General Care Discussion :: how long can a turtle go without basking?

[pumpkinsherbet]

a friend of mine's mother bought her two baby res a little over a week ago. they're about the size of a 50 cent coin. they were in a little container she had gotten them, at least this one was embellished with a little plastic palm tree (mine wasn't). i gave her my old 20 gallon habitat saturday afternoon, sans basking lamp & basking rock. i needed to keep those for myself for now, but i told her where to get them at a bargain. she did not pick them up. i will be constructing an above tank basking spot, but due to poor budgeting that's going to have to wait another two weeks, so it will be that long before i can give her the basking rock. still no basking lamp, though. the 20 gallon habitat she says will be set up tonight.

it's a little frustrating, i don't really know how seriously she's taking me about the monitoring and importance of the right lighting. she's got two kids and one more on the way, so she's got her hands full... i've already given her the number to the aspca in case she decides she is unable to take care of them.

answers? advice?

[jenaero]

I'd say they can go a few weeks (max) without uvb, but not without a light at all. At the very least it needs a heat lamp to thermoregulate.....

[pumpkinsherbet]

they have a uvb lamp, since the light fixture didn't fit properly on the new set up (fell in) i gave her the uvb fixture and bulb, and just bought a bulb for my clamp lamp. i have to switch them out 'til i get another one. i don't know where she's putting the tank, though.

[industrial_girl_2000]

The fact that she hasn't picked anything else up for the turts even though you gave her your 20 gallon tank kinda worries me. I mean, what did she expect when she got these turtles? Did she expect that they were like goldfish? Did she read about their care before getting them?

It sounds like she is just *waiting* for you to do everything. I don't want to sound mean here, but it just sounds like she isn't prepared to give them a good home (I am not saying she is a bad person, just saying that maybe a turtle isn't the right type of pet for her).

[pumpkinsherbet]

i don't think it is... not that she's waiting for me to do this stuff for her, she just is procrastinating it. like i said, i'm not sure she's taking me seriously. her mom had bought them for her. i know she owns a box turtle (the mother, that is).

[pumpkinsherbet]

*sigh* i saw the setup this morning. it made me sad. the uvb bulb was burned out, yet they made no effort to replace it. i gave them a perfectly good uva bulb as well, told them they could just use a house lamp.

instead they have it tucked in the corner of the kitchen, house lights off, blinds down. no lamp. filter clogged with uneaten pellets.

and i had to tell her daughter repeatedly lastnight to keep her hands out of my tank, reminding her each time that john's a biter. i believe she's perfectly capable of taking care of them. she just doesn't seem... interested.

[SpotsMama]

Not good. Normally interest is highest right at the first when the turtles are new.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i'm actually a little miffed, b/c she had told me they'd been eating just fine. no veggie residuals on the tank floor and a filter clogged with food tells me the exact opposite.

i want to tell her to just give them to her brother, who also took (better) care of turtles. it was him that insisted they put the habitat together asap.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i guess i'm asking for advice on how to handle this situation.

[adam85491]

That's a really disapointing situation. Some people (including myself) don't have the best set-up and were expected to believe that turtles could survive in a little bowl (like that little turtle lagoon thing). But when you give someone good/expensive equipment and give them information at the very beginning, you expect them to take advantage of the situation. I suggest getting pictures of the internet of pyramidding and other problems associated with neglegted turtles and try to convince them to take better care of them.

[pumpkinsherbet]

money? i haven't spent any money on them, just mine. they're getting the hand-me-downs but they pretty much got the entire setup FREE when i myself had paid nearly $100 for it.

i was so very tempted to take that tank with me when i saw what they had it in. especially after trying to appeal to her husband and getting a ''take it up with her" reply. i know i can't house four turtles, but i can take care of them for a short while until the aspca takes over.

i was so excited when she got them, thinking finally someone who will understand my neurosis! but now i just don't know the best way to sit her down and say ''this pet... is so not for you." i have tried to stress on her the importance of the right lighting. gave her the urls for this place and other turtle care places. she doesn't listen, doesn't look it up. her interest seems to be limited to the time she sees them while she's in the kitchen.

[adam85491]

Well, I meant the fact that you are giving them your hand-me-downs when I mentioned that it was costing you. It's great to help, but I meant that if I were you, I wouldn't give them any more things because they could probably be put to better use elsewhere.

Can she take them back to the store or wherever she got them?

[pumpkinsherbet]

no, they were a gift bought from the flea market.

[adam85491]

OK, just trying to help.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i do appreciate it. i just need to know the best way to talk to her. they could still go to her mom or her brother, who have both taken good care of their turtles.