General Care Discussion :: New Turtle Owner

[NewTurtleGirl]

Hi Everyone,
I'm not sure if it's okay to post in this area, but I thought i'd give it a try. I recently got my first RES turtle, he's about the size of a half dollar, and I named him Herbert. But anyway, I'm a Junior in College and my roomate and I have a nice apartment. I purchased for my turtle a 10 gallon tank, some polished pebbles, and a basking "rock."

I'm very unsure if I'm taking good enough care of my turtle. I make sure he gets daily sunlight by setting him in an open window in his tank, making sure the sunlight can reach him, and he's not getting it through the glass. We keep a regular lamp on him for the rest of the time, because I fear that he will get cold at night because we keep our air on. Any advice would be great, on my tank situation, my water situation, etc..

Thanks for any advice!

Britt

[cprcheetah]

Britt;

Welcome. Just a couple of suggestions, bigger tank is going to be needed...soon...Turtles need 10 Gallons per 1" of their size. So my turtle is 7" and should be in at least 70 gallon tank. But the bigger you can buy the better. He needs a regular basking light/spot, you can read about lighting requirements on the Basic Care site. Do you have a heater? Do you have a thermometer? His temp should be 78 degrees with a basking spot temp of 90. Do you have a filter? Those are just the basics I can think of right off hand. Make sure he has a healthy diet of veggies, pellets, (read about that on the stickies and basic care site). Make sure any pebbles are bigger than your turtles mouth or they can become food and may lead to impaction.

[turtlesrock77]

Hello Britt.
I'm a little new to turtles too, but I'm going to give you my advice from what I have read. I would make a trip to the pet store soon and buy a UVB light. You need to make sure it has the right amount of UVB, I think it is between 5-10%. Maybe someone else can help on the percentages. Anyway, I would also buy a submersible heater made for the size tank you have. As soon as you get that heater, you should start turning the lights off at night. They should be similar to the times the sun is out. Also, once you get the UVB light, you should probably move the tank away from the window, as it could cause the water to heat to dangerous levels. In addition to the basic site that cprcheetah recommended reading, the stickies in the forums (at the top of the pages) are very helpful, especially the ones in the Habitat-Indoor forum.
Welcome to the board!

[SpotsMama]

The stickies in the Nutrition section are also excellent.

Good luck with your little guy or gal!

[NewTurtleGirl]

Wow, thanks for all the advice guys, if anyone else has advice please let me know, this little guy isn't going to be cheap is he?? He's worth it though lol

[missibsu]

A common misconception among new turtle owners. Owning turtles is not a cheap hobby! BUT, you are right, totally worth it! Welcome to the forum. The above mentioned advice is a great start. I would just add that you don't want to try and take the cheap way out. Everyone warned against it when I was getting started, and I didn't listen. Within a year I was replacing the tank, the heater, the filter. I spent twice as much as I should have. Plan ahead when buying things. If you know that an upgrade is coming and you are getting a bigger tank, buy a heater rated for the larger tank. It was mentioned that you are going to need a filter. Be sure you get a good one. Filters are rated for fish and turtles are a lot messier. It's recommended that you get a filter that is rated 3 times the capacity of your tank. Also, plan ahead with that one.

On another note. Check around for prices. Some things are safe to purchase from online sites like ebay. Other sites offer better prices for products. Petsmart offers cheaper prices online than in their store, and most stores will price match their online price. Just print off a copy and take it with you. That's all I can think of for now.

[Boogerbutt02]

I only thing that I can think to add would be, not to leave the light on all night... turtles like any animal need the night and day switch to stay healthy..