General Care Discussion :: Is my setup okay?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:05 am   

DavidY wrote:Your setup looks very nice. :) It doesn't look overcrowded to me, it looks more natural that way and the turtle will probably feel more secure with all the plants. One suggestion I have is to try to position your basking lights so they are shining down over the basking dock instead of at an angle. The compact flourescent UVB bulbs are meant to be placed in a vertical position and it also helps prevent your turtle from looking straight into the bulb which could be harmful to his eyes. :cool:


It even bugs me a bit. I can get it at a very slight angle. if I put it right on top of him.. but then how close can the bulb be?

Anyone know why he's always in the corner closing his eyes in a plant?
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:14 am   

You mentioned that you have a 5.0 UVB Tropical, is that the ZooMed Reptisun bulb? If so you may want to turn it off until your turtle is normal again (active and eyes open). Those bulbs have been responsible for eye damage in a lot of reptiles lately. They are aware of the problem and will hopefully be addressing it soon. In the mean time just use your normal household bulb for light and heat over the basking area. Once your turtles eyes appear to be okay, you will need to find a way to position the UVB bulb about 18" above the basking area and have it pointing straight down if possible. After a few weeks the strength of the UV rays will come down a little and you could move it a few inches closer, maybe 15" above. Just keep a look out for any swelling in the turtle's eyes.

It sounds like you need to give your baby turtle some time to adjust to you and to his new home. They can take several days to a couple of weeks before they realize they aren't going to be eaten by you and hi will slowly begin to explore the tank more. He also may not eat for the first few days to a week. You can try to entice him to eat by offering him some tuna fish or some freeze dried shrimp (from the pet store). But once he does start to eat, switch him over to a decent pellet food like Reptomin turtle pellets so he doesn't get spoiled by the tuna or the shrimp. The pellets are more nutritious for him. :)
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:05 pm   

DavidY wrote:You mentioned that you have a 5.0 UVB Tropical, is that the ZooMed Reptisun bulb? If so you may want to turn it off until your turtle is normal again (active and eyes open).


It has the same name but it's made by exoterra "reptiglo"

18"? I have both lights about 7" from him, is that too close?
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:18 pm   

There haven't been any problems reported with the Exoterra Reptiglo bulbs as far as I know. Most people on here who use that bulb have been fine with keeping them within 12" of the basking area, so you should be fine with that.
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 6:39 pm   

Alright. Thanks for the tips everyone. I didn't want to start another thread, so I thought I'd ask this here.

My turtle was always on one plant with his eyes closed. It sort of bugged me cause I didn't really know what was going on. After awhile, I just wanted to check on him, and I moved the plant a little, and he didn't move. Picked him up, he still didn't move. After awhile, he just moved slowly so I set him on the basking area. After awhile, he just ran off and started swimming.

SO.. I took that one plant out. And added some warmer water (don't have a heater) and now he seems fine and really happy. Actually going on the turtle dock when I'm in the room (before he wouldn't)

Anyone know what was wrong with him? Should I put that plant back?

ALSO, what do swollen eyes look like? Anyone have pictures?
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 6:58 pm   

Being in cold water is most likely what's wrong with him. Really need to get that water up to like 78F.
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:18 pm   

You really need to keep the temperature stable and warm. It should be around 78 for hatchlings.
With a hatchling, I wouldn't let the water get below 75-76 for fear of him catching ill, they are very sensitive when they're that small.
As for the plant, if he likes to hang on it don't take it out.
Swollen eyes are puffy, you should be able to do a search and find some images.
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:40 pm   

I had mentioned earlier that I had gotten a 125Watt heater. Should I wait an try it out? Or should I buy a smaller heater, and use this for when I need it later?
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:10 pm   

I'm concerned about the sleeping. Little turtles are usually quite energetic. If they want to sleep all the time, it usually means either that they are too cold or that they are ill.

You said on the previous page that the water temp is between 78 and 83 degrees. Did you measure it with a thermometer? In the absense of a heater, the water temp will adjust to whatever the air temp is. Is the room he's in cool? Until you've got a heater, can you keep the room temp warmer than normal - at around 78 degrees.

In addition to lethargy (ie, wanting to sleep all the time, lacking in energy) another symptom of illness is swollen eyes. Swollen eyes in and of itself doesn't mean illness - lots of things can cause swollen eyes (like certain light bulbs, as was discussed above). Here's a photo of a turtle with swollen eyes:

Image

Other symptoms of illness (specifically respiratory illness, which is common in little turtles) are poor appetite, swimming lopsided or difficulty submerging, breathing with the mouth open or frequent yawning, mucus around the mouth or nose.

If your little turtle is ill, then he needs to see a vet right away. Their chances of survival are much better when they are treated early on. For a respiratory illness, the treatment is antibiotics, so it's not something you can do on your own without a vet.

I hope your little guy isn't ill and that the problem has been that the water was too cold. Keep us posted.
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:42 am   

Is it swollen eyes when his eyes aren't fully open? Or just big eyes in general? I think his eyes look fine, they're open fully.

That actually only happend once, where it took him awhile to open his eyes. Now if I give him a little nudge.. once he realizes its me he swims off pretty quickly. Though, it takes him about 10-15 seconds to wake up.. is that alright?

What would be a good temp for him?
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