General Care Discussion :: need help.newbie owner of red ear slider

[whammytoinks]

hello guys. im new to forum. i've been lurking here reading some post but still i cant get enough idea. so i decided to create an account.
there are some questions in my head and i need your help. im having trouble taking care of my turts. the things i need for my turts is hard to find in the philippines. so heres my question. pls bear with my english. thanks

Heres the details. I have 2 red ear slider. almost 5 months old and around 2 inches.

1. im planning to make a tank with a 36x18x18 size and ATBA. any tips or idea about it.
im planning to fill the tank around 3/4 full.is it ok for my baby res? im afraid they might drown,

2.im planning do make DIY filter. any idea on where to start? i already read most of wendy filter topic. but still have no idea what pump to use or how much gph does it need. and what would be the best bio media should i use? lava rock or bio ball? can suggest other media. thanks.

3. also my turtle dont have uvb light. because its hard to find here in ph. maybe next month il be able to get one. so my question is. my turtle is almost 5 months.. i take them weekly outside for sunlight. for almost 2 months. stop doing it because when i take them out and bring them back to their tank,they seem scared and they take almost 3 days again to adjust.

4. last question. how can i know if my turtle are healthy. im feeding them reptomin. until now. now im feeding the turt with sanyu turtle stick and reptomin and some no name turtle stick. is that ok? im feeding them different brand because the pet shop that have reptomin run out of supply.i also feed them gammarus now.
i feed them 10 turtle stick in the morning. 10 gammarus for lunch and 10 turtle stick again for lunch. im giving them cuttle bone also.
just started giving it to then this day. i also tried giving lettuce but they wont eat it.


hope you understand what i meant,. sorry for bad english. thanks. hope il get some response from you guys.

[josephkr]

I don't have answers to all your questions but:
3. If you don't have a UVB I wonder if there is a way they could get some sunlight every day in your house. If you do that, make sure they have a place they could go to get away from the sunlight if it's too hot. They need the UV to convert calcium into healthy bones.

4. Sounds like you might be feeding them a lot. Read the general care guidelines on this site to get an idea for what feeding should look like, but it should be pellets every other day and vegetables like Romain lettuce every day. Give them as much vegetables as they'll eat, an give them the amount of pellets that is equal to the size of your turtle's head.

Also, no need to worry about your turtle's drowning. They are born to swim.

[ljapa]

1. I have no advice about building an aquarium, but you do not need to worry about filling it 3/4 full. Remember, in the wild your turtle would be in a pond, mucho deeper than that.

3. I agree with josephkr, that UVB is very important. Sunlight is better than artificial UVB lights, but it won't penetrate glass.

4. How big are they? It does sound like that is a lot of food. I know others here have advised offering just lettuce when trying to get a turtle to eat lettuce. That's only for an adult. I haven't had that problem because Toby ate lettuce almost as soon as I offered it.

[whammytoinks]

i cant find a spot in my house for direct sunlight. its always block by glass.. as i read in the forum uvb wont penetrate it. i was planning to buy it a uvb light next month if i have my money that time and if i can find a shop in our country that sell it. its hard to find here in PH.
my RES are 5 months old. around 2 inches shell. is 10.0 ok for them or is it too strong? im looking for 5.0 uvb tube light but i cant find any so i want to ask if 10.0 uvb ok for them?
they wont eat their lettuce. everyday i put a new leaves of lettuce and leave it for 24 hours but they not eating them.
i want to ask if gammarus the same with shrimp? because they said in the forum that you should give them shrimp only once a month. im giving them gammarus each day. around 5 pieace each. the size of gammarus is small. little smaller than the reptomin baby turtle stick. so i give them 5 each everyday,

[ljapa]

A 10.0 UVB bulb will be fine. You can raise it higher if the turtles eyes seem affected.

At 2"/5 months, they are still young. You do want to keep feeding them lettuce. By the time they are a year old, they should get plants every day and pellets every other day. Gammarus pellets are made from shrimp, but they have other ingredients too. However, you may still be feeding too much. The recommendation here for a turtle your age is only the amount that would fit in its head, each day.

Feeding too much can cause them to grow too fast. That can lead to health problems. I've only been a turtle keeper for 8 months, so I'm still learning. Others with more experience may chime in.

[steve]

Without knowing if you have males or females, you might have to end up with two tanks or an even larger one than what you're planning.

[whammytoinks]

guys can blacklight use for money checker use as substitute for uvb? and why does the cuttle bone that peeled the backing change t color and texture. it has some violet and black coloring in some parts and the texture is rough but soft that can be crushed easily. i never soaked those bones. i peeled them to have a stock. any idea guys? thanks

[steve]

No, you need a special UVB made especially for reptiles. There are many uses for UVB and they utilize different areas of the UV spectrum.

Can you post a picture of the cuttle bone?