General Care Discussion :: im so in over my head

[BullDog]

I use river rocks (from the lake). To sterilize them, I put them in a pot of boiling water for about 10 mins. I find not much stuff gets caught between them. I don't have enough to cover the entire bottom of the tank, but about 2 dozen in each tank.

[zenalisa]

drowning? an aquatic turtle can drown? darkly ironic.

what sort of hidey things? floating or at the bottom of the tank?

can i use a really big plastic bin as a tank? i heard you can, and we could get it alot sooner than a fishtank.

[untsmurf]

Yes aquatic turtles can drown. They don't have gills, they have lungs, so they breathe in air. They can just hold their breath much longer than we can. However, if they get trapped under something or caught up in the filter, they can easily drown.

I have a floating log, then two hides at the bottom of the tank.

If you're talking about one of those rubbermaid type tubs, then yes you can. The only thing is, is you will have to reinforce the sides. Those tubs aren't meant to hold water for extended periods of time and can burst. But if you reinforce the sides, you shouldn't have a problem.

[zenalisa]

how do you reinforce the sides?

[BullDog]

Aquatic turtles still breath air, so they can drown if they become trapped. They also like to wedge themselves in areas that are too small, so you need to be mindful of gaps in any decoration, between your filter tubes, and even the filter intake itself.

For hidey things, usually it's something at the bottom of the tank. Lots of people use driftwood, which looks natural and is pretty darn cool. There are also premade things you can find at the petstore, but keep in mind the size of gaps, as mentioned above.

As Smurf mentioned, you can use a storage container, but the sides should be braced from bowing out. You can also look into a stock tank. This is a big plastic (or metal) bin that is meant to hold water. They're often cheaper than a glass or acrylic tank. You can find them at farm supply stores.

For bracing the sides of a storage container there are a lot of options. I've seen plywood braces, a string around the container, a string attached to the wall bracing the side facing out, and even books. As long as it's solid, and gives the tank some support, then it'll work.

[zenalisa]

so you could just put plywood covering the sides?
so many questions, so little time.

[untsmurf]

yes, but they can't be resting against the sides, there has to be something actually keeping the walls of the container straight. So if you built a little box out of plywood, that would work perfectly.

[zenalisa]

how do i keep him from escaping while keeping the water deep enough?

[BullDog]

You can fashion a lid for on top (like for instance an old oven rack), or maybe even cut out the lid if the storage container came with one, or you can just keep the water low enough so he can't escape. If you get a big enough container, you'll still have 30-40 gallons of water with the water low to prevent escape.

[zenalisa]

were going to get a giant bin for him tomaro. yay!!!

[Bascomb]

Zen-sa -- You may not be able to sue someone for stupidity. Most employees at a pet store can only find the clock in and the bathroom. I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to employees at numerous pet stores that don't have a clue about turtles. Get you a 75 gallon or larger and go for it. I have two painted and they are not nearly as aggressive as a redear. Be thankful, painteds are great turtles. B.

[untsmurf]

how do i keep him from escaping while keeping the water deep enough?

You can buy some egg crate (aka light difuser) from your local hardware store and cut it down to fit the top of the tub, then you can tape it on so the turtle won't be able to lift it up. Egg crate only costs $10-15 a piece and you should only need one piece. They're super easy to cut down and work wonderfully.

[starscollided]

zenalisa
way to go on trying to make him the best home he can get! <3

I recently was given a new turtle from someone else who thought they had a RES
but he is an Eastern Painted turtle - -The cousin of yours from across the states!
<3 he is red instead of yellow

[zenalisa]

we got a giant rubbermaid bin today, 50 gallons i think. we're going to move him in tomaro, its a bit late now.
can we put gravel in the very bottom, and them put tons of river rocks on top so that the gravel is completly covered? the filter from his old tank needs to have gravel on it to work. will he dig or do something that exposes the gravel?

[Daniel3507]

really its not a good idea to have any gravel that they could eat. what kind of filter?