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Hey all! I just got a tiny little yellow bellied slider form my local reptile shop after doing some research on their needs and how large they grow!

His name is Rio and he is pretty shy, but will take shrimp from my hand when I feed him! He is SO DARN CUTE, I must say.



Attached are some pics of his tank set up. He has a 20-gallon tank for now until he gets a bit bigger, UVB and basking lamp, turtle topper for basking, a little hide away terra cotta pot and vines (HE LOVES THE VINES), smooth river stones as the substrate, thermometer, small underwater light close to under the topper, and I'm running an Aquaclear 70, which seems to be working very nicely.

Other than a water heater (I live in Florida and its unbearably hot here right now), am I missing anything?! Is there something you see wrong with my setup? I'm looking into getting some egg crate to cover the exposed top of the aquarium so he cant escape also.

Fantastic first setup. I would just make sure that the basking area is warm enough for him and that the UVB will be over him when he basks. You might also want to put the lights on a timer and make sure all electrical is plugged into a GFCI outlet and the cords have a drip loop.

Down the line you might want fewer rock if you're finding them being trapped in there. Sand is pretty popular for a substrate.

I'd also look into different pellets. Omega One is probably the best regarded currently.
And welcome to the forum!

Thanks so much for your advice, Steve, it's greatly appreciated! I will look into what you mentioned. I'll push the light fixture over a bit for the UVB to be reaching him better. Also though, I was worried that if I moved the basking lamp down and over too much, it would get too hot. I read that the temp should be at most 90 degrees (what it is now in that position), but when it was closer, it was at about 98 degrees. The plastic of the topper also gets really hot too. Is this too hot for Rio? I don't want to fry the little guy....He's addicted to basking and spends hours up there!

Oh and yeah, I also bought some Reptomin sticks, but I wanted to finish the hatchling food first to not waste it. I'm trying to figure out all that he needs, like introducing him to veggies and cuttlebone pieces.

If he seems to like the temps, I would not touch it

Thanks again!

beautiful setup! Cute turtle by the way.

Thank you!

Someone did their homework before setting up their first tank - well done! It's encouraging to see someone do it right the first time; so often I see really sad living conditions for turtles.

Yes, I really wanted to give this little guy a good start, as much as my budget could allow. Thank you for the kind words.

People often use their budget as an excuse for bad setups, but it's no excuse. A proper setup can be done on the cheap for a young turtle, but ultimately, unless you're willing to make the commitment of time and money, don't keep one as a pet. That goes for any pet though.

Yes, I agree