Habitat - Indoor :: newbie questions..

[Angeln]

Last saturday, My little cousins brought me a small turtle i believe is a res eared slider (has red on either side of its head) its small 2 inches maybe, and pretty active.
we set it up in a 10 gallon tank for now, we happen to be going to the city the next day so we stopped at a pet store (closest pet store is 2 hours away) to get him basking lights and a turtle dock and some food. The guy at the pet store sold us an 'all living things' turtle starter kit that has 2 lights and a filter. the turtle seems to like the lights (heat light and uvb) but we were told to only put 2-3 inches of water in the tank because the turtle is so small, which makes the submersible filter the kit came with make way too much current. So i turned it off and have just been changing out some of his water each day. I had originally planned on just finding him lights, and using a regular over the back filter from one of 10gallon fish tanks, but i'm not sure how that would work with the metal hood we got (to keep the pesky cat out and to rest the lights on) Any other options for filters? we might need to order one offline, since the only store that sells pet stuff here is walmart.
Also we have a heater for a 10 gallon tank, but im not sure if it would be too much with so little water? The guy in the pet store said he wouldn't need a heater as long as he has his basking area during the day, (his basking area is 85-90 degrees)
For food we got him Zoo med's hatchling formula, is this ok? he seems to like it, but im not sure how much i should be giving him? i gave him 5-6 little pellets the last couple days. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ((sorry if this is posted in the wrong spot))

[AlexisAwesome]

Filter - nothing too strong for hatchlings.
Heater - I don't use one because petsmart res care sheet said room tempeture. You may use one just to be on the safe side, if you like.

[VeipaCray]

A 2" turtle isn't a hatchling. Hatchlings are quarter to half dollar sized shells. For a hatchling, you need enough water for the turtle to be able to flip itself over. Too little water and the turtle can drown if flipped on it's back and not able to right itself. We generally recommend 10 gallons of water per inch of shell so if your turtle is 2", we suggest that it has at least 20 gallons of water. The water is needed for both swim space and to dissipate the waste to a safe level until the filter can process it. Your turtle will play in the current and learn to swim almost overnight.

A heater is always a good idea for the water. The heater will turn off when a specific temperature (set on the heater) is reached. So if you set your heater to 78 degrees for the water, it will shut off if 78 degrees is reached. Yes in a small tank the heat lamp may heat the water, but at night when the lights are off you want the heater to keep the water at least 77-78 for a turtle that size.

Do you have a basking dock? The turtle needs a dock that it can climb completely out of the water and bask under the heat / uvb lamps. Your basking temps 85-90 are correct.

You should feed your juvenile turtle an amount of food equal to the size of it's head. Reptomin and Mazuri are forum favorites for pellets. You should also start introducing vegtables and lettuce to your turtle's diet. As the turtle matures, the will accept veggies and greens more readily, but for now.... offer it as an occasional treat.

Congratulations on your new turtle and welcome to the forum. The main website has a bunch of information as do the stickies posted throughout the forum.

Cheers!

[Angeln]

Thanks for your replies!

I read somewhere that anything under 3 inches was considered a hatchling.. i hate that every website seems to say something different.
heres a pic of him with a quarter for size comparison.. i didnt wanna pick him up to measure cuz hes still kinda shy. so i just put a quarter on his dock.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... 030aac.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... 4fdaf2.jpg

So your saying i should go ahead and fill up the tank for him? makes me nervous! lol yes hes got a little floating dock to dry bask on. hes been going up there a couple times a day, how long should his lights be on? we've been turning them on around noon and off around 1-2am before we goto bed. so atleast 12 hours+ , how long is too long? If i fill the tank more he'll be closer to the lights... how close should they be?
heres his current set up http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... 2bcbf4.jpg i'll have to find a way to raise the lights up.
we have a 30gallon tank and a 55 that he can move up into after awhile, but we'll have to move some fish around first, were waiting to see if our platys have babies lol is it ok for him to go in with a few platys? i know they or their babies could be lunch, are they ok for him to eat? most sites ive read say guppies are ok, and no to goldfish. but don't really talk about any other kinds.
we have some reptomin too, but he didnt seem interested in it, tho he might have just not been settled in enough yet. is it ok to continue feeding him the hatchling formula along with the reptomin? i can try giving him a bit of romaine lettuce tomorrow. we also have some frozen bloodworms for treats for the fish, can he have some of those too?


Oh, and i'm not sure if i should start a thread on another board for this, but it looks like one of his feet got bit or somethign before we got him, and hes missing a toe or 2. It doesnt seem to bother him at all, hes still plenty active and getting around, i read a couple different sites that talked about nails but not really actual bites, do i need to do anything for him? besides keeping his water clean? heres some pics..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... 8e69b8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... 608906.jpg


poor lil guy... and one more pic cuz we thought it was hilarious... a pic of him basking yesterday..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... 0c5ce1.jpg

[AlexisAwesome]

Turn off the lights when it is dark outside.
Oh no, his feet look pretty bad. As long as the water is clean to prevent infection, I think he should be fine if he swims right. Lol, funny turtle! Where did your cousin get him?

[ataraxiamb]

Your turtle looks to be a hatchling. The measurements we use are from the top to the bottom of the shell, not including head or tail. Your turt will quickly outgrow that aquarium, so it is good to plan for larger.

I would raise the water level WAY higher. It looks like the turtle has barely enough space to flip itself over, and the basking rock is way too far from the UVB. I wouldn't put fish in a tank that small. They along with the turtle are going to produce a lot of waste.

The lights should be on 8-12 hours a day, during daylight hours.

I don't know if that is a deformity or an injury to the feet. Are they sensitive to the touch?

My turtle has a lame back leg but it doesn't impede him any or cause any pain.

[steve]

It could be an injury or an infection. He might need to be dry docked and I would try to take care of it as soon as possible.

[Angeln]

Sorry its taken me a bit to get back on here, I'm not sure really where the turtle came from, my cousin said he traded his friend pokemon cards for it and his mom wouldn't let him keep it.. where his friend got it, i've no idea.
could have been wild caught maybe? not even sure if we have them wild here, i've never seen one.

How close should he be to the basking lights? we've added more water, the tank is about half full now and we've got the filter running too, i wouldn't say he likes the current but he seems to be ok with it.. makes him have to chase his food a bit!

How would i know if his foot is infected? It's not pink like it was before, It doesn't seem to be bothering him at all, in fact while trying to take pictures of him, it almost seemed like he uses that foot more then the other so its hard to get clear pics of it.. i have some nice clear shots of his other feet tho.. and plenty of his butt! haha








Sorry if its too many pics

[AlexisAwesome]

Pictures are fine. Anyway, it does not matter about the light problem. Just not so high that the basking dock can touch the light.

[steve]

Get a good thermometer or two and measure the temps as accurately as possible. Is that front paw sensitive to her?

[Angeln]

which temps? i've got a few thermometers i've use to check the accuracy of the ones in there (i always do because ive had some that were way off before) Today her basking spot got to just under 90 degrees, and her tank water was 82 degrees when i turned her lights off tonight, should i be concerned about that? thats purely from the basking lights. her tank was 72 when i turned them on this morning, i plan on putting a heater in there tomorrow when i can be home to monitor the temps and make sure it doesn't over heat.

I dont think the foot is sensitive.. i wouldn't think he would use it so much if it was, would he? in that last basking picture its the injured foot hes standing on and he often uses it to hold himself on the plastic plant like in the other pics.

another question.... do you guys often see poos in your turtle tanks? when we first got him we had him in a little one gallon tank until we could get this one cleaned and set up, and there were poos in there. then the first day we put him in this tank there were poos.. so we got a turkey baster to help keep his tank cleaner, and now that hes more active and eating i haven't seen any more poos... so i'm not sure if i should be worried.. or if hes eating them? eww

[dumbork14]

Eating poop is normal. It's so normal that my turtle almost always poop so that she can immediately eat it after.

[Angeln]

eww lol

does his shell look ok in that last pic? a friend of mine says he looks like a map turtle, because of the ridge down his back i would guess, i dont know, is that normal for hatchlings?

[AlexisAwesome]

Yeah. It is.

[ataraxiamb]

Your basking spot should be around 95 degrees. Put a thermometer right in the basking area so you can monitor it. That will let you know if the lights are too close or far away.

My turtle eats all of his poop. It's a little gross, but it keeps the tank cleaner than it would be otherwise.

Signs of constipation/impaction would include reduced activity and kicking at his tail. If he's acting normal, then he's just eating the poop.