General Care Discussion :: Crazy new turtle owner :)

[kikicool]

Hi there! I've been poring over this site all day--TONS of info. Thank you!

I have lots of questions, and I'll start there. The questions may lead you to wonder WHY I have a turtle when I know so little. If you're interested... the story of how he came to our family is below the questions.

I don't know much abotu turtle care, but am willing to work hard AND learn. I have had a little RES since Friday. His set up consists of a 20 gallon tank, about half filled. He has some gravel, and a little tunnel like rock, and some fake plants to hide under. He has a basking rock, and a heat lamp. I have a sticker thermometer on the outside which says the water is always between 77-84 degrees (but it feels chillier than that to me). I also have a submerged heater, but it hasn't gone on yet. It is set to 75. And I have a fluval 3 filter. Here's my questions:

1. The pet store said he ate goldfish. I purchased floating turtle sticks and some goldfish. Figured I'd work him off the fish onto the commercial food. So far (since Friday) he won't touch the floating sticks. However, he HAS eaten four goldfish--about one a day. Any suggestions on how to get him to switch? There is one more fish in there now. I will have to buy more tomorrow.

2. He hasn't basked yet. How far away should his light be from his pad? I have it clipped on to the side of the tank about 8-10 inches above his pad. Too close? Too hot? Is this normal, for him not to come near it? He does sit under it and watch me... cute!

3. I do not have an air filter--just the submerged fluval one. Should I have something in there making air bubbles?

4. I'd like to feed him veggies, but when I do... he ignores them, and they sink. Any suggestions for getting him to eat?

5. If he is eating just goldfish, how can I set up a feeding schedule for veggies and sticks? How long should I leave them in before taking them out if he doesn't eat them?

6. Would a pletko be a good addition to the tank? For algae purposes? (none yet--I'd have to wait).

So my main problems are the lack of basking, and seeming disinterest in food. He had a bowel movement on Saturday, but none since

and now, the story: I live by the ocean. The other day, my neighbor was fishing and lo and behold, there's a tiny little guy bobbing up and down in the surf. I don't know how he got there--"Set free" perhaps by some idiot. I recognized him a slider (my mom is an elementary school teacher and had one in her classroom years ago), and I knew he was supposed to be in freshwater. I loved him right away. Alas, my neighbor has little kids, so he took him home. The next day, he said he couldn't deal. So I rescued him. I went out and bought a ton of equipment, of course. I picked up the little guy and dropped him in his new tank. Well, he had a fungul infection, I could tell because he was covered in a white, shedding coat. I decided I'd take him to the vet the next AM (by now it was late evening). The next AM, he seemed to be in respiratory distress: opening and closing mouth really wide, not lifting head otherwise... so I rushed him to the vet. They took him in the back and came out two seconds later and said he "didn't make it." Either he JUST died... or they knew he wouldn't make it. Not sure which. I started bawling thinking about how this poor little guy spent his last days. It kills me that we couldn't save him. Ugh! Anyhoo, I got home and woke my boyfriend to tell him the news. He took me to the pet store to get another. Now, I read that anything over 4 inches is legal... and mine is just 4 inches. We didn't tell the neighbor's kids (or the neighbor) the truth. Let them feel good about the rescue, right?


Sorry for the length--I'm just eager to do right by my l'il guy. I named him Shmigel THANK YOU in advance for any help!!

[sonyj]

Okay I'll answer according to your questions.

1) DO NOT feed him goldfish!! If you want to supplement live prey once a month or so into a well balanced diet of pellets and veggies then you can get rosy red minnows or guppies. Goldfish are more likely to carry parasites and are considered junk food. They are very fatty.

2) The basking light should be however far or close to the basking dock so that the basking temp is between 88-90F. 8-10inches sounds about right but you really need to measure the temp - too cold or close to the water temp and he won't bask, too hot and it can hurt him. It also depends on what wattage of bulb you have. You may have to go lower or higher on the wattage. Also there should be a UVB bulb that emits 7-10% UVb rays along beside the heat/regular household bulb. He needs both of these lights to remain healthy.

3) You don't need an air filter, he breaths with lungs just like us. But your regular filter should be rated for at least 3x's the size of the tank since turtles are messier than fish.

4)To feed veggies, especially to an older turtle like yours that isn't used to eating them on a daily basis, many owners are left with the only option to withhold all other foods until they will eat the veggies. This is perfectly fine to do since in the wild, they can go quite a while in between meals. Also soaking the veggies in something smelly like tuna water might help.

5)Again, do not feed goldfish. Pellets should be the staple of his diet. They should be offered every other day only the amount that would fit inside his head if it were hollow. A variety of veggies should be offered daily or on the days he doesn't get his pellets. Live prey such as feeders, crickets, or high protein treats (shrimp) should be offered as a treat around once a month. If he's not eating his veggies or pellets, then I wouldn't offer these at all until he's on a well balanced diet.

6) Anything you put into the tank is potential lunch. There are some turtles that can go quite a while and not notice the pleco while other plecos have been mutilated the moment they are added to the tank.

Now just a couple of more details... He should be in a tank at least double in size then what he's in now with as much water a you can fill to the top without giving him room to escape over the top. RES are aquatic and need plenty of water and a very large habitat to live healthy happy lives in captivity. Recommended habitat size is 10 gallons per inch of turtle. And if you can go larger now it will save you money in the long run since your RES will grow to be between 9-12 inches at full maturity depending on gender. So you are eventually looking at a 120 gallon tank if it is a female. At 4 inches you should be able to tell if it's male or female. Long front claws and long thick tail is characteristic of a male. Females have short stubby claws and a short tail.

If temps and habitat size is correct then it usually takes a few days for RES to adjust to their new homes. In this time they may not bask or eat until they feel comfortable to do so.

Good luck and if you have any pics we'd love to see them. Also read the basic care section on the main site if you haven't already.

[kikicool]

VERY HELPFUL--THANK YOU Sonja!! I did read the basic care section, but got a bit confoozed. I appreciate your clarification. I've already filled his tank up, and will enlarge as soon as I can. (this may be quite soon. I'm sure my mother has an extra!)

One more question: I'm perplexed about the UV light. IS there a lightbulb I can buy and switch on and off with the bulb in my heat lamp? Or should both be on all the time.

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait for him to finish that last goldfish--I have nowhere to put the fish besides the one tank. After that, I plan on taking your advice re the pellets.

By the way, he's definitely male. Long claws, and loooong tail! I'll get some pix. He and my dog, Bocephus, like to stare at each other. Bocephus even lays in the door of the room he's in, as though he is guarding the turtle. Today, the neighbor girls came over to see him. As soon as one went in the back room, Bocephus jumped off the couch, over his sister Bella, and charged into the room....JUST in case he was needed, I guess. Too funny!

[missibsu]

Good advice mentioned above....Sonja gets things covered, lol!

I am one of those people who thought a pleco would be worth the risk, and my turtles went for him immediately. So, I removed him. I couldn't stand to watch him be eaten.

To answer your question about the lighting. The UVB light should be right above the basking area (not closer than 6 inches) with no barriers between (ie glass and screen smaller than 1/2 inch). The UVA or heat light can be a regular household bulb and can be positioned anywhere that is convenient, safe, and warms the basking area to the needed temp. Watch placing it where it can get splashed because it will explode. Both lights should be on a cycle that is much like the sun. Longer hours in the summer, shorter in the winter. 8-12 hours. If you don't want the hassle of turning them off and on every day, you can put them on a timer too.

I wasn't sure of your exact question, so I just breezed through it all, hope that helped.

[sonyj]

There is a combo light (mercury vapor) that provides both heat and UVB in one light which is convenient but it is only recommended for tanks above 55 gallons due to the high heat it emits and it is quite costly. Many owners simply use a regular household bulb to provide heat and then the UVB bulb. You can use clamp on type light fixtures for both or a stand type light fixture as long as you can regulate the correct basking temp.

I suggest investing in a timer and set it for when the lights should come on and go off each day. They should be on a day/night cycle just like we are. Many owners mimic the hours of the sun just like in the wild, longer in the summer shorter in the winter. Just be sure to provide around 10-12 hours of UVB/heat per day but not more than 12.

[kikicool]

Okay, I will have to look into the UVB light. Thanks! Meantime, I put a larger basking rock in (the other seemed a little small). All he wants to do is hide in his bushes. I guess I will just let him be till he feels comfortable.