I like toitels.

[Zath]

Got incredibly lucky yesterday, and found this little guy struggling to get across four lanes of highway. How he made it as far as he did is a miracle. Tbh I didn't even know what it was when I saw it in the car. I've never seen a turtle this small, and thought it was a particularly slow lizard or something.

Oh joy of joys! I've literally wanted one of these since I was about 6 years old, and this is actually the first time I've ever seen one in-person. Also lucky that it's a baby, which means it will be fairly easy to get it used to handling.

Got a crash course on their care via google, and headed out today to get the supplies I needed. Made it as simple and cheap as possible for now, but it should do for awhile. Stocked the water with 3 feeder guppies that are about his size, and I've also got live mealworms, crickets, etc. to get him eating.

Anyway:

 

[nimbulan]

Wow that is one small turtle. Good luck with him!

 

[Acro]

Join up with TurtleForum.com (and say "HI" to me when you do, same name as here) and check out the care sheets on their main website "Austin's Turtle Forum".
That snapper is adorable, I've wanted one too, but for now I'm good with my 4 Red Eared Sliders. Glad you were able to save the lil baby from all those cars!

 

[Zath]

Just in case his size wasn't apparent in the previous pics...(and for more turtle cuteness)

 

[Acro]

So tiny and cute!!!!!

She/He will be a monster soon!

 

[Zath]

Just a little update (no pics yet)

I've built a stand and gotten most of the plumbing set up for a new tank that should last him quite a while (hopefully at least a year, possibly two, depending on how fast he grows). Once it's up and running I'll post pics.

Basically the tank itself is elevated, with a gravity-fed drain-pipe feeding into a wet / dry filter, which drains into a sump, and is then pumped back out using a 200 gph pond-pump. Actual gph (I measured it), is 80 gph due to the loss of pressure incurred by 3.5 feet of head-height. Still enough to cycle the water 4-5 times per hour, though.

I was also able to put together a little PVC system that fits into the filter intake so that it creates a self-regulating siphon. Every 5-6 minutes, as the water level slowly rises (it still overflows at a generous rate into the filter continuously), the siphon kicks in and creates a massive amount of suction, reducing the water level back to the established minimum (in this case it's only a difference of 1/4"). This will hopefully create enough current, in bursts, to pull solid waste towards that side of the tank and into the filter, rather than laying around on the bottom.

Now, it ain't pretty. But, it works. Just got it into place today after a full day of testing and running water through it outside on the deck yesterday in case anything went wrong. There's also a ball-valve on the intake in case I need it, and a third bulkhead mounted on the very bottom with another ball-valve for easy water changes. Just put a bucket underneath the pipe and let 'er rip!

Just got the light fixture set up today (a 2 bulb, 24" T8 fixture running two Zilla Desert 50 UVB bulbs). Hope I wired the thing right. It's been so long since I wired one manually I can't remember if it matters which way they're connected to the plug. I'm thinking not, because it's AC running through the ballast, but I'll find out when I test it later tonight. If I got it wrong, it's a simple matter of swapping the wires, lol.

 

[fredg]

More Toitel shots please

 

[nimbulan]

Seconded

 

[Zath]

Geez...pushy ain't ya?

Fine, I was about to clean his tank out anyway. Gimme a few minutes.

 

[Zath]

As per request.

Stil tiny, still adorable.

(And probably still full of salmonella)

 

[fredg]

All together now

:grin: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww!

 

[Zath]

Aight, pic time!

Some of these were taken a couple days ago, and the "filter" looks a bit barren (top drawer is empty and the scrubby drawer is only half-full). It's now full of proper stuffins.

 

[Zath]

(Edit) Lmao...TF won't show the last image because I put a naughty word in the filename for humor. Thanks censor.

 

[yimmy87]

I have had a snapper for 7.5 years when i found mert she was the same size she is now the size of a dinner plate she pretty much doubled her size each year for the first 2 then slowed down some. Your turtle can live 80 plus years so plan in advance nice little snapper cute as heck

Sent from my LGL61AL using Tapatalk

 

[Zath]

 

[DragonsEye]

Been a while, Zath. Nice to see it is still doing well for ya.