General Care Discussion :: New RES owner. What else (if anything) do I NEED? *Photo*

[Solstice]

So I just got a baby RES, it's about the size of a silver dollar (didn't know they were illegal to buy/sell in every state) and I want to take really good care of him (or her). From my research, I have gotten conflicting results of what, exactly he needs.

Right now he is in a 10 gallon tank filled a little under 1/2 way with water. There is a submersible turtle heater in there which is preset to 78 degrees. He has a basking dock (fully out of the water) and a pile of rocks which allow him to sit 1/2 way in and out of the water and he likes to sleep on these. He has plenty of room to swim as well. I have a bigger tank waiting for when he grows up.

There is a "turtle bone" in there which dissolves and provides calcium. The light he has is an "all reptile" UVA light which also gives off heat. Is this sufficient? I keep it on when I sleep since I am nervous about keeping a heat-emitting lamp on when I am out of the house so technically his day is reversed.

When I turn on the lamp he climbs out of the water and basks. When I turn it off, he goes back into the water to sleep half-submerged on his rocks.

He is eating turtle pellets and dried krill (LOVES the krill!) and I provide him with romaine lettuce though he won't touch it right now.

He does not have a filter at the moment but I am doing every other day water changes.

I also do not have any rocks at the bottom of the tank to make my water changes easier.

Is this sufficient for right now? Is there anything else that he positively NEEDS at the moment?

Thanks!

Oh and here's a picture...just because!

[koreyleigh]

S/he will need a UVB light [which mimics the sun] to process vitamin d and calcium -- the same way humans do. It is not IMPERATIVE to get it right this moment, but be aware that purchase is coming.

You can fill the tank up more to allowed more swimming room ; I have a 10 gallon as well and it was 3/4 to 4/5 full. Just be sure the level isn't high enough to facilitate an easy escape!

As far as food, be careful about the krill. Babies need and love protein, but as their parent they should only have it in moderation and not on a daily basis. It's very good you keep offering the romaine even if they're not taking to it right away. As a side note, though my turtle would PROBABLY eat anything, he took very well to turnip greens which I got at 99cents a pound at a local supermarket. There is a sticky in the feeding section for some more or different vegetable suggestions.

A hang-on-tank/whisper filter will do very well for you -- I got mine, a Tetra Whisper 10i, for about $20. It has worked very well an very silently and will cut your water changes to weekly or biweekly depending on how much waste is left from the turtle and his food etc. as well as any algae growth or evaporation.



BUT!! It sounds like you're off to a really wonderful start. I hope to see more photos of of the little guy soon!

[Solstice]

Thanks for the reply. When I get him the UVB light, do I keep it on in tandem with the UVA/heat light? As in I can turn it off for part of the day as well? If the UVB light gives off heat can I just use that one light?

Since he doesn't have one now, is he not processing calcium?

[koreyleigh]

I can't answer that last part for sure but I know someone here will be able : )

The UVB light should be used at the same time at the UVA/heat one. I see you have some concerns about the lights -- I don't use one personally but I know many people on this forum use a timer for their lights to turn on and off automatically, allowing about 12 hrs of dark/no light to 12 hrs of light. My UVB doesn't seem to give off a ton of heat and it is generally recommended to use the two.

I hope that helps you! If you search the forums for "UVB" you should find a ton of posts about which bulb to get/where to place them/etc. -- you can even try a sight like eBay for a good deal.

[theartbook35]

S/he will need a UVB light [which mimics the sun] to process vitamin d and calcium -- the same way humans do. It is not IMPERATIVE to get it right this moment, but be aware that purchase is coming.

You can fill the tank up more to allowed more swimming room ; I have a 10 gallon as well and it was 3/4 to 4/5 full. Just be sure the level isn't high enough to facilitate an easy escape!

As far as food, be careful about the krill. Babies need and love protein, but as their parent they should only have it in moderation and not on a daily basis. It's very good you keep offering the romaine even if they're not taking to it right away. As a side note, though my turtle would PROBABLY eat anything, he took very well to turnip greens which I got at 99cents a pound at a local supermarket. There is a sticky in the feeding section for some more or different vegetable suggestions.

A hang-on-tank/whisper filter will do very well for you -- I got mine, a Tetra Whisper 10i, for about $20. It has worked very well an very silently and will cut your water changes to weekly or biweekly depending on how much waste is left from the turtle and his food etc. as well as any algae growth or evaporation.



BUT!! It sounds like you're off to a really wonderful start. I hope to see more photos of of the little guy soon!

My turtles had some nutritional problems when we first got them. They were very thin, fatigued easily (in other words, deep water was out of the question no matter what) and had extremely light shells. Light/pale shells are not good, their shells should be about that color or a darker/brighter green. Their seams were very wide, so I think their growth was sped up some. I had to give them A LOT of protein, and surprisingly, they did not get pyramiding. In fact, it did them a lot of good. They are VERY strong now, and the protein seemed to give them a lot of energy when I had them on that diet. They also refused to eat anything else no matter how much it was offered to them, and I offered them other kinds of food frequently. I don't necessarily think a turtle that is totally healthy should be brought up on protein every single darn day, but I agree that they need it at that age a lot more than adults even if their health is fine, like twice a week.

I also think protein is great for a turtle if they are sick and recovering from being sick, like a respiratory infection or other serious issues.

I've found that I like potassium a lot too for them. They usually can get that from tomatoes and bananas. Potassium is very good for the legs, and since they do so much swimming, I figure once a week is good for overall limb health. (I've noticed that, if us humans don't get enough potassium, we get severe leg cramps. I don't necessarily think turtles get that too, but it is a great nutrient to have IMO).