Habitat - Indoor :: Mikey's upgrade

[daredevilgirl013]

Ok..I finally was able to get Mikey a packer to live in! I figured out most of his problems. One, he hates to see people, he sees you and he refuses to bask. If he even knows you are in the room he won't bask. Cause yesterday I noticed his underside getting soft so I said that's it I gotta figure out how to get you to bask. Well I took him outside in like a yellow tubberware bowl and I could see from the shadow that he was casting that he was basking. He was basking because he couldn't see me!!!

So today at Kmart I bought a blue packer. I just put him in it and added the water and at first he was like uhh mommy what do I do? He's still going DUHH at the last time I looked. I have three rocks that I cleaned from outside in his packer so that he can crawl around on them and later I'm getting him a dock at the pet store. (since there are none here that carry turtle stuff..well there maybe one place but from what I saw on the outside looking in..it looked really nasty.) I've already got the UVA bulb and I take him outside for his UVB from the own Sun. I figure he's good outside for a bit longer till it starts to get cold.

I'm going to get him a large turtle dock so that I can still keep on using it as he grows. I was just wondering though, anything else I should get him? I don't want plants just yet but I'm thinking more along the lines of stuff he can crawl on or around like decoration rocks like you have in fish tanks..example finding Nemo where the fish would hide in it and stuff just made turtle size so he can crawl around. I'm not putting gravel in as I don't like the stuff and I'm afraid that he might confuse it with carrots that I feed him like he tried to do once.

Hopefully this blue packer works since he can't see us now and he'll bask now without me coaxing him to do so. And now he can just swim all over the place as he has a lot more room now!

Now I'm off to go get him some more water cause I'm running out of the stuff between him and the fishes and whatnot.

[cam722]

What you bought was a rubbermaid (plastic) container which many people use as housing for their turtles

You didn't mention a filter or heater.. do you have them? If you take him outside you have to make sure he has a place to get shade.

Just an FYI, most turtles don't like being watched while basking. I've had mine for over a year and if I make any sudden appearances or move too quickly, they take a dive for the water.. they are preyed on most other animals. I've also found, that the higher they are off the ground the less threatened they feel. We don't look so gigantic and threatening to them that way .. just things I've learned.

[steve]

RE: soft shell

How much sunlight is he getting and how much calcium are you offering?

[daredevilgirl013]

I've been taking him outside anywhere from an hour a day to three hours a day. It just depends on when I'm home. I just walked outside on him and he's basking right now and has been out there for about an hour.

As for calcium I've been giving him hatchling pellets which say they have some and carrots and stuff. But his under shell just went soft yesterday that I noticed it was hard ever since I bought him. Plus his top shell is hard so I figure his problem si that he won't fully go up on his rock and bask so his underbelly isn't getting dried off as he leaves it in the water. Which is why I have rocks piled up right now so that he can get out of the water and I'm getting him a turtle dock so that it can float on the water and he can get up on it and keep dry.

He has shade he can go into and his container is plenty high that he doesn't notice us and like a mother hen if anyone goes near him I nudge them away so he is alone.

He doesn't really have a heater, just a UVA bulb and I haven't gotten him a filter yet I'm debating that at the moment as I don't really mind changing his water every day, that's no big. But when I run to the pet store I'll see what I can get him. I'm kinda low on funds right now so I'm trying to get by with what I can. Plus the parental units are having a fit over him because I just went out and bought the packer which wasn't cheap. But oh well. I didn't want the ones that had stuff on the inside where they had molds coming together cause I was around he would cut his feet on them and this one has a totally smooth inside.

[marisa]

Just curious--how much was the packer/storage bin and how big is it? You're going to need that UVB light along with the heat light (a regular lightbulb will work fine and isn't expensive) and submersible water heater fairly soon as the weather gets colder (I'm assuming that weather does get colder in Ohio). And a good filter would make life easier for you.

[daredevilgirl013]

The packer was 10.00 and it's like 18x15x11 according to the sticker. I plan on getting the uvb light once it does get a wee bit colder out and I can't take him outside anymore for his basking as I read somewhere that if I have him outside for 3 hours a week that he won't really need the uvb bulb and I'm getting at least 6 hours a week for him on most weeks. And he's got the UVA light so he doesn't get cold.

And yes ohio does get very cold sometimes. So I will work on that heater here soon, save up some money for that and I figure today I'll probably get the filter..instead of spending 13 bucks a week for his water (or more) I can probably save some with the filter and not spend that much. (at least the fish don't need cleaned very day..about every other week..I told Mikey he needs to be as clean as the fish..he just looked at me.)

So I'm off to the pet store to see what all I can find for him.

Lord help me if I bring home any more pets...(3 cats, 2 fish, 1 turtle. According to the math I will now need four of something...hmm..four dogs???lol)

I'll let everyone know what I get when I get back later on and maybe get a pic of the little guy in his new home instead of his deathbowl. At least now he can swim.

[daredevilgirl013]

Ok update. He's got a small turtle dock for him to crawl on. He's already hating that and has shown it by flipping himself over...I'm not happy about that. He now has a little cave of wonders rock where it has holes all over the place of various sizes and a big huge tunnel that he can crawl through since he's been liking to hide lately. He also got a 5 gallon tank filter cause he's in a five gallon container. Yes I know it's not 10 but it's what I could do. He also has some shell conditioner that I got him to help strength his shell and bird cuttlebone...now I don't know if he can have it since it was made for birds but oh well.

[marisa]

Cuttlebone is actually for birds, so what you got is correct. What to do with it is explained in your other post.

About the shell conditioner--is it called Vita Shell? If so, I wouldn't use it (Take it back if that's what you bought.) I've read too many negative things about its use over time, especially with hatchlings.

[cam722]

Ok, I'm totally lost here. You paid $10 for a 5 gallon plastic container? Where in the world did you buy it? I know they have larger sizes at Target/Walmart for not much more than that. You could probably even have gotten one at a hardware store something like Home Depot/Leow's. What kind of tank did you have him in before this?

As for the cave and tunnel, are the holes large enough for him to get in and out of and not get stuck? I'd be kind of concerned about his getting stuck in them and drowning.

[daredevilgirl013]

He doesn't play in the holes of the cave he just likes the tunnel to crawl under.

And yeah that stuff is Vita Shell. The guy told me to use it only when the shell was totally dry and I'm going to use it for a little bit to get his shell back to being hard again. But this pet store guy was real good about what all he was telling me (they even have two huge RES in this huge pond in their store. That they have everything set up for) But it isn't going to be a daily thing, and it says to use it weekly so maybe in a month he'll be alright. I know not to use it when he has shell rot though cause that makes it worse.

The plastic container was 10 dollars because one, it wasn't cheaply made nor did it have anything on the inside that might hurt him, this one has smooth sides. Plus it has a clear lid that has hinges so that if I would ever have to take him anywhere I can put that lid on and tahdah! And before he wasn't in a tank, he was in the death bowl aka the lagoons that the illegal turtle people give you.

Also does anyone else have problems with their turtles hating their filter. Mine hates it with a bloody passion. He won't even swim anymore. He now sits on top of the filter as if he wants to play king kong. It also bothers his food too so I'm debating on feeding him by hand or in a different container. But he seriously isn't fond of that filter and I got a 5 gallon filter for the 5 gallon tank. But he gets caught up with it's suction and stuff and he hates it. So I need some ideas on what to do there because I just turned it off and I only run it for a little bit at a time because he just goes a wall or he'll cling to his dock for dear life.

Also I'm not worried about his cave I'm worried about him getting caught in his turtle dock as he keeps crawling between the bars when he is on the dock, so he is crawling between the bars and the packer and that is what worries me. I need ideas on what is safe to put around those bars so that he won't go crawling into them and getting his skinny butt stuck. When he gets bigger I won't worry but he's so tiny he's having a hayday with it...but he's pushing the limit.

[flutterby]

What kind of filter are you using that its low enough for him to "sit on it"?

[daredevilgirl013]

It's an underwater filter. Like this one http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx? ... 4&N=27+112

And mine is that exact one except in silver and in the five gallon. I just now noticed on the website that it says you can change the output and intake of the filter..but my instructions don't say a dang thing about that! That's all they say is this..
Installation and Operation
Caution: Disconnect the electrical plug of all appliances inside the aquarium before putting hands into the water.

It is recommended that the sponge pads are rinsed before first installation.
Place the filter in the aquarium using the suction cups, ensuring that the horizontal water outlet is at a minimum of 1 cm below the water surface.
Plug into power source.
Made in Italy.

How can I adjust it so that Mikey isn't caught in a ripetide or whirl pool?

[flutterby]

They suggest for turtles that you use a filter that is 2-3x what you would use for an aquarium. (Sorry I'm tired, can't think of the right word).

So if you have a 10 gallon tank, you want to use a filter rated for 30+ gallons.

[daredevilgirl013]

Well see Mikey is a little baby. He's only an inch and I seriously think he's too small to fight the filter's pulling. And if I got a bigger filter..*cringes* I don't think Mikey would win.

[flutterby]

(laughs) Its not as bad as that really.