General Care Discussion :: Is this too much water?

[Bumby's Mom]

I filled up the babies tank about 1/3 of the way and I was wondering if maybe I overdid it a bit. I know they are supposed to be good swimmers but they seem to just stay in the bushes:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id ... 826&size=m
They are only a week old, is this too much water?

[untsmurf]

Wow, that tank looks great. I'm not an expert with turts this young, but I would assume they are hiding in the bushes because it's a new environment and they are so little. As long as they continually come up for air and can't get stuck under anything, I think it should be fine.

[Tenodera]

They should be great in there. As they get older and bigger, you can gradually rise the water level

[industrial_girl_2000]

Nice looking set up!

Feel free to fill up that tank. You can always add some plastic plants throughout the tank for the turtles to rest on if they get tired of swimming. There is a really cool plastic plant that looks like a vine with a suction cup & attaches to the wall of the tank. This is a great thing for the babies since they can sit in it (plastic plants are a little more rigid) and hide in it. I can't remember the brand, but it was easy to find at Petco/Petsmart & not expensive.

[dawn9800]

Monday's tank is almost full and she does well she is a little thing too!!

[Bumby's Mom]

The two plants I have in there have suction cups (which are great!!) and I love them. I can put them wherever I want and they won't move lol. Usually each baby has it's own plant and they sit on it with their heads out of the water. They won't bask unless I put them on teh actual dock and then Gimli will sit there for a few hours (in basking position) but Marvolo jumps off as soon as I set him there. I am going to have the dock bent a little more so the ramp isn't as steep. I really don't feel comfortable filling it up all the way yet. Sometimes it looks as if they are struggling to swim up to the top to breathe and I don't want them swimming more than they need to. In a week or so whenever they start swimming more then I will put more water. When I get some extra money (like anyone really has EXTRA money LOL!) I will try to find some more plants and maybe a little cave or something. I don't want to clutter it too much though. I thought about putting a fake plant in Nyx's tank but she thinks anything that is in her tank should be food and I don't want her eating it. Wouls the fabric aquarium plants be good for Nyx?

[killrmack]

fill it up and put some plants to rest on just like industrial girl 2000 said

[roseK]

i got a floaty plant for my fish tank.. but i wouldnt trust it in my turtle tank.. wall-e might try to attack it or something.. lol but he likes sitting on his lettuce.. i think when we upgrade ill get him lilypads.

and that tank looks good! and from what i see, very cute turtles

[DavidY]

Your tank looks great! I really like that ramp your uncle made for you too. Can you lower the ramp so it's closer to the water level? That way you won't have to bend it, the turtles can just swim up to it and climb on more easily if it's a little closer to the water. Just make sure it is still above the water line so they can get dry while basking.

Having the plastic plants in there near the surface will provide them with places to rest if they do get tired of swimming. But the exercise is good for them and helps them build up their swimming muscles. They are really cute at that tiny size. Nice work, Bumby's Mom!

[Bumby's Mom]

Ok, I filled it half way. I did have my uncle bend it a bit more so the top is now flat and the ramp isn't as steep which wouldn't make a difference now since the ramp is almost completely underwater. I do think I have a problem now. After I filled it up and put the babies in Marvolo immediately sank to the bottom of the tank and appeared to be struggling to come up for air. I set him on the basking dock and he is basking right now (first time ever) with his legs stretched out. Do you think since he hasn't basked at all until now that maybe he was waterlogged? I know Gimli can swim just fine and he will float around on the top of the water. Gimli will bask for a few hours whenever I set him up there but he wouldnt go up there on his own. I am hoping now that I have the ramp in the water more that they will realize they can climb up it. What should I do about Marvolo? I am scared to leave him in there over night if he is going to sink to the bottom.

[Bumby's Mom]

Here is a picture of it half filled:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id ... 218&size=m
And a picture of Marvolo "super basking" (thats what I call it when they have their legs stretched out, Nyx does it all the time but I can never catch a picture of it!):
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id ... 228&size=m

-Think I might have spoke too soon. Both babies dived off of the dock and Marvolo floated for a few seconds and then began to sink, after about a minute she propelled herself up to the top of the water and stayed there.

[untsmurf]

They are just the sweetest little guys!! Keep putting up the updates!!

[Bumby's Mom]

They are really active now. I think they like the deeper water. Gimli was zooming all over the tank (it is so cute how fast those tiny little legs go!) and Marvolo was hanging out with the thermometer (maybe she made a friend lol). Both were each on one of the fake plants when I looked about 1/2 an hour ago.

[untsmurf]

Sounds like they are doing great and really loving all the water. Great job!

[industrial_girl_2000]

The updated pictures look great! Keep it that deep. Don't worry about the turts sinking to the bottom. There is no better way to test how deep the water is unless they actually GO to the bottom once, right?