Turtle Thursday: Water Quality

A baby pic of Silent Bob, a dark phased diamondback terrapin.

This week I'm just going to quickly mention the most important part of taking care of turtles, yet the most easily looked-over: water quality.

Don't be fooled if the water looks fine. Impurities are invisible and can easily evade the eye. But if you let the water sit and stagnate too long, it will become a vile swampy pit of death for your little pet. As a rule, I like to dump and replace about 1/3 of the water in each tank each week. If I'm planning a vacation, I will do a complete draining of the tank and replacing with fresh water.

There are certain symptoms that will let you know the water quality is bad:

• Turtles are no longer active.
• Turtles blink their eyes frequently.
• Mucous may appear around their nose and mouth.
• Topical infections and rot may appear.

And the list goes on. From breed to breed, water quality can vary. Red eared sliders and painteds are pretty hearty animals and can handle the water if it's not too fresh. However, diamondback terrapins are VERY sensitive to dirty water. If you have a DBT in your fresh water tank and he starts acting strange, it's a good bet the water needs replacing.

Water quality is easy to keep after with the proper schedule, filter, and chemical treatments. Keep your water quality excellent and watch your pets thrive for many years to come!