How to Care for a Western Painted Turtle? Mastering the Care Method Is Key

The Western Painted Turtle is a small aquatic turtle with a flat, oval shape, its colors ranging from green to black, and some subspecies have red markings. It is mostly kept as an ornamental turtle, so how do you care for it?

How to care for a Western Painted Turtle?

1. Housing environment

Prepare a suitably sized aquarium (the size depends on how many you are keeping), and equip it with a UV lamp, an incandescent lamp, a heater, a filter, as well as a basking platform made of rocks and a hiding spot, with pebbles spread on the bottom.

2. Food

Besides commercial artificial turtle food, you can also feed it some chopped fresh pork/beef/lamb/chicken, or shrimp/fish, or you can feed it some mealworms. If the turtle has a good appetite, feed it once a day at a fixed time and in a fixed amount, and it will grow very fast; if you want it to grow more slowly, feeding it once every 3 days is also fine. Generally, after feeding it food for three days, feed it something meaty once, so that the turtle will not lack calcium or nutrients.

3. Changing the water

The water used for changes should be filtered, or left in the sun to bake. Change the water once every four days, changing 3/5 each time; once the turtle has adapted to the water quality, you can change all of it. Keep the water quality in the aquarium stable, and remove food residue promptly.

Since the Western Painted Turtle hibernates around November, you should feed it plenty of food before then, and keep things quiet during hibernation -- do not disturb it.