My Pet World: How to keep turtles happy, healthy and clean

Q: I have two red eared slider turtles. I got them last year when they were the size of half-dollars. Now in a 75-gallon tank with a sunning rock and two different lights, they are 5- and 6-inches, each. But I can't keep the tank clean for more than four days even with a filter. I've heard that some people feed their turtles in a separate tank, but as soon as I take mine out, they "clam" up. How can I train them to eat outside their usual environment? What type of tank and should it have water in it? -- Stewart Williams, Las Vegas, NV

A: I think you need a stronger filter than what you have, but feeding the turtles in a separate container will keep their habitat much cleaner no matter what the filter.

The feeding tank does need to have water because water turtles cannot swallow their food unless their heads are under water. Even if they grab a piece of food on land they still need to carry it into the water and swallow it with their head under water. I don't have an answer to why this is, despite researching it.

I feed my turtles in a plastic kitty litter pan with just enough water to cover their shells. After I put them in it and feed them, I leave them to their own devices for 20 minutes or so to allow them time to eat and poop in the pan. Then I put the turtles back into their vivarium and use the messy water in the feeding pan to water my houseplants.

If your turtles are too shy right now to eat out of their habitat, then just put them into the feeding pan a few times a day to swim for about 20 minutes, so they can grow feel comfortable in it -- just be sure that the water in the feeding pan is the same temp as in their vivarium.

Q: Years back we all had Iguanas as pets and I had a very clever one named "Iggy," who actually lived loose in my studio apartment for many years. However you never see them offered as pets anymore in the pet stores we went to and I was wondering why? -- Richard Grant, Chicago, IL

A: Keeping reptiles as pets has come a long way in the last few decades. Years back, the iguana was so popular as a pet only because it was the only lizard that was available as a pet.

In Central America the green iguana is a popular food source. The animal is commercially bred on farms for this purpose, so there are many babies that are available to be sold in the pet trade and years back every pet store had them.

The problem, though, is that baby iguanas need a lot of specialized care that not all pet keepers are capable of providing. Because of this, most of them died as infants.

So many adult iguanas ended dumped in parks and other areas by those people who could not keep them and many municipalities made them not legal as pets. In parts of Florida pet iguanas that got dumped have taken over as an invasive species.

While all this was going on, dedicated reptile enthusiasts started to breed and domesticate other lizards, such as bearded dragons and geckos. Those animals are much smaller than a 6-foot, 15 pound iguana, thus easier to keep as a pet. That is the main reason you seldom see baby iguanas offered for sale as pets.

If you do find one to purchase, you must be sure you are capable of keeping one as a pet before you purchase it.

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(Marc Morrone has kept almost every kind of animal as a pet for the last half-century and he is happy to share his knowledge with others. Although he cannot answer every question, he will publish many of those that have a general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your name, city and state.)