General Care Discussion :: Is my setup okay?

[askdefj]

Hi,
I just received my baby RES today, and I was wondering if everythings okay. I know they need time to settle in, and just wanted to make sure everythings normal.. I'm not sure if he's eating, maybe when I was gone? But the pebble I threw in is no longer floating or one piece. It's on the bottom and crumbled up. So I'm guessing he ate some? Also.. his tank is right behind me (about 6 feet away on the floor), sometimes I see him creeping up to his dock, and I just turn my head and he runs away. Lastly, I just got him a plant and he hides behind it all the time and his eyes stay closed so I'm guessing he's sleeping under water, or is this a bad sign? He also likes to swim into the glass like a nut, is this normal?

I don't have a basking thermometer. But the water temp is 77 getting lower slowly. What temp should it never be below?

Here's my setup:
For the time being at least.. I KNOW, I have to get a bigger tank soon.

-10 gallon tank
-turtle dock
-little fake plant
-my house lamp? (I dont know if it's okay to use this.. just grabbed a lamp in my house that felt the warmest on my hands)
-clamp lamp w/ reptiglo 5.0 UVB Tropical (is this one okay?)

*I won a EBO JAGER 125W AQUARIUM HEATER on ebay, which should be coming in 1-2 weeks. Is this okay?

I actually bought him a couple more plants, and a big log that he could hide in, but I think I might return it. It takes up so much space, and I know they like to swim. I plan on just using a small cup for him to hide in.

Other than all that, is their anything I need to get for sure? Is it a good idea to return the extra stuff I got?

PICTURE: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/jhnguyen/2

Thanks and sorry for the millions of questions.

FIXED SETUP PICTURES BELOW.

[Tenodera]

I don't see any pictures... But your tank setup sounds good, You should really get a filter since they're really messy critters.

[askdefj]

I don't see any pictures... But your tank setup sounds good, You should really get a filter since they're really messy critters.

fixed it

[Tenodera]

It's great, but definitely raise the water level as high as you can WITHOUT it being able to escape by climbing up from the basking dock.

[askdefj]

It's great, but definitely raise the water level as high as you can WITHOUT it being able to escape by climbing up from the basking dock.

I'm not sure what to do.. Some people say to fill it only twice as much as his body width.. and others say as high as you can?

John

[Tenodera]

Yes, you'll find a LOT of incorrect info on the web about turtles. In the wild, turtles, even baby turtles, don't live in shallow puddles. They live in BIG and DEEP ponds in the wild.

It'll give your turtle room to swim. If provided with shallow water all it can do is walk and it's swimming muscles will become weak.

So fill her as high as you can!

[RunninWideOpen]

Ditto to all Tenadora said!!

You also asked about water temperature. The water temp for a baby should be 78-80F. If the water gets too cold it will cause the turtles metabolism to slow down, resulting in lethargy and often sickness. When water temps cool down the turtles go into hibernation mode, but in an aquarium they won't actually hibernate. It's dangerous when they go into that mode.

I've never heard of an Ebo Jager heater. not to say it's bad by any means. 125W is probably a bit overkill for your 10 gallon tank. I highly suggest the stealth heaters. They are plastic instead of glass, and are MUCH more durable for turtles. I went through 5 heaters in 3 months before I switched to the stealth. I've had no problems since.

You're little one will take a long time to get used to you. he won't bask in front of you for a few years possibly, depending in his personallity and how shy he is.

Congrads on your new friend!!

[SpotsMama]

I agree about the water level, it can go up quite a bit and your turtle will thank you for it. If you'd like, you can raise it gradually - another inch every few days - so your turtle can get used to it.

Ebo Jager is a very well respected heater brand. The rule of thumb is 3 - 5 watts of heater per gallon of water so the 175 watt heater would be way strong for your tank. In the long run it will be really nice to have though. You'll have to be careful that the heater doesn't overheat the water, or else you could get a smaller heater. Here's some reading on the topic:

http://www.redearslider.com/water_temperature.html

Until your heater comes you'll need to be careful not to let the water get too cool. It needs to stay around 78 degrees for a little bitty turtle. If it gets too cool not only will the turtle get lethargic but he will be susceptible to infection - and you don't want that. If necessary, until the water heater comes, can you keep the air temp in the room warmer than normal? In the absense of a heater, the water temp will adjust to match the air temp.

Your setup looks nice to me. I don't see a filter. With a small turtle and a tank that small you can probably manage by changing the water frequently. You may need to change it a couple of times a week. To help keep the water fresh, you might consider feeding your turtle out side the tank. Lots of people do that. When your turtle gets bigger and you get a bigger tank, you really need to look at getting a good filter.

Now.....the thing that really caught my eye in your intro remarks. Did you say you put a piece of gravel in the tank? Gravel is very dangerous for turtles. When they eat it it gets stuck inside and can kill them. You can put rocks in the tank - a few rocks looks nice and turtles like to fool around with them - but run don't walk away from gravel.

[Bumby's Mom]

Fill that tank up about 3/4 of the way that way it can't escape. My babies are barely and inch and thats how much water is in their tank.

[askdefj]

Thanks for the help everyone.
I went ahead and put a lot more water in. As well as all the decorations I bought. A log, and 2 plants... and also the dock up top.

It's not too crowded is it?
Few things I've been worried about is he is sleeping a ton.. either in the plants, or sometimes under the dock, right at the edge so his head pops up top. Is this okay?

Also, the log i have has one opening, that I don't think my turtle could fit in, unless he goes sideways. Is their something I could stick in the hole so he doesn't try to go through?

NEW PICTURES:
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/jhn ... ed%20image
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/jhnguyen/newpic/432

[Tenodera]

I think you should just take out the log, just in case.

Are your sure he can't escape from the basking dock? how big is he? They are known to step onto the black ever things and pull themselves out VERTICALLY.

sleeping? you mean lying in the plants with his eyes closed, right? What is the water temp like?

[askdefj]

ah.. I just took off the tag.. Can't return it

What do closed eyes mean? The water temp is about 78-83.

[Tenodera]

Well is he sleeping during the day?

Well you should at least take it out of the tank since turtles are known to get themselves wedged in tight places and get stuck and drown.

[N4784N R4613]

Very nice set-up!!! You can always put the log back in later, once your turtle grows a bit, and you KNOW he can't get into it. As for how close the water should be to the top of an open top tank, I imagine the turtle has all his legs stretched out, and is reaching for the top with his front legs, then I double that distance(two of your turtles standing on top of one another reaching for the top of the two), and that is the distance I use.

[DavidY]

Your setup looks very nice. It doesn't look overcrowded to me, it looks more natural that way and the turtle will probably feel more secure with all the plants. One suggestion I have is to try to position your basking lights so they are shining down over the basking dock instead of at an angle. The compact flourescent UVB bulbs are meant to be placed in a vertical position and it also helps prevent your turtle from looking straight into the bulb which could be harmful to his eyes.