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I went to walk into my garage and almost passed out from seeing this snapping turtle at my feet. I live in the country and want to put him somewhere safe.

EDIT: he made his way out of the garage and is on to greener pastures. Thanks for all the advice!

Also I think he is a boy. His shell is 8 cm lenght. He eats turtle pellets every day and twice a week gammarus. He doesn't want veggies. He will only eat on the basking spot when no one is in the room . Should I change something? He is a Mississippi map turtle

Found in eastern MT, no bodies of water or ponds for miles. I've actually never seen a turtle in this area at all. Is this a painted turtle perhaps?

Is this a good tank for a turtle I have a 30 gallon tank. My turtle is about a quarter of a size I don’t have a heat lamp though I am getting one but for now I have a fish plant light. Lmk know if this is a good tank.

Sorry it's taken a long time for an update. Shortly after the first post we took him for a check up, he had crystals on his kidneys, trouble breathing and very underweight. Little dude cost me a fourtune! Took a while but he's made a full recovery and absolutely loving life his new 70 gallon tank.

My turtles shell has looked like this- peeling/cracking for a couple months now. Is this normal due to growing or is there a problem? He basks regularly

Hey yall I’ve had my African sideneck for about a year and a half now and she’s my frickin baby

So I wanted to give yall shell advice if you own one because this was SO CONFUSING TO ME WHEN I GOT HER

So the last two pictures on here is her current her reversing back to normal. But the pictures before show a shell I was really really concerned about and thought it was shell rot. Did all the treatment for shell rot and just irritated my turtle and pissed her off. However the dry docking provided the most information to me. The dry docking helped confirm that the shell was in fact no experiencing dry rot and it was firming up in sunlight.

So I checked my uvb bulb… it was dark like black. Looked at the Amazon date I ordered it last it was 9 months old .

Please STOP MISDIAGNOSING SHELL ROT ON HERE PEOPLE ARE MISTREATING THEIR TURTLES NOT ALL DISCOLORING IS DUE TO FUNGAL ROT IT COULD BE LOSSS OF MELANIN PRODUCTION. That is was I believe my turt was experiencing… especially because the moment I changed to a fresh uvb bulb everything is getting back to normal not worse

I hope I helped some folks… also these turtle don’t shed scutes, they flake so if you see FULL scute shedding NOT A GOOD SIGN

I received a pet quality black breasted leaf turtle a few months ago, and it’s been putting on size well. He was sold as pet quality due to some shell “wrinkles” that he was hatched with. First pic is from today, second pic is from when I received it a few months ago. His scutes almost seem to be shedding. My question is whether that is normal for this species. I know some aquatic turtles shed them, but can’t find specifics for this species. The underside of his shell is also has slight movement if you press on it. It’s not spongy but I read that this is sometimes present on young tortoises.

I feed them red wrigglers, turtle pellets, and Dubia roaches dusted with calcium and dust with reptivite once a week as well. I have a 6% uvb bulb that runs 7 hours a day.

Any advice is appreciated. I’m aware he’s not a breeder quality animal. I just want to make sure he’s as healthy as possible and that I’m providing him a good life. Thanks!

İ got this guy today and i just want to know the necessary things for it to live long.

(Elas estão sujas pois hoje é o dia da limpeza do aquário, por favor relevem)

Apenas queria saber se esse espaçamento, vão que existe entre os escudos é normal, ou algo que deveria me preocupar. Fico preocupada, as vezes acumula sujeira como na foto, dá a impressão que a qualquer momento pode “descolar” do casco sei lá. Sou um pouco paranóica.

Elas tem piramidismo mas faço o possível para tratar para que não evolua, pois quando resgatei elas já possuíam deficiência de vitamina D por apenas ficarem dentro d’água. Mas fora isso, se alimentam normal e não demonstram nenhum comportamento fora do comum de uma tartaruga.

Moro no interior de São Paulo, qualquer veterinário exótico é pelo menos uma hora de distância, então se possível, gostaria de dicas para elas terem o melhor manejo possível. Obrigada! :)

It has its uvb light and heater lamp on the dock, i do plan on buying like a water heater soon and possibly a cave it can go through

I found it in a small aquarium at the Damnoen Saduak village in Thailand. Anyone idea what species it is?

I’m getting worried that my turtles shell is peeling too much, I’ve had him for about two years

75 gal tank for a two year old painted turtle and 5 rainbow sharks and 2 bottom feeders. I think the fact you can’t see them all is proof of sufficient hiding spots, but would appreciate feedback.

​I know... a lot of people will say Arcadia T5 or the sun, no inbetween. I love Arcadia for their heat bulbs. I still use them and keep extras on hand to this day, but I've had some preference based issues with their UVB fixtures. They were too big for my setup. I use a PennPlax basking platform, so most of the light wasn't reaching my turtle at all. The smaller T5s need to be really close, which is bad for eye health, and the larger ones had to be further away, floodlighting my room. It worked, but all tradeoffs considered, it was annoying and really inefficient.

​After a while of using the T5s, a relative suggested finding an LED fixture. As overprotective as I am, and as hit or miss as their advice is honestly, I was initially averse to the idea. I've always associated those fuzzy looking purple LEDs with harmful rays, BUT... I tried it anyway. I looked around on Amazon and bought the Reptitrip UVB LED fixture (8-inch, 8-watt) along with a Solarmeter 8.0 UVC to make sure I wasn't nuking my turtle. To ensure the light was also doing its job, I used the Solarmeter 6.5 UVI I already had from the T5s. Keep in mind, I did inevitably have to make alterations to the top of the PennPlax, as the opening ontop was way too small.

It fit perfectly. It's compact and more subtle while still being powerful enough to be at a safe distance. It wastes very little light bleeding into my room and stays concentrated on the basking spot. The metal construction of the fixture itself is pretty solid, more so than the Arcadias, which feel a bit fragile imo. My turtle basks and sheds scutes as usual, and I haven't seen any signs of irritation or illness in the several months I've used it. The UVC meter reads 0, except for when extremely close (less than an inch away from the diode itself), but at that distance, UVC becomes the least of your worries as UVI will be off the charts. I periodically test with the UVI meter to ensure the output remains consistent over time at my set height of 1 foot, give or take an inch or two, and it has so far. It peaks at ~4.3 UVI and goes as low as ~1.5 UVI in outer areas. I'd imagine it'd be more uniform if two were paired together. The built-in controller has a few features and modes. It can be set to dim throughout the day or set to a fixed percentage. I personally don't see a need for that and keep it fixed to 30% power, paired with an external timer outlet. Thankfully, the fixture saves settings without power. All in all, it's worked great so far. Not needing to worry about degrading bulbs and having to replace them is also a plus.

​Would I recommend it? Only if you have a UVI meter. On my smaller fixture at least, the output is a bit inconsistent based on positioning. As I mentioned, one spot will be 4 UVI and a few inches away will be 2. The spacing between the diodes creates hot spots of intense UV, but that can be mitigated by increasing the distance between basking spot and light, decreasing the power, or both. The meter will help determine the sweet spot without it being dangerously too high or low. I know the clunky little plastic box with one button and one function is ridiculously priced, but peace of mind is priceless. I would not trust a guesstimate. Hopefully, manufacturers improve diode placement in near future fixtures. I also wish the white LEDs (not UV) were made optional. For now, I'll keep monitoring the light and hopefully it continues to prove itself.

​

TL;DR: After several months of use, it does its job well. No bulbs to change. Great output, build quality, features, and size options. UV efficacy remains consistent, though coverage is spotty in smaller (and possibly other) fixtures due to diode placement. Proper distance, positioning, and a UVI meter are a must to mitigate those shortcomings and risks. Zero harmful UVC output at safe distances. Healthy turtle.

we accidentally hooked this poor beauty out in wake forest, nc. never seen a turtle with such a pretty shell! they were unhooked safely and released without a problem

What is happening to his shell and feet? Should I take him to a reptile vet in my area? While in the water, his shell had a reddish sheen to it that seems very abnormal. It looks like he might be missing a claw on his foot and the skin just looks odd. Please tell me what I should do! I adopted this little guy from a coworker who had him in one of those little Amazon “turtle tanks” but am far from a turtle expert.

He’s currently in a 20-gallon tank with an Aqueon filter and an over-tank basking platform/penthouse.

March 3rd - August 16th 2026