Habitat - Indoor :: driftwood

[marisa]

VWALEXVW, all I meant was if you didn't believe me (which you sounded like you didn't) you could do a search on the web on the subject and see what was said about them (tannins).

BTW, do you like VWs?

[VWALEXVW]

no i do believe you...please dont misunderstand i was just worried..i love my turtles and put a lot of money into their life...but i appreciate you reassuring me i really do thank you for your interest and concern.
i did take out the wood though as a white milky liquid was being dispensed around the wood, i just took out the 2 pieces of wood, cleaned out everything in the tank,,put clean water..boiled the rocks and cleaned their basking area now theirs a huge difference in my water..its clear!!! i dont think that the wood was good for them, the water was extremely orange and that milky substance couldn't of been good...

p.s...i love vw..i drive a vw gti vr6

[marisa]

Just curious, but you said that the wood you bought was specifically for this type (of habitat, I'm assuming). Do you know what kind of wood it is? I had tried T-Rex grapevine, which said it was for basking reptiles, for a basking area. After being in the water for a while a light green mucus-like film developed on the part that was submerged in the water. It had to continually be scrubbed and dried; I finally took it out, and later found out that grapevine is not suitable in high humidity environments. I haven't found any wood that was particularly good (have never tried real driftwood, though) and can't think of any unless it were treated (which could cause problems depending on what was used). I opted for corkbark, which is moisture resistant.

[VWALEXVW]

no im not sure what type of wood,, but it was sold at the fish store,,and
it was cleaned and designed for this type of atmosphere but the submerged part was completly disgusting, a white creamy substance was growing on it, i dont think wood is good for water submerged, but i plan on returning it tommorow, i will let you know, now i have to find something to put inside the tank...i also bought another turtle!! now i have 3...

[marisa]

In what size tank?

[VWALEXVW]

3 just baby turtles,,,maybe an inch or just below that for each,,,and i wanna get another one

[cam722]

I hope you realize what size tanks those are all going to need by the time they are adults.

Male 7" - 9" Female 10" - 12"... that means 70-90 gallons per adult male and 100 - 120 gallons per adult female. A rather huge undertaking.. unless you're going to have an outdoor pond. Just hope you don't have territorial issues too

[flutterby]

And make sure you remember to quarantine the new turtle(s).

[VWALEXVW]

well i bought one and did not quarentine him..this a problem? whats the quarentine time? and why?

[sonyj]

I believe normal quarentine time is 90 days (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to insure your healthy turtles stay healthy if the new one should happen to have a disease or illness (because it may appear healthy but really be developing something that doesn't appear till later).

[VWALEXVW]

how do i quarentine him though..i only have 1 tank///

[sonyj]

You have to have at least another tank or container such as a large rubbermaid storage box for quarentining (w/proper setup)and then you also need to think about if these turtles grow you will need a much bigger tank. Also if there are territoral issues as they grow you have to be prepared to separate them permanently. So think about the possible cost of keeping them over the next 20+ years and then decide if you want multiple turtles. Myself, I can only afford the one so that's what I did even though they are so cute and I could easily get a dozen without thinking about the future.

[way2fst4u]

Another option to "cure" wood for underwater use ( rather than boiling it) is to soak it in a trash can or rubbermaid for a week...this will let the tannins escape the wood, and shouldn't discolor your water. This will only work with store bought pieces, and won't do any good to kill parasites from wood that was found in the wild.

[marisa]

This will work for corkbark, but a wood that isn't moisture resistant will get moldy/slimy and at the very lease will need frequent cleaning.