General Care Discussion :: Just got a neglected turtle. *UPDATE ON PAGE 2

[Pickle]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

We feel very lucky to have Pickle as well. And yes, he has some beautiful markings. And a great personality for what he has had to endure. If we approach his tank and he's basking, he'll just sit there and let us pet him. And if we go to his tank when he is swimming, he comes right to where we are and sticks his head out of the water.

We are wanting to get him outside, but its starting to get cold where I am. And I'm really not sure what kind of outdoor temps they can deal with. We do have a UVB basking light, but I'm wanting to get him some direct sunlight. Any suggestions on that one?

p.s. We are going to keep up with the cleaning treatment until completely cleared up. And then do the sulfa bath once a week while changing the water in his tank. Hopefully that will keep everything in the clear.

[Pickle]

As well, thanks to everyone for their advice, and encouragement. It really made the process of becoming a turtle owner a lot easier.

[RESnTX]

So glad to see your new friend is doing better. He sure is a pretty turtle.

[untsmurf]

If you want to take them outside, you can. Just make sure that it's warm outside and the ground isn't cold. I'm thinking it should at least 70* outside. But I'm not 100% as to what the lowest temperature can be. Just make sure that you constantly watch them, they are great escape artists.

[Pickle]

Alright, so for those of you that have followed....When we got Pickle roughly 2 weeks ago. He was neglected (they had him in a rubbermade tote, no basking rock, no heater, no lamp, no filter, and very little water)

We had a 10 gallon tank at home that we used for the first bit. Here it "was".


Now we have him in a 33 gallon. Right now he's only 4 inches, so it will have to do for a bit. And yes, before you scream at me, there is gravel in the aquarium...but only til friday. Then we change to sand. Just wanted to post pics to show off his new set up. Oh, and due to his "health needs" at the moment...he's only in this tank about 6 hours a day. The rest he is dry docking with sulfa bath half way through.

Let me know what you think of the set up othewise. And does anyone have an easy to make idea for bigger basking dock?




And here, is Pickle saying "Hi everyone!"

[turtlelover818]

cute

[ScrewZoo]

i didnt see if anyone answered the gender question but i'd say male.

[untsmurf]

I looks like a male to me and I'm glad you're removing the gravel. I think that basking dock is large enough if you can get it to float better. If you can put some extra support underneath it, then it's large enough to fit your entire turtle on there. if you can't do that, you can get a zoomed floating basking dock (large) from almost any pet store.

[Pickle]

We can only find the medium size floating basking dock. We've been to every single pet store. And I'm really nervous about buying stuff online....lol

[TheComputerGremlin]

Honestly, as long as he fits on the basking area and isn't sinking it or anything at the moment, just leave it as it is. You don't want to constantly change the tank around, let him get comfy for awhile.

That being said, to make your smaller tank seem larger, an above tank basking area would be an excellent choice for you. You can build one out of those small rubbermaid-type boxes, egg crate, laundry baskets, plexiglass, whatever you can think of. That would allow you to fill up the tank more and provide a bigger basking area. And you could get some more life out of your tank.

And you can see if a pet store can order in the large floating basking dock thing. Otherwise, I've seen it on Amazon, and I trust their website with my credit card (and I think you can mail them a check, as well).

[PcBuilder14]

This turte is so lucky to have you find him! Looks like you are trying everything you can!