Hello hello!
Spent the last week and a half getting my almost-seagull-food hatchling ("Zoom"; original thought RES, but some of you guys helped me identify him as an Eastern Painted Turtle - turns out EPTs don't have a forum, and ... well, y'all were so helpful before...), and came across what I ****believe**** to be a 55-gallon tank (roughly 4 feet x 20 inches x 20 inches) tank set out for garbage pick up along my street. Cleaned the tank, confirmed it held water - now I've started setting it up with the intention of providing a diverse environment in-tank. My two cats dictate that the tank MUST have a cover (I already caught one debating a swim), so adding a completely separate land area on the top of the tank unfortunately isn't an option, unless someone has some ideas for that...?
I did a bit of research and found a good substrate for the plants (I started with five small plants recommended at the reptile store), waiting for the water to filter clear, and then added pebbles (pebbles are 3x turtle's head size/no way for swallowing) over all of the substrate to keep Zoom from eating it.
Given that my guy's still a hatchling in size (under 1.5"), would there be any recommendations for ensuring he feels like he has adequate cover and hiding spots? Any recommendations on good land or basking islands/platforms? Right now, we just have a 6" x 4" basking rock attached to the tank size, located roughly 15" under the UVB/Heat Lamp combo light I found.
I'll snag pictures to add to the post, so people can get an idea of what the set up looks like now.
Suggestions for ensuring water purity? Right now the in-water temp is holding at about 74*, with air temp above 70.
