space, give him as much water depth as you can. Maps are excellent swimmers. It sounds like you have the right general idea for turtle care though, full spectrum UVA/UVB lighting is essential and often overlooked by new turtle owners.
It looks like you're doing pretty well so far. Here's a good care sheet on that species.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-mississippi_map.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-mississippi_map.htm
So looking at some pics I'm pretty sure it's a graptemys ouachitensis if that makes any difference care wise. It's got a full spectrum UV and the tank is 18" tall, should I make the water deeper? He's eating well but does have a little bit of pyramiding already.
10% is fine, that's what I use for my turtles. Add more water, he'll thank you for it. If he is already pyramiding, than it's even more important that you get him on a correct feeding schedule. It will work itself out over time (but it can take awhile depending on how long they were overfed). You should start seeing results in a few months (seems like a long time, but turtles don't grow as quickly as fish).
How bout a pic of the turt/setup??
How bout a pic of the turt/setup??
Care is the same for Mississippi and Ouachita maps. Unfortunately pictures of those two species online are often mislabeled, making IDing more difficult. G. ouachitensis has a rectangular light bar behind the eye, a few light neck stripes reaching the back of the eye, a large light spot below the eye and another just below that on the lower jaw. G. p. kohnii has a sickle-shaped light bar (may be broken) behind the eye, usually no light neck stripes reaching the back of the eye, and small or no light spots below the eye and on the jaw.
Keep using the 10% bulb, it's not harmful and the turtle will get a little bit more UVB. Make the water as deep as you can, maybe look into making an above-tank basking area to maximise water space 
Best,
Paul
Best,
Paul