General Care Discussion :: Helpful advice -new turtle parent

[turtle mom09]

Good day, I just discovered I have both a Petco and Petsmart in Memphis available to me. If my son straightens up we might take a trip into memphis after he gets out of school -hes not having a good morning so far!!

Doing a poll: which store has the better selection or prices? Ive never had the choice of both. I need to get a new small submersable heater (the one I bought yesterday never worked) and the bulbs.

Ill return the heater and get the lamps for the bulbs at walmart this afternoon while my son is in school.

I have a preowned 30 gal tank coming all complete and set-up from my husband boss. Hes giving it to my son at little cost. Do I need to wash it down with anything special since it was previously used by another type of aquatic turtle and then fish?

[megcornell]

I've found both chains vary highly by store- in some areas the store is clean and has a good selection and then a few towns over the same chain is just disgusting. I've seen good and awful petcos and petsmarts. I'd suggest you check both out.

As for the tank you have a few options. You can clean it out with vinegar or a very dilute bleach solution. When I got a used tank I used vinegar and had no problems, just rinse it out well. With the bleach, I'd rinse well several times and let it completely air out as well. If the tank has a filter already, I'd rinse the filter and replace the media cartridges.

[theartbook35]

I've found both chains vary highly by store- in some areas the store is clean and has a good selection and then a few towns over the same chain is just disgusting. I've seen good and awful petcos and petsmarts. I'd suggest you check both out.

As for the tank you have a few options. You can clean it out with vinegar or a very dilute bleach solution. When I got a used tank I used vinegar and had no problems, just rinse it out well. With the bleach, I'd rinse well several times and let it completely air out as well. If the tank has a filter already, I'd rinse the filter and replace the media cartridges.

I agree completely. I rarely shop at them unless I know the store can deliver great reptiles and supplies.

The one closest to me, is the kind of place that packs eight ball python hatchlings into a 10 gallon tank. They aren't very healthy looking half the time either. Makes me so mad, that they don't take good care of them, because ball pythons are one of my favorite snake species, since they are easier to socialize (a friend of our family had a yearling who would let me pet its head) and their prices for the animals are affordable. I'd rather get a healthy snake that cost 150 dollars, than a sick snake for 50 bucks.

[Caphits]

I prefer petco, because the town I go to that has both, petco has a nice turtle enclosure. Petsmart has a really crappy turtle enclosure.

[theartbook35]

I prefer petco, because the town I go to that has both, petco has a nice turtle enclosure. Petsmart has a really crappy turtle enclosure.

The petco I go to has unhealthy snakes, as I said, but their turtles, frogs, lizards, and other exotic reptiles and amphibians are all healthy and fine. In fact, very beautiful at times. Maybe they don't go to great lengths with the snakes because they don't want people to buy them, and instead want to sell the other species. I think that's very stupid and mean, because some people don't know how to tell a sick snake from a healthy one, and end up buying a pet that dies a week later.

I haven't bought a pet from a pet store in years, actually. After my zebra finches died just a week after I got them, I lost all faith in pet stores. I rescue/adopt instead. Pet stores should just sell supplies anyways, selling the animals is almost unnecessary with all the rescue groups and animal shelters around nowadays. Rescue pets always have more interesting stories and personalities, anyways.

[turtle mom09]

Update:

This saturday will be 3 weeks with our little lost and found turtle. In that time we have upgraded him from a 1 gal carry tank to a 30 gal glass tank. Gotten him a new submersible water heater(heats up to 40 gal tank), new water thermometer, a repti 25w basking spot lamp bulb and lamp and added reptotreat shrimp to his diet. The new tank came with a ESU Reptile super uv light that sits atop the tank.

Our little guy is loving his home swimming and playing. I have yet to buy a basking platform and filter setup.

I am having a hard time getting the tank to warm to over 79 degrees. The water temp is staying at a steady 80 degrees. When I put the complete lid on at night the tank gets all sweaty inside but the tank temp never seems to go up.

Any helpful suggestion to try and get the tank temp up -day and night. Better lighting maybe? Also I read in one of the posts someone uses a red bulb/infrered bulb, what would the significance of that be?

Thanks for all your wonderful words of wisdom.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Ideally you want your tank temps to be around 75 degrees F for adult turtles and 78 degrees F for hatchlings. I'd like to comment on a few of your items, though. First, in the future, you don't need a specific basking bulb, you can just use a household incandescent, they are cheap and efficient. Reptotreat shrimp should be given as a treat once per month, as it can lead to pyramiding if given in excess. The submersible heater, does it have a dial on it so you can change it? Otherwise it may fluctuate a lot with changing room temps. What is the strength of the UV light on top of the tank? If it is more than 5%, it may hurt his eyes; if it is less than 5%, it may be ineffective. "Reptile" bulbs tend to be higher, though, so watch for eye irritation.

I don't think you want a lid on overnight. I don't know what this lid is, but if it's condensing, it is likely blocking oxygen from reaching your turtle and they could suffocate. Most people have an open tank setup.

Hope this helps!

[turtle mom09]

Ok good info on the shrimp didnt know that. Was giving a little each day- like 3 shrimps. Will stop that. He does love his reptomin food sticks so he is eating good in general.

The heater does have a dial to adjust but I havent adjusted it since I put it in, since its keeping the water at a constant temp.

Strength of the UV bulb I dont know. It doesnt indicate on the bulb or unit. This setup was originally for an aquatic turtle but the man we got it from had gotten rid of his turtle and then later turned the tank into a fish tank. I have a mixture of different things to figure out which was what. Since the turtle needed light and it indicated it was a reptile light bulb I am just using it for now. My son and I will be going to memphis this weekend and will be picking up a few other things for Squirt. If I need to buy differnet lighting let me know so I can add it to my list.

Thanks