General Care Discussion :: Turtles really don't need to eat that often...

[zoologist]

Sorry, but for two turtles your tank isn't big enough. even if you did get the gallonage figured out it looks like only 35% of the tank is water, the rest is decorations.
You may think that the turtle docks are tacky, but they're what your turtle needs. I didn't like the zoomed turtle dock so i made my own over the tank basking area like many of the members here. i even planted it with grass, and dirt like a real yard.
It looks like you only have one lamp. Is a UVB or a heat lamp? At any rate you really need to get BOTH of them. take off the lid to your tank and get two clamp on lamps... it works a lot better then any of the flouresent lights i've used.
also, if you havent already, you need to get rid of the gravel. Bare bottom is ok, but personally i like to use sand. Both me and Chrisbarnett have had good sand experience.
i really don't like the way my tank looks. the basking dock isnt as pretty as i'd like it to be, the sand isnt the right color, the tank is scratched. However, everything in there is up to standards. Torti has the right size tank, with plenty of swimming room, a huge filter, and a great place to bask. What i'm trying to say is, even if you dont like the way it looks you need to put your turtles best interest first, not yours. You don't have to live in the tank, they do.

[WeeSnack]

Well I do have both lights, a heat one and a uvb. I just spent a ton of money on this whole tank setup. They don't eat the rocks and until I get money to get sand, it'll have to do. Their basking area is fine, I'm not getting a floating dock any time soon and their tank is plenty big. As I've said before, you can't really tell how big it is unless you see it in real life. I'm probably going to take out the log in the water so they have more swimming room. I may not have know that they need veggies and stuff, but I'm not an idiot and I know how to take care of them. Thanks for the criticism.

[untsmurf]

We don't want you to take any of this personally, we are just looking out for what is best for your turtles. A lot of people have been sure that their turtles weren't eating their gravel, but when they took it out they found out they were wrong. I think it would be a good idea to take the rocks out of their 'exercise tank' and put your turtles in there for a few days and wait for them to poop a few times. If you don't find any new rocks in the tank, you know they aren't eating it, but if you do you should take the rocks out. If they don't poop at all, they might be impacted already.

As far as the tank size goes, that looks to be a 40 gallon breeder. But you've only got it filled half way and the rocks are taking up a lot of that room (At least half). So if your tank is actually a 40 gallon and you have it filled half way, that's 20 gallons, but if you take away another half from all the rocks, you're left with only ten gallons of swimming room. And judging by the size of your turts, you should have at the absolute minimum 60 gallons. I might be wrong about the precise size of your turts, but they look to be at least 3'' each.

[WeeSnack]

I completely understand that you guys are just trying to help and I don't mean to get so defensive, I just feel like I've just spend all this money on all these things to make the tank better just to find out that its all wrong. I will switch to sand and I'll push their basking area back a bit more and lift it so the water is higher and they have more room. I'm also going to take out that log thing. I'll put them in that feeding tank and watch for the poop. Thanks for the tips guys.

[zoologist]

i could tell you how to build an over the tank basking area for less then $20 if you're interested. That way you can keep the tank the way it is (although i disagree with the gravel) but have more MUCH needed swimming room for their home. PM me if you want the blue prints.

Here is my tank, with the ATTBA.

and the ATTBA with sand and fake plants (grass died)

[TheComputerGremlin]

WeeSnack, as the others have said, I would remove the gravel. I know, it's hard to have bought so much to find it wrong, but if you fix the problems now, you will have a lovely, long life with your turtles. There are a few posts about the gravel, if your turtle does become impacted, it will die. There really is no surgery for turtles ...

Otherwise, I would also change your basking area and raise the water level. You can make a smaller tank work for longer with an above tank basking area and higher water levels. I know it's frustrating, just remember, with two turtles, eventually you'll be needing a MUCH larger tank someday too!

[WeeSnack]

Alright, I made some slight alterations to their tank. I made their basking area just in the corner and I raised it up a bit so the water is deeper. I also took out that log so now they have more room to swim. I'll be replacing the gravel with sand as soon as I have the money. I know it's not perfect, but it's better, right?

[untsmurf]

Right!!! You're doing great! If it's possible, you can take out the gravel on the bottom and just leave it in the basking area. That way the swimming room is maximized even more and you reduce the chance of ingestion drastically because they can only swallow with water. Bare bottomed tanks are great, they're easy to clean and you can monitor their waste much easier.

[Daniel3507]

alot of people that have had gravel didnt think it was being eaten till it was too late. it really should be taken out. do you have a strong enough filter? the water looks a little cloudy but that may just be in the picture. you should get some kind of basking dock so you can have more room for swimming.

[meltedspork]

Looking a lot better! Trust me, you are definitely not the first person on this forum who spent a lot of money on a set-up only to realize it wasn't good enough. To maximize the swimming room in your tank, you should seriously consider making an above-tank basking area. Then you could fill the tank up almost to the top. And you could make it nice looking so it wouldn't be tacky.

Also... I won't hound you about the gravel, since everyone else has brought it up. Instead... here's a hint... what I did was I went out and found a bunch of smooth, large rocks outside (for FREE!) and boiled them to sterilize them and put them in my turtle's tank.

[WeeSnack]

Yep, I have a filter. I need to get a new one, but the water in this pic is cloudy because I had JUST finished pouring new water in there so everything was kinda floating around. How much is a good filter? Any recommendations?

Yeah, I'll take out the rock everywhere except the basking area. The only problem is: Its kinda what's holding up the reserve and that's what's under the reserve that enabled me to make it higher. I'll figure something out though. =]

Their lives are getting better by the day! I'll never forgive myself for not properly feeding him before. I feel like a bad mom! lol.

I made a new feeding schedule for them:

Monday: Ducky gets a protein cube. Pellets for Bowser.
Tuesday: Gelatin for both.
Wednesday: Pellets for both.
Thursday: Ducky gets 1/2 protein cube. very little gelatin for Bowser.
Friday: Gelatin for both.
Saturday: Pellets for both.
Sunday: Treat (rosy red, cricket, worm).

I incorporated a little extra protein for Ducky since she's still really young.

[Daniel3507]

a canister filter is the best way to go. they are powerful but quite. your going to be paying at least $100 for one probably

[SpotsMama]

There are a lot of clever people on here that have come up with good ideas for basking areas - many of which are the above tank type. As has been mentioned, one of the big benefits of the above tank type is that you can put more water in your tank and give your turtle more swimming space. Here's a link with a bunch of good examples, most of which are quite inexpensive:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... c&start=15

On the gravel, there are numerous threads on here from people who've had bad experiences, so you're doing the right thing to get the gravel out as soon as possible. Here's one thread that is particularly helpful because the photos are good and, luckily, it had a happy outcome. At first, the turtle keeper didn't know what the problem was - seemed to be a water quality problem - but turned out to be gravel:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... ks&start=0

And by the way, please don't feel bad that you're having to do over some things. No one - and i mean no one - on here has gotten it all right the first time. It takes some of us (like me!) years and we're lucky if we have tough turtles to survive our learning curve.

[meltedspork]

A good filter really depends on what you plan on doing in the future. Most everyone on this forum will tell you to get a canister filter. What kind you get will depend on your budget and what you plan on upgrading to in the future. You can get a decent canister for that tank, but when you upgrade you would have to add a second canister or get a new one. Or you can get a really good (powerful) canister that you can use with a larger tank as well. For example, I have a Fluval 304 for my 55g tank, which I would recommend as a great filter. However, it is not powerful enough for a 120g tank (which I will upgrade to at some point). So I plan on buying a Fluval FX5 ($200 on ebay) when I do upgrade.

[SpotsMama]

I've got one 7" male turtle in a 100 gallon tank with an XP3 canister filter and it works great. It cost me under $100 but I understand the price has gone up and they are now around $120. By all means get your filter on-line and shop around. You can save a lot of money that way.