Hi! I offered to adopt a red eared slider from a colleague who was leaving the country. When she dropped it off I noticed a few things that concerned me and have taken steps that I THINK might correct them (based on information I have read on this site and others) but I would love feedback and further insight.
She appears to have a white film all over her skin that looks like she is constantly shedding so I am hoping to fix this with some changes to the habitat. If you can offer your thoughts on whether or not you think it will help, it would be much appreciated. (I am also trying to track down a herp vet.) I have named the turtle Xocomili (schok-o-millie) after a Mayan water legend since we live in Guatemala
Concern #1: The lamp that came with the tank was not a heat lamp. I think it is a UVB lamp, but it was definitely not emitting heat.
Action: I bought a small 50w ZooMed heat light bulb and a light clamp for the tank
Question: Is this a strong enough bulb?
Concern #2: There was only a very small floating rock for basking but it was almost the same size as Xoco and when she gets on it, it sinks down so her feet are still pretty wet
Action: I built a small platform with a ramp using PVC, plastic grating, and ceramic tiles. I had to make it kind of tall because the water level needs to be high enough to reach the filter for the tank. I just built it and installed it last night so she seems (understandably) unsure so far and I am at work so I am not sure if she has tried it yet.
Question: Is there a right/wrong way to introduce the platform? Does the height of the tile from the ramp look too high for her? She didn't seem to have issues getting on the floating rock. Would anyone recommend any adjustments??
Thank you!