Photo Gallery :: pics of the babies and set up!

[rayzherup]

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Do you have a UVB light in addition to a heat lamp? If no, get either of the two ASAP! Also, the water level is way too low. Raise it up, alot more. It should be filled up all the way to the top without allowing your turtle to escape.

[Andrew7769]

yes turtle like alot of space to swim think of it as if your house had one flool yet the walls were tall enough for 2 floors wouldent you like the extra space

[rayzherup]

yea I have a heat lamp just not a uvb yet. ima get one of those in the next couple of weeks. Do you think it will be ok for a couple weeks? And I put the water lower cuz one of the babies was realy weak when i got him and was struggling to swim up, so i'ma start raisin it as he gets stronger. Thank you guys for commenting!

[DavidY]

Ha ha! Gotta love those baby turtles!

They should be ok for a week or two until you can get the UVB bulb. But it is critical for their bones and shell growth. If you can get them out in the natural sunlight a few times that is always good too. Just keep a close eye on them outside as they can escape pretty quickly. They can also overheat too so make sure they have a shady area to retreat to if they get too hot outside.

That's a good idea that you're raising the water level gradually. I think some breeders don't let their babies ever swim after hatching, so yours may be learning for the first time too.

(nice avatar by the way )

[megcornell]

The UVB shouldn't be a problem for a while, I didn't have mine for the first few weeks, and my turtle survived . It's probably a good idea to gradually raise the water level, I did that as well. If anything it made me feel better and let the turtle adjust gradually, especially if one is weak. It may be a good idea to add a floating plant for them to rest on, that way if they get tired when swimming they have a pit stop.

Also, cute names for the turtles, i like them.

[steve]

I remember when my babies were so small and mischievous. A couple of weeks should be OK, but I make certain that the pellets they are eating has some Vitamin D3, like Baby Reptomin. You can gradually raise the water levels and just make sure they can't climb out because they're very good at that

Is that Mariska Hargitay as your avatar???

[SpotsMama]

I like your setup - very clean and modern looking. I think the suggestion to include a plastic plant - one that reaches up to the surface would be great. Turtles love to hide in them and rest on them.

I was just thinking since your turtles are very young they might like to have some hiding places. Some little turtles like to hide in a coffee cup. Another really neat hiding place is a piece of PVC pipe.

May I ask what is the function of the sheet of plywood (or anyway it looks like plywood) in the tank? I can't quite tell from the angle, but in some of the photos it looks like it's suspended in the water an inch or two below the basking platform.

[Tenodera]

LOL! That's a reflection of the wood underneath the tank

You can tell by the first few pics that there's no piece of floating plywood lol

[SpotsMama]

Ok, thanks. I'm just no good at all at judging these things! I looked and looked and finally decided I just had to ask!