How to Care for a Newborn Paint Turtle

The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is a colorful species of aquatic turtle that is a popular pet. Hatchling painted turtles are particularly interesting due to their small size and animated nature. Young painted turtles are voracious feeders, have a rapid growth rate and require a carefully designed environment for healthy development in captivity. With a proper setup, recently hatched painted turtles are easy to care for and make entertaining pets.

Things You'll Need

  • 20-gallon aquarium
  • Full-spectrum fluorescent light
  • Heat lamp
  • Aquarium filter
  • Large rocks
  • Metal screen top
  • Thermometer
  • Tweezers
  • Reptile multi-vitamin supplement
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Instructions

  1. Tank Setup

    • 1

      Place rocks gently into the aquarium building up a small island on one side of the enclosure. While painted turtles are an aquatic species, the rocks will provide an area for them to bask and rest during the day.

    • 2

      Fill the aquarium to a dept of 3 to 6 inches for hatchling turtles. Increase the water depth as the turtle grows. The water depth should always be at least the same as the length of the painted turtle's shell.

    • 3

      Install an aquarium filter that contains a powerhead. The powerhead helps circulate the water in addition to filtering out waste, preventing water chemistry issues, such as cloudy water and odor problems in your tank.

    • 4

      Secure a metal screen top on the aquarium. Several models of metal screens are readily available from pet supply shops. Ensure that the one you use is large enough to cover the entire aquarium.

    • 5

      Install a full spectrum reptile lamp above the aquarium. Painted turtles kept indoors require specialized full spectrum lighting as a substitute for sunlight in order to metabolize vitamins and calcium necessary for strong, healthy shells and bones.

    • 6

      Position the heat lamp over the rocks and ensure that the temperature on the rocks remains between 90 and 100 degrees. Turtles, like all reptiles, are exothermic, and rely on an external heat source to warm their body so they can properly hunt and digest food.

    Introducing Hatchling Turtles

    • 7

      Purchase painted turtles from reputable breeders. Painted turtles have become a staple species, and many breeders produce healthy specimens in captivity. Purchasing a captive-bred painted turtle reduces the possibility of disease and helps conserve natural populations.

    • 8

      Introduce hatchling turtles to their new environment after the tank is properly set up and stable.

    • 9

      Feed painted turtles daily. Young painted turtles are more carnivorous than adults, but should still be offered a varied diet. Offer dark greens such as kale, collard greens or dandelion greens. In addition, feed young turtles a mixture of turtle pellets supplemented with live foods such as crickets, earth worms, night crawlers, black worms and feeder guppies.

    • 10

      Dust painted turtle foods once or twice each week with a multi-vitamin reptile supplement that contains D3 and calcium. Feed the foods to the turtles with tweezers, so that the powder supplement does not wash off in the water.