General Care Discussion :: Just got 2 red eared sliders.

[glueshoe65]

Hello everyone, my girlfriend just gave me two red eared sliders for my birthday, each of them about 2 inches long. (Are these still considered hatchlings?) They are in a ten gallon tank but we're getting a 75 soon, because her dad already has one that he doesn't need.

I have to confess that I was totally ignorant to the fact that RES need to bask. I have a water filter that is textured and looks like a rock. I just placed one of the turtles on there, and he freaked out and jumped back into the water. The bulb I have now is 13W and about 5 inches away from said rock. I can't get the lamp to move farther away at the moment.


Also, I have not gotten a thermometer yet for the water, and I do not know how warm the water is. The turtles are constantly going to the corner and top of the tank, as if they want to get out. Are they suffering or something, or just not used to the size?


Any help would be appreciated, Thanks.

[sflemin2]

Can you post a pic? Is there a water heater?
For the light, take a look at an easy solution on this site http://www.splat-n-retro.com/lights.html . The site is for birds but I used this method with my last tank. You can adjust how close it is to the basking area. The basking area needs to be 10 degrees warmer than the water. You can get very cheap thermometers at walmart in the fish section. They are only like $2. Do some research on this site..you will need two different kinds of lights (one is a household light for heat but the other is a specialty bulb). No gravel in the tank!!! They could get very sick if they eat it!

I hope that helps a little but please search all the pages on the main website here. There is a lot more to learn!

[glueshoe65]

I do not have a water heater at the moment. Are those neccesary? Because some sites say different things, and The pet store apparently said that the water would be fine because the house is usually around 75-80.

I have a UVB light right now, only.

[sflemin2]

You will most likely need one.. you definitely need a thermometer to find out. I would get one of those flat sticker ones (which are very very cheap) for the basking area and a regular one for the water. I don't recommend getting stuff like thermometers and water heaters at the pet stores since they mark things up so much. You already have the specialty bulb so now you just need a plain household light bulb to give off heat on the basking area. Having that will encourage the turtle to bask on its own. I literally had a floor lamp over my tank when money was tight and I couldnt afford a clamp for it.