Pets in college?

[SebastianTheGirl]

I have a baby red eared slider and am moving into a dorm in a couple months. The school says they allow small aquariums, have any of you guys taken your pets to college? I'm attending CSUN

 

[Turtleswagg]

im sure he will be fine in a 20-30 gal tank for a while

 

[Madkins007]

I gotta say that I think water turtles are poor choices of pets for small living spaces, just because of the machinery and work it takes to provide a good habitat for them, as well as for your roommates.

Remember- most water turtles need about 10 gallons of free water per inch of shell length, and a baby slider turns into a 5" teen pretty quick, and a foot-long adult a few years after that. That means that you need at least a 15 gallon tank for the baby (big enough for 10 gallons of water and the other stuff with some space left at the top to prevent escape), and over 120 gallons for the adult. Yikes!

Then, to keep the water clean enough for it, as well as hygenic and not smelly, you need a good filter rated at about 2-3 times the size of the tank (ie- a 20-30 gallon filter for 10 gallons of water) as well as changing about 1/3rd of the water weekly or so, which really gets to be a pain at the larger tank sizes.

I love turtles and it really is not a big deal to meet their needs if you want- all I am saying is that this is kind of a lot for a dorm or small apartment.

 

[Turtleswagg]

Or u can get a musk which stay very small

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I gotta say that I think water turtles are poor choices of pets for small living spaces, just because of the machinery and work it takes to provide a good habitat for them, as well as for your roommates.

Remember- most water turtles need about 10 gallons of free water per inch of shell length, and a baby slider turns into a 5" teen pretty quick, and a foot-long adult a few years after that. That means that you need at least a 15 gallon tank for the baby (big enough for 10 gallons of water and the other stuff with some space left at the top to prevent escape), and over 120 gallons for the adult. Yikes!

Then, to keep the water clean enough for it, as well as hygenic and not smelly, you need a good filter rated at about 2-3 times the size of the tank (ie- a 20-30 gallon filter for 10 gallons of water) as well as changing about 1/3rd of the water weekly or so, which really gets to be a pain at the larger tank sizes.

I love turtles and it really is not a big deal to meet their needs if you want- all I am saying is that this is kind of a lot for a dorm or small apartment.

Ditto.

First and foremost, I would find out exactly what the dormitory considers as a "small" aquarium: 10 gals? 20? 40 long? The answer may help determine your next course of action.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Sounds like fun to me......

 

[LindaF]

Where in the dorms it is ok to have a small fish tank, usually turtles are not permitted. Check with the college to see if specifically turtles are allowed.