General Care Discussion :: How hot is too hot?

[industrial_girl_2000]

Desert sun would be very strong for an RES since it is so dry. RES's come originally from the Mississippi mud flats (mouth of the Mississippi river), where the air is very humid, in addition to being hot. So even though the temps can reach a balmy 100 degrees in the shade down in Mississippi, it is a very humid wet heat, vs. AZ where the same 100 degree temp is extremely dry. So if you do take your turtle out doors, I would make sure that it would only be in a baby pool filled with water & basking dock for short periods of time (1/2 hour).

Heck, if I lived in AZ, I would consider fostering a Sulcata Tortoise if I were you (there are many who are in need of homes since people don't realize how big they are going to get when they buy them as babies)! They are really cool Desert tortoises & they can definitely weather the hot AZ sun.

(And of course, keep your pet RES as well....I just thought I would mention a Sulcata in case you never knew about them & had room in your family for one).

[alexis_906]

I would love to get a Desert Tortious, but with my dog able to go out when ever she wants and a small townhouse back yard I can't do it yet. But I do look forward to having a house with a huge back yard that can be divided for all my animals.

So last night I was at the store looking at the pools and the storage containers. And I finally decided that a storage container would work best for small trips outside. I got a 50gal that has a lid that is on hinges, so you can have it attached or off. I thought that would work for when he wasn't in there to keep the dog out and the dirt. I just set it up and I am off to the store for some plants and a couple feeder fish. The only thing that is worrying me now is the fact that it bowed out a little more then I would like (It is about 1/2 - 3/4 full, so no chance for escape, I hope). But he won't be out there for more then 1 hour at a time and I will watch it closely for leaks and discolorations. Also I have it on my patio, which is covered and it only gets morning to early afternoon light. So I hope it doesn't heat up too much, but I will be watching the temps too. Tomorrow when I finally put him in I will take a few pics and post them. I really hope he likes it.

[AZCAT98]

Alexis, I'm sure your turtle will love it outside. I would recommend getting a small pump from Harbor Freight (90 gal/hr for $10) to circulate the water. A small filter wouldn't hurt either. Good luck.

[alexis_906]

Thanks AZCAT I will look into it.

[alexis_906]

So I put it all together and then a couple hours later I put in 5 rosey reds. And I don't know if it was the health of the fish or the container, but with in 2-3 hours all 5 fish died. I checked the water temp and it was nice. It was slightly warmer at the surface but I didn't think it was a problem. So after putting it all together outside I took it down and brought it inside. And set it up in the spare bathroom tub. And I hope to put the turtle in there tomorrow but now I am kind of worried that something will happen I don't know what happened with the fish. I did get them from a very over populated tank, so maybe they where the tops sick ones.

[adam85491]

Did you wash the tank and everything else out first? Do you know the temperature of the water? If you could answer these questions it might help.

[alexis_906]

Yes I did wash the tank, but I worry that maybe it wasn't enough. The temp was 72-75. I don't know what it is in the house right now but there are no critters in there.

[adam85491]

The fish were probably diseased or something. I often see a few die immediatley but i get a dozen or more maybe once a month so I see more survive...until they get eaten.

[DavidY]

Perhaps the water in your tub didn't have enough oxygen which is most likely the case since there is no water movement in there (no filter, air stone or pump). The fish were already probably stressed and O2 deprived from being in the plastic bag. Also as the water temperature rises, it is less able to hold O2. If that's the case, the turtles won't be affected by it since they breath air.

[alexis_906]

That is what my boyfriend said also. He told me to put one of those water toys that moves from the top to bottom in there to move the water around. But I am looking into that pump AZCAT mentioned earlier.

[SpotsMama]

Did you dechlorinate the water before you put the fish in? Or let it sit for at least 24 hours so the chlorine could evaporate? Chlorine in the water will kill them pretty fast. It won't kill a turtle though - might irritate his eyes some.

[alexis_906]

No I didn't do that, but I have never had a problem with that before and they have never died that fast before either. But today I am still letting it sit. I am going to try again later tonight with the fish and maybe tomorrow I will put Cereal Box in there.

[SpotsMama]

I know of a city that built a small lake in a park. They filled it with city water and stocked it with nice fish. By the next morning ALL the fish were dead! The cholorine turned to poison and got them all within hours.

The next time they used untreated water and all was well!

[alexis_906]

Well that would be horrible. Maybe I will wait longer to buy some little fish. They are cheap but they don't need to die like that.

[SpotsMama]

If you let the water stand for a day or two the chlorine will evaporate and your fish will be happy!