General Care Discussion

Hello, I am going to travel for a month and unfortunately cannot find anyone to take my turtle for the time I will be absent

What should I do with her while I am gone?

I have never hibernated her before and would be willing to try it under these circumstances but I think I missed the time I should have started and I have no idea how to do it, she is about 4 years old now and has never hibernated in her life.

I have heard of a machine that can regulate the lighting and turn it on and off automatically, would that be recomended and if so what is it called and how do they work? The lighting I have is an exo terra solar glo:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/solar_glo.php
and the clamp lamp I am using is a zoo med with an on and off switch:
http://www.reptilesupply.com/images/LF-12.jpg

how long can a non hibernating turtle go without eating?

Ideally I would prefer to hibernate her but I have heard that some of them never wake up which is why I have never done it and never considered it an option until now, I have to go due to serious family issues.... I will not be leaving until mid january to early february so I have time to prepare the turtle for when I do leave

Any suggestions and information on hibernating the turtle would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much

Can you have someone check in, even only for every 2 or 3 days? How big is your tank? I generally don't recommend hibernating and especially would not for the situation you are describing.

I am trying to have someone I trust do that for me, so far no one has confirmed

My tank is a 90 gallon, she is the only one in there, besides the carp/goldfish...

A simple timer can turn the light on and off.

A fish feeder like the eheim can feed your turtle pellets once a day. Add a few aquatic plants + minnows for supplemental food.

Water evaporation is a problem... an ATO like the JBJ ATO, a pump, and an el-cheapo garbage can full of water would solve that problem.

Or else... can you board your turtle? My vet will board pets... including turtles. At my vet, you have to supply a tank and food. A cheap rubbermaid tub + heater would do the job. My vet will change the water at an interval you specify (eliminates the need to bring a filter) and has reptile basking lights / area. They will take the turtle out twice a day for private basking time. It's not very expensive either... MUCH cheaper than boarding my dogs.

Do you have a local turtle rescue? Maybe explain your situation and offer a donation in exchange for a short term boarding with them.

I've left Tomi alone for a month before... but my father would check on him once a week. Water evaporation wasn't too big a problem, as long as you don't have a hang on filter it should be fine. I made sure I cleaned the tank and filter before I left since I knew it wouldn't be cleaned for a month. I tell my father how much to feed every time, left the lights on a timer and I was good to go. I also drop some minnows in there in case he gets hungry in between.

Yes, feeder fish are a great idea, and the timer, have any specific suggestions for a specific brand?

My turtle doesn't have a vet but that would be great except I really have no extra money to spend, I am only going on this trip because of serious family issues.

So turtles can be fed once a week and be fine? A significant amount I am assuming...

What types of aquatic plants are suitable ofr turtles? where can I get some? I live in toronto, canada

I have just bought a marineland 24hr Aquarium Light/pump timer for fish tanks

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0606871884

Yeah any ol' timer will do for turning a lamp on and off. Your filter should be left on and running. Too many possible issues with turning a filter on and off.. flooding, not restarting...etc.

I would feed them more than once a week. An automatic fish feeder could drop pellets in daily. The eheim has a really large hopper and might last all month while you are gone.

The feeding section of this website has info on what aquatic plants are safe for turtles. My RES happens to love anacharis. Anacharis is available at most any petstore in the fish section... just look for the freshwater plants.

I have found a automatic fish feeder for a great deal onine, doesn't look very big though...
I have also been looking for aquatic plants I could find and out of the ones on the list on this website I have only been able to find the fern... On the list on the website is says water fern but I have only been able to find java fern for sale, are there certain types of ferns that the turtle should not or are they all the same?

Have you had any luck trying to find someone who will check in on them? Here's a couple of links to more in-depth water plant information:
http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants.html
http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants2.html

might be able to have someone come weekly, thanks for all the info!

General Care Discussion :: travelling for a month, what should I do with her???

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