Habitat - Indoor :: Conflicting information on temperature from vet...

[Crash]

Hi all. Well one of my turts (Crush) is sick...she has pneumonia and isn't eating so I had to take her to the vet. Vet gave antibiotics for the pneumonia so hopefulyl she gets better soon. She is still young length is about 1.5 inches i'd say and weight is i think around 15 grams. Well I took her to the vet and he was quizzing me about habitat to see if my husbandry is good or not for the turt. He asked me what I think normal water temp should be for the hatchling and I said about 78-82 and he said that's good. I should keep it at just about 78 or 80. he then asked what I think basking temp should be and I said about 90-92 degrees. He said it should be warmer than that. Ideally basking temp for these guys should be 95-100. Now i keep reading on these posts people saying basking should be right around like 86-90ish. The vet (and he is a herptologist by the way..not a regular vet..and he's dealt with RES a lot before) says 95-100. Just want some opinions on what you guys think....

[grey goose]

Well, I've done some experiments awhile back with my basking lamp. Its a 40w halogen mounted 11" above the basking platform. The lamp has a small dimmer built into it so I can adjust the intensity of the light. With the lamp set at exactly 90F., Bozo would bask for hours directly under it. Then I raised it to 92F., and he would bask, but it seemed like it was not as long. I didn't time him. Then I set it at 95F., and he would only bask along the edge of where the light fell, and only for short periods of time. When I lowered it to 86F., He was back under the light, but kept adjusting his position looking for that sweet spot. So I keep it at 90. In another tank I have three babies and that light is set at 90, and they all pile on top of each other, so each one is getting a different degree of heat, or maybe because they are young they need a higher temp, but I don't think I would go to 100. If you have a digital thermometer, try a few different settings a few degrees at a time to see what happens. Get well Crush!

[scripta_elegans]

When they are ill the basking temp should be higher. My vet also instructed me to have a platform @ 95-100. I bet s/he wants the temp there because one is ill. I am suprised that s/he didn't tell you to raise the water tempto 82 or 83. I just went through this too with three hatchlings with RI, and one with pneumonia. I have 2 basking platforms one @ 95 and one @90. The turtle who feels better prefers 90, while the one who is still not quite well likes the 95 degree choice.

[flutterby]

Its great that you took your turtle to a herp vet. But, you need to realise that all turtles are different. My mothers turtles liked their basking temp lower than what my turtles wanted to bask. Mine had to be at least at 95 degrees or they wouldn't bask at all.

[Crash]

Thanks for the replies. The basking lamp I am using right now is T-Rex Active UV Heat (160 Watt flood). It does both UV light and heating for a reasonable cost. I know you should try to mimic natural enviornments as much as possible with respect to light/dark cycles but with this lamp I only leave it on for maybe 2 hours at a time then turn it off for about 45 minutes or so because it gets my wall really hot and just as a precaution I don't want anything catching on fire =P.

Also, scripta_elegans...you said your turt had pneumonia too. Any tips of how to give the antibiotics. I was able to give Crush some. Vet said .06ml with the syringe he gave me to give it orally. So I just tease Crush's mouth with the syring tip. She opens it for like a split second and i try to get some in but I don't know how much is actually going in the mouth and what is just dripping out and wetting her face. Any tips on how to better adminster the antibiotics? Is it possible to manually open the turts mouth somehow?

[scripta_elegans]

I wish I could help you, but I had to inject antibiotics with a syringe. I think it's easier, although traumatic, to give the turtles shots. I have read about lots of people having problems administering oral antibiotics. I would either ask the vet how to do it, or to give you shots. Also with the lamp, you might want to re-adjust it so that you can leave it on for 12 hours. I don't know how big your tank is either, but if it is deep, my vet also suggested lowering the water level in my 75 gallon to make exhaustion less possible. He said it should be no more than 10 inches deep for my 1.5 inch turtle with pneumonia. Hope it helps?

[Crash]

I am actually look to see if I can get a different lamp and return the one I have. Preferrably I want one where I can regulate the intensity of the light (it would be nice if it was both basking and UV lamp like the one I have now). My tank is 10 gallon which I keep about 3/4 full so they can't get out when I'm not looking (although they do try). Any suggestions on what lamp would be good for this?

I had a question about the light anyway. If I remember my physics from freshman year of college 3 years ago it shouldn't be a problem but I want to be sure. Attached is a picture of my setup. The big black thing is the heat/UV lamp. I of course do not face it towards me rather I face it angled between the wall and the tank. I want to be sure though...the UV emitting from the bulb will be absorbed and not reflected by my wall right to me right? Because well...I don't want to go blind because of it!! =D

PS - Don't worry the pebbles at the bottom aren't small enough to be eaten by them...yet...I will take them out next tank cleaning most likely in 2 weeks.

Pics - http://www.pixagogo.com/Crash85

[scripta_elegans]

The bulb you are using is great, but way too big for a 10 gallon. I believe the mercury vapor bulbs are recommended for 40 gallons and up only. I would recommend using 2 lamps 5.5 inch, with a UVB in one and a 60-75 watt bulb, either a ceramic, or a spot bulb in the other for warmth. You could certainly keep that bulb for when you upgrade your tank.

[Crash]

Thanks for all the help scripta =D

I will be getting two of these clamps:
http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_2975_PC_productlist_Nav_259_N_27+113_sku_796417_familyID_9469.aspx
they are the 5.5 inch ones.

In them I will install:
http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_1420_PC_productlist_Nav_259_N_27+113_sku_980994_familyID_13365.aspx
and
http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_1128_PC_productlist_Nav_259_N_27+113_sku_180491_familyID_4969.aspx
or
http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_3787_PC_productlist_Nav_259_N_27+113_cp_3_Nao_24_sku_864161_familyID_10811.aspx
for heating/light. Which do you think is better? For the UVB light would 5 UVB or 10UVB be better? Both are 30 UVA.

Again thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it! =D

[scripta_elegans]

you are very welcome! I would suggest one more thing, if you buy online tryhttp://www.bigalsonline.com/. Things are way cheaper and shipped faster! Someone on this site recommended them to me, and I love them!

[Crash]

Hey just thought I'd update you. I fed Crush (and of course my other turt Crash as well). If you want to know about the names its a long story hehe. Anyway. Crush is eating again!! =D Didn't eat everything I gave her but ate about half of it. I'm so happy she's getting better now. Oh and I don't buy this stuff online. I go to the petstore and get it so I can see what I'm getting.

Thanks again! =D

[scripta_elegans]

You're welcome! I didn't answer your UVB question either, because honestly I am unsure. I do know that big als has the reptisun 10.0 for 22$, which is what I use that in my tank. I'm really happy to hear that the Crush ate, it's a good sign. I would love to hear how your turtles got their names. Oddly enough I was reminded of a video game that I played a lot a few years ago. I think it was crash bandicoot 3? There were characters named Crash and Crush. I played a lot while I was in my last year of my undergrad degree at the University of Iowa when I was putting off homework and papers...ah nostalgia..

[steve]

Going to the petstore is good for checking it out before you buy, but there are many times where you pay a premium.

drsfostersmith.com and bigalsonline.com are 2 of the top internet retailers for the type of stuff we need.

[CountryGirl68]

Just to give you an idea of costs for some supplies, the light I use (T-Rex Active, which provides UVA, UVB and heat) costs $79 at my local Petco. At drsfostersmith.com, it was only $42.

I usually check out the item I want to buy at the petstore to see if it's what I need then order it online at a much cheaper price.

[Crash]

I will keep that in mind when buying supplies thanks.

As per the names now...So originally I had gotten one RES and named him Crush (after the turt in the movie Finding Nemo). So then I was chatting with one of my little 14 year old cousins and she swore that the turt in Finding Nemo was not Crush but Crash. But I said, "well too late to change it now". But then I got a second RES a week later and his name then became Crash. Ok so I guess it wasn't as long a story as I thought. =D