Today I came home from work to a turtleless tank. My musk turtle escaped via a small gap in his egg crate basking area and was found on the floor in the next room over. He somehow squeezed himself through the highlighted area and pulled himself over. Thankfully he was unharmed and returned to his tank.

I'm considering adding some leaf litter this fall, but what happens as it breaks down?

Does it eventually disintegrate? Do you just siphon it out if the filter doesn't get it?

How long does it last before completely breaking down?

I recently got two red-eared sliders and I’m trying to get their care right. They’re currently not very active and one (or both) seems to have a mild eye issue — a bit of swelling/cloudiness.
Current setup:
• Water temperature is stable at 27 °C
• Water is treated with AquaSafe
• Filter is now working properly
• Correct UVB/heat lighting is in place
They move their heads, mouths and legs a little, but they’re not swimming or walking around much. After a tank clean they swam briefly then climbed out and stacked on each other.
I’ve been offering the food they were previously given and plan to get some bloodworms tomorrow.
Any advice on what else I should check or do to help them settle and recover would be really appreciated. Photos of the setup and the turtles are attached.

I saved 2 red ear sliders from a market in Shanghai I’m currently now in England don’t ask how I got them through customs.

I’m basically just asking if anyone knows what I can do to keep them from dying they aren’t all that active and seem to have a bit of a eye infection I think because the filter wasn’t working correctly in the water before they also have the correct lighting.

the water temperature is 27c and treated correctly with aqua safe here is some pictures of the set up I also plan to buy some blood worms tomorrow for them but for now iv been offering them food from china I’ll attach a picture to go with this post but really I’m not sure what else I can do they move their mouths and heads and legs slightly but they aren’t walking around and when I placed them in water after cleaning the tank they swam a little then walked out and climbed on top of eachother not moving much .

Any help or ideas would be appreciated :(

My brother has three turtles that he won’t take care of and wants to just abandon them outside, I don’t want the turtles to die and I don’t know anywhere else we can take them. All three of the turtles are healthy but needs a resupply on food, I don’t know much about turtles or what to do so any thing helps.

Just a cool soft shell I found on land the other day. There were some Nest spots nearby so I wonder if they were just looking for a place to brumate or hibernate. I'm definitely not an expert on soft shells or even most turtles but I definitely love the soft shells! She let me pet her and I only did so to make sure she was alive. She looked dry went to get her some water and she was gone when I came back lol

Wilbur makes my day every time I visit the local reptile store, I hope he makes you smile too :)

It sounds like she’s breathing through a straw. Does this mean she’s sick?

I’ve been in the aquarium hobby for a little over two years (since June 2024), this is my second planted tank ever. Up until now, I’ve been a ghost on Reddit, Instagram, and the forums. No content creation, no YouTube channel, just quietly reading threads, absorbing information, and building in silence.

My journey started with a 40G grow-out for a baby turtle, where I incorporated live plants and community fish to see what worked. The only rule I brought from a brief attempt 15 years ago was that turtle tanks need oversized filtration (I ran a Fluval 207 on that 40G). What I learned there became my Version 2.0: a 75-gallon high-tech ecosystem where a Mississippi Map Turtle, community fish, predatory fish, oddballs, and delicate macro-inverts live alongside each other.

Why I Built This

1. To build a living window for my kids: I wanted them to learn firsthand about nature's balance, ecological zoning, and the responsibility of caring for animals.

2. To challenge the "dirty destroyer" myth: Turtles have a reputation in the hobby as toxic, plant-shredding chaos machines (which for some pond species is true). Most advice says keep them in bare glass boxes. But that just didn’t work for me.

My theory was simple: instead of stripping their environment bare. Lean into the chaos. Engineer proactive filtration, establish biological enrichment, and match the turtle species to the ecosystem. With the right planning, the right turtle doesn't just survive—he thrives as the focal point of a planted display.

The Execution

I’m an electrician by trade, not a biologist or professional aquascaper. I took my research on male Mississippi Map Turtles and tried to anticipate potential points of failure—heavy bio-load, plant damage, territorial aggression—engineering solutions directly into the framework of the tank rather than scrambling later.

After nearly a year of continuous operation, the tank is thriving. Because this is a highly technical setup, I’m dropping the full breakdown (filtration loops, water chemistry, plant care schedules, and full stock list) in the first comment so this main post doesn't turn into a wall of text.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What else might we be dismissing too quickly?

Meet Greg.

Hi! I could use some advice re my African mud turtle, Swim Shady. He hasn’t been basking, is eating a bit less, and I haven’t noticed his post-eating stink in at least a week and a half. He has a basking dock, appropriate lighting, his water is at 78 Fahrenheit. I’ve had him for over a year and he has had basking issues in the past, but the rest is new. I do have a local vet I could take him to.

Eastern painted turtle, male or female

Not sure the gender of my eastern painted turtle. Killy is 6 almost 7 years old. I always assumed it was a female because my male slider had much longer claws than her but upon further investigation I’m kinda stumped.

(New Jersey bred, hatched in May 2020)

They were just getting onto the asphalt on a relatively busy cycle path here in Indianapolis. I moved him to the other side in the direction they were heading so he didn’t get squashed. I nearly missed them as it was so small, and I’m always on the lookout for them. Couldn’t imagine a cyclist seeing them.

I found this guy in a pit of rocks near an area that was just mowed. He’s super small, about 1” wide and 2” long. I’m not sure if he’s just hibernating, but I did not feel like he would be safe there. Where should I put him so he can hibernate more safely? Found in northern Kentucky.

Ignore the dragonfruit, my coworker said he might be hungry.

I'm happy for my turtle Flora🥰 Last photo was the first setup in 2019.

(I plan to add even more sand and plants.)

- it didn’t work
bro hasn’t ate in WEEKS and now that i served a shrimp he eat it 😭 75% vegan turtle btw

Do the claws on these 2 turtles look like males.

Hi there! We recently built a wooden fence around our yard, and found a small turtle living back there. I’ve seen the turtle in several different areas of the yard just living life. I think he might be stuck in our backyard. We live about 200 yards from a river, but the fence blocks access to the river. Two questions:

1. What kind of turtle is this?
   
2. Does he need to be near water? Should we move him to a spot closer to the river? Or other options?

Thanks!

I have a 13 year-old red ear slider, and I learned that I’m not supposed to be using tapwater to clean her filter or when I change out her water. I read something along the lines of having to condition the water? Does anyone know what product I should get and how I can clean both properly??

I am looking to build a pond for my turtles but I don't really know where to start or if it is even okay to switch my turtles who have been separate to a pond where they are together.

Some context: I have 4 yellow belly sliders, one is a Female that is roughly 20 years old, the other three are only 3 years old and I believe it is 2 females and a male. The older turtle has always had her own 150 gal tank with a basking platform while the smaller turtles share a 150 gal tank currently. They are monitored and seem to get along well as I have not had any issues with biting or bullying.

I was roughly thinking it would be a 500 gal pond but I'm not sure if that is enough or if all of them together would cause issues. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi
Me and my partner have recently taken ownership over a yellow bellied slider that has not been given the best of care.

I wanted to check here mainly about his shell, he has a lot of algae growing on it that we are periodically cleaning and also have some white patches and scuffs, I was wondering if anything looks like a cause for concern?

We have provided him with a new uvb and heat lamp for his basking area and he’s going up and down frequently.

Thank you !!!

Hey, this is my spotted turtle named clementine! I've had her for about a year now, and I've noticed she really loves swimming from side to side. I adjusted her tank to give her more swim time but she treats it like its mandatory military training. Is this normal or a sign of stress? I would say she does it mainly fir thirty minutes and then gets distracted. Just trying to figure out how to be a better turtle mama. I just installed a new filter and its allt stronger than shes used to, her old filter broke and they dont have its kind in stock.

My partner found this on my turtle yesterday after she was fed. She's a 16-year-old red-eared slider. I'm terrified that it's exposed bone or some form of shell rot, because I'd never seen her scutes flake off from the center before.

Hes about 3 years old