Habitat - Indoor :: It's that time of year again

[cutepanda86]

Hello friends!

It's that time of year again and Sheldon's water is once again getting too warm for his little self to want to get out of it. This year is probably a bigger deal as I believe he is beginning the scute shedding process, finally after all the trials and tribulations of the fungus issue we had. What should I do? Last year, I pulled him out of his tank during the day and put him in drydock while I was at work. This prevented him from having the fungus return but it is not a long term solution as the Mercury Vapor bulb is up too far for him to be able to get his UVA/UVB quotient for calcium (it is more than 12") - his drydock is a 55 gallon plastic tub. Of course he wasn't shedding (or starting to) at this point.

Any words of wisdom? I tried the whole ice cube thing and it is only a temporary solution. I just started a new job and I cannot upgrade my tank like I planned (I was out of work for a month and all of a sudden I have all of my bills coming in).

Thanks!

[steve]

If you have to dry dock for hours at a time, it's much easier for Sheldon and you to do it at night and sleep in a dry dock area. Is it possible to move the tank to a cooler room?

[cutepanda86]

Docking him at night, is possible. The air temp stays around 68 to 70 (sometimes warmer) at night, is that ok?

I was pondering this possibility about moving the tank but the cooler spaces in the house are in the basement. It's damp down there and when the AC comes on, it gets really cool down there - probably too cool. We're not at the point to turn the AC on yet but when the summer rolls around, that may help the situation all over the house. Right now, it is the shoulder months I'm really concerned about.

[steve]

68-70 is OK for older turts, though I shoot for the low 70s. He might like a clean old towel to burrow under. Have you tried a fan to keep the water cooler? It'll cause quicker evaporation but it does work for those who tried it.

[cutepanda86]

all right well I can find a towel. He basked the other day because it was just the right temp and we're heading into a damp and rainy the rest of the week so I'll how things go. I never thought about using a fan. I'll have to see what I have in the house. Thanks Steve.

[slider_keeper]

I'm curious about the fan trick, let us know how that works out;)

[cutepanda86]

I am curious too but I only have large fans which will cause waves and probably upset Sheldon. I'll see about getting something smaller after the rain is gone.

[cutepanda86]

I have a smaller fan but my mom doesn't feel comfortable running it all day. I think I'll give Steve's suggestion about overnight drydock a go.

[steve]

I have a few frozen water containers but I try to keep heat out of the apartment. I bought some emergency "blankets" to cover the windows but they are loud and a pain to setup.

[cutepanda86]

I was thinking about that. I was wondering if I freeze a water bottle and put it in there like a giant ice cube... right?

[dumbork14]

cutepanda: depends on the size of your tank, I guess. I tried the water bottle method and the temp decreased for only a few degrees (that's for only 15 gallons). I have to replace every few hours. After 5 hours, it started creeping up again.

[cutepanda86]

Thanks dumbork.

I have 5 gallons of water so heating it up has never been an issue (also why I need to upgrade my tank besides the fact that Sheldon is getting bigger). I'm afraid if I put the bottle in the tank he won't have a ton of room to swim - of course if he gets out of the water to bask, then I really don't care and neither does he. I think that this will be my next step when the weather starts to warm up again. Nothing but rain and mid-60s the last few days.

[dumbork14]

I've got to upgrade too. if you want, you can try ice cubes (some turtle don't mind getting closer to the cubes), but Dumbork gets a kick out of eating and touching them. Maybe you can experiment and Sheldon will let you know what method he likes. Good luck!

[cutepanda86]

Oh he loves the ice cubes but like you said, they don't last long. I appreciate the insight for the water bottles though. It could be very helpful for our little setup.

[slider_keeper]

I need a chiller, but those babies are expensive!!!!