General Care Discussion :: question about ruth!

[cherish12]

Ok when I first got ruth she/he came home in a very small plastic tank... Little did I relize what I was about to get myself into!!!.. Well that DAY I went out to pecto with very little cash on hand and bought what I thought would be apporiate for my baby turtle ruth. I bought ruth a log to basket on,heater,and a house hold bulb tempature thing 2 of them and gravel rocks you would buy for fish....the tank is like really small maybe a 5 gallon tank I really dont know...I will take a picture of it. I am going to be buying a 20-30 gallon tank on sunday.

Well I sat the tank up got everything up and running, ruth seemed to like it at first basked on the log and everything... as time went on I noticed ruth was staying underwater more and more popping her head up from time to time to breathe. ruth dont bask at all... I also notice her/he shell is growing some of her/he baby scutes are gettin smaller and then the rim of the turtle is like turning up wards kinda of. I took some pictures of her/he today in the water and tomorrow I will take pictures of her/he of water...

Feeding I feed it reptomin pellets 2 of them 3 times a day, however I found this out to be way to much now ruth is down to 2 pellets a day snapped in half. I feed her romaine lettuce and peeled carrots 1 times a week.

As I was reading on here I found out that gravel rocks arent good for them as they can eat them.. I thought something was weird about ruth because ruth was making lots of noise at night digging and etc so I took them out..I bought a filter as well when I first bought this so called tank which doesnt do anygood I have to clean the water about every 5 days or so. But now that I have tookin out the gravel rock and put river rocks in ruth seems much much more happier but still doesnt want to basket.Ruth also has like white whispery stuff on him/her..I am guessing ruth is shedding? It probaly dont help that her/him heater broke so now I leave a halogen bulb on at night just to keep the water warm and a household 40 watt bulb to basket.

Ruth loves to go on the filter and stay there and go back into the water.. The water is at 78 degrees.. Could it be that ruth is just plain lazy and dont want to bask ?? Ruth aint shy either when ruth sees the camera or anyone she follows them lol...AS of right now she is swimming around and popping her head outta water...Sorry for writing a book, just a worried wart and owner here as well...any comments are welcomed!!! oh and I threw out the log it grew some nasty slimy alge on there....Ruth is the size of a sand dollar I would say..about 2in now..

[missibsu]

Keep doing your research, you are learning!

The sooner you can get a new tank, the better. Remember if you can go bigger now, it will actually save money on a costly upgrade later. 10 gallons of water per each inch of shell length, not including the curve.

With proper basking she will begin to shed her scutes, so make sure that you get a new heater (it's more effective than using a light bulb to heat with) and make sure that you have a UVB bulb, and a regular household bulb. Or if you want, they make combination bulbs. Do your research and see what will work better for you. They also make basking docks for turtles that work really well for a turtle the size that you have. They suction cup to the side of the tank.

In the feeding area...pellets, the amount that would fit in the head if it were hollow (not including the neck). You can divide that amount into two servings if you want. The veggies should be offered daily, not weekly. You can also add some variety. green pepper, dandilion leaves, tomato, aquatic plants, etc.
There is a feeding list in the food section that discusses different options as well as how much.

Sounds like you are learning the ropes. I was slow to start, learned my lesson and wasted a lot of money in the process.

[marisa]

How long have you had Ruth?

What's the water temp and basking area temp? Your turtle needs another submersible water heater to maintain the water temp, not just a light. There has to be a decent difference between the basking area temp and the water temp for your turtle to want to bask (about 10 degrees).

Does your turtle have a UVB light? Improper lighting can contribute to the shell curling upward. The wisps coming off of your turtle do sound like shedding.

Get the biggest tank you can when you buy one. Then get a submersible water heater (for wattage allow 5 watts per gallon) and a better filter.

[cherish12]

I have had ruth since the beginning of October. I have a halogen light that you would get from the hardware store (50 watts) and then I have a house hold bulb as well that is 40 watts. ruths water is at 78-85 degrees and I dont know know how hot the basketing area is.. But I did see her today baskeing for a short period of time before my dad walked by and then when he walked by ruth jumped into the water and acted like she wasnt doing anything lol...