Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: New Turtle Owner

[bill1082]

Hello,

I just recently joined the world of owning a turtle and wanted to say hi to everyone else.

My name is Bill, and I just got a baby red ear slider.

Do turtles sleep alot? Mine likes to just chill out on the dry land lol
For the dry land "sunlight" I'm just using a desk lamp with a 60 watt bulb. I talked to the local pet shop owners and they said that would be suffiecent enough to make the turtle comfortable.


I think I have a good enviroment for him, I'm keeping the water at about 76-80.

My only concern is eating. I've had the turtle since Saturday morning and it's only eaten a few pellets and will never touch any lettuce or goodies like that.

Oh, and my turtles name is Proteus.

If anyone wants to talk, my screen name on AOL is
DarkKnight1782


Bill

[JessicaTS]

Local pet shop people don't have sufficient information about turtles, so don't reply on them. Right now you already have a UVA light, which only emits heat to the basking dock., With that, you will also need a UVB light that supply vitamind3.
Hatchlings are slightly carnivorous, so don't worry if he's not touching the lettuce, but keep offering it.
What kind of set-up do you have for him?

Welcome to Turtle Talk

[sonyj]

Welcome...

That's a good start for your turtle. But like turtlesirens said be sure to add the UVB bulb along with the heat bulb you are also providing.

The water temp for a hatchling should be 78 degrees, about 75 for older turtles. The temp should be kept as constant as possible to prevent illness. Also, What is the temperature of the basking area? It should be around 90. The heat light should be around 6-8 inches from the basking area, but can be adjusted to regulate the temp.

Most hatchlings will take to pellets before veggies but never stop offering them because they need the vitamins the veggies have. They will eventually come around to eating the veggies as well. It usually takes a few days to for new turtles to adjust to their environment before they will comfortably eat and bask on a regular basis.

Sounds like you are doing great so far. Let us know if you have any more questions.

[bill1082]

ok, I just went out and got a light strip and a uvb bulb its a 15 watt now i just need to figure out how to set it up to have both sources

[bill1082]

just with the 15 watt bulb in there its giving off uvb and uva i suppose the air temp in the basking area is 85 and holding steady there

is that ok?

[sonyj]

It really sounds like just a UVB bulb. Is it florescent? If so, then it's just UVB and you should also use a heat bulb along with it. Feel right up against the bulb. Do you feel that it is emiting any heat? For a heat bulb, a regular household bulb in a clamp light will work fine. Much cheaper than the kind you buy at the pet store and they work just the same. (I learned that a little too late...) The temp for basking really should be about 90 (up to about 95 but no higher) If the water/basking temps are too close it won't enduce the turtles to bask enough.

[marisa]

Check the basking area with a thermometer to be sure (put it where the turtle will bask and leave it there for about 20 min.) Basking area should be 8-10 degrees warmer than the water. The UVB light doesn't give off that much heat.

How big is your tank? If it's small, it will be more difficult to regulate the temps.