General Care Discussion :: How much water is to much?

[kat4sliders]

First of all I want to say I am a brand new owner of 2 RES, Houdini and Lucky. They are 2 - 3 inches long. and Secondly I would like to apologize for the length of this post. I just have so many questions. But those will get asked over time.

Today we went and got them a 20 gallon tank, thinking it would be big enough, which now we know it won't be, but it will have to do the time being. But it is a big improvement from the small tank that they were in. I personally couldn't stand seeing 30+ turtles in a small 2 gallon tank. If I could of, I probably would of got all of them. But that is neither here nor there.

We also purchased a underwater heater and a filter. But now I feel like there is too much water.

There is 6.5 inches of water and they can get on and off the basking area with no problems. But it seems like they have a hard time getting to the surface of the water. I just don't want them to die, especially if its something I could of prevented.

Thank you in advance for the tips and suggestions.

[Turtle Mummy 101]

Hi kat4sliders!

First off, congrats on your 2 new RES!! It seems like you're off to a great start. If you don't already have one, I would also suggest you buy a UVB light.

As for the water level, I would suggest you take some out (to where they can still climb on the basking dock but aren't struggling to get to the surface) and increase it by an inch or so per day. I got my RES at a pet store where there were 30-50 different turtles in a small container. Obviously there wasen't much water in there. When I set her up in her tank she was having the same problems your turtles seem to be experiencing. By gradually increasing the water level it'll give them time to adjust to deeper water.

Good luck

[kat4sliders]

Hi kat4sliders!

First off, congrats on your 2 new RES!! It seems like you're off to a great start. If you don't already have one, I would also suggest you buy a UVB light.

As for the water level, I would suggest you take some out (to where they can still climb on the basking dock but aren't struggling to get to the surface) and increase it by an inch or so per day. I got my RES at a pet store where there were 30-50 different turtles in a small container. Obviously there wasen't much water in there. When I set her up in her tank she was having the same problems your turtles seem to be experiencing. By gradually increasing the water level it'll give them time to adjust to deeper water.

Good luck

I do have a UVB light for them. but for the basking area...I had to put the small tank (they were in) inside the bigger tank and I put the lid upside down and put the basking rock on top that. Otherwise the basking rock is completely under water. I just can't wait until I can at least get that floating dock I saw at the pet store. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm kind of in a bind right now for the whole basking thing.

But I am going to take some water out. Would you suggest dropping the water level to 4 inches from the 6.5?

[gwennie]

You could drop the water level like Turtle Mummy suggests and slowly raise it daily, or you can add things to your tank for them to rest on - plants, plastic flowerpots turned on their side with something in them to weigh it down, etc. That way they can rest on the items underwater and won't have so far to travel to get to the surface for air.

My hatchling was just fine in a tank with 12-13 inches of water in it - we added a large piece of drift wood and a pot for him to rest on, along with some plants (real) so he could hang on to them if he needed a rest.

RES turtles thrive in more water rather than less, so eventually you will want to raise the water level.