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Hey everybody. Here's the setup of the tank my boyfriend bought me for my birthday (I love him so much!) I'm picking up my turtle today from a breeder, assuming the little guy is healthy. What do you think?


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It looks nice. I'm sure your turtle will love it. Be sure to include a pic of the little guy when you get him.

A couple of points to watch out for: Be sure any of the rocks in the bottom are bigger than the turtle. They will eat anything smaller than they are and if the stones do not pass it could lead to surgery or worse.

Also, if there is any thing between the UVB light and the basking area such as plastic, glass or screen it can filter out the needed UVB rays. If you use a screen make sure the openings are at least 1/2inch big.

And I don't see the water heater. Water temps are important to their health and maintaining a steady water temp is a must. For hatchlings it should be 78 degrees, older turtles 72-75, with the basking temp around 88-90.

We were careful with the rocks, they are bigger than they look. They should be big enough or at least until our little guy grows bigger, we're getting a baby.

Good point about the light, my boyfriend says he can modify it.

With the lights off the temp stays around 74-75 and lights on around 77-78. The basking area feels warm to the touch so I think it should be ok too.

Thanks for the concern. I can't wait to pick up my Bubble! (I named him already).

What you can do is pick up an outdoor thermometer and put it under the basking area to determine the temperature there. I use a digital one that has a wire and a sensor on the end so I can just put the sensor under the basking area and take the temp. They are fairly inexpensive. It is important that it not be too hot so you don't scorch the little guy and also it needs to be warm enough so that they will crawl up there to bask.

Since your turt should have a regular light schedule, you are talking about a big fluxuation in water temp. Too much can lead to illnesses that you will want to avoid. Best to buy a heater and keep the temp steadier.

looks very nice! what size tank is that?

I layed my underwater thermometer on the basking area and it got to over 100 degrees! Should i get a basking bulb with lower wattage maybe? It is already like a foot away from the basking area.

I think I will go ahead and get a heater for the little guy.

It is a 20 gallon tank by the way.

What wattage is the bulb? If you have it a foot away and it's over 100, I'd probably try a lower wattage. Just replace the bulb and then take the temp again. You can just go by trial and error until the temp is around 88-90.

Replaced the 75 watt with a 50 watt bulb and moved the basking lamp a little bit further away and now it is a perfect 89 degrees!