General Care Discussion :: New owners of neglected turtles...lots of questions

[Lithgow]

Well, we are in a little over our heads (no pun intended). I posted some of the background in the introductions forum. We now have 2 RES in a 75 gallon tank, and a Painted turtle in a 30 gallon tank. These tough turtles were quite neglected when we adopted them. The good news is they appear very healthy, they are active, and they have been eating Exo-terra aquatic turtle food. In the 75 gallon tank, we have a 50 w infrared heat lamp about 8 inches from the basking spot. The painted has no heat lamp yet. Neither tank has a heater for the water yet. The 75 gallon now has a underwater filter (it is probably too small). On a limited budget, what should be our first priority to improve the conditions for these neglected turtles? We need thermometers, water heaters, filters, heat lamps. I am getting poor advice from the pet store (ie, bought a bag of pebbles that they could swallow, filter is too small, heat lamp may be wrong- it is infrared). Also, the pet store said it is now illegal to sell turtles in Texas, except for tortoises, is this true? We intend to keep these turtles, but I was just curious about why this new law.

[octpusgirl8]

Hi and welcome! Have you read through all the info on www.redearslider.com? That's a good place to start learning about the proper habitat/feeding of your new friends. I guess you've already learned your lesson on this, but never trust what the people at the pet store tell you!

I think the first things you should look into are thermometers, water heaters and a proper basking setup. They need to be able to get out of the water and dry off completely, they need it to be warm (about 10 degrees warmer than the water) and they need UVB lighting. Is the basking bulb you have red? If it is, it should be fine, but in the future you can just use a regular incandescent bulb to heat up the basking spot. If it's purple like a black light, don't use it as it can damage their vision. You also need to get them a separate UVB light over the basking area, they are always a flourescent light (unless they are a MVB but i'll get to that in a minute...), it can be a compact flourescent that fits in a standard socket of a tube fixture. When you look for one, get one that's rated 5.0. 10.0 is usually too strong and 2.0 isn't enough. For your larger tank, you have the option of using a mercury vapor bulb (MVB). They are expensive ($40-50), but they provide both heat and UVB, and they last a year whereas flourescent UVB lamps only last 6 months.

You'll want to get good filters, but if you can only get a few things right away i would worry about the heating/lighting first, as you can compensate for inadequate filtration with frequent water changes. You might want to pick up some anacharis (it could also be sold under the name elodea) at the pet store, it's an inexpensive aquatic plant that's great for turtles to munch on. If you haven't yet, try offering them lettuce and other veggies. Look at the sticky in the feeding section of the forum for what's good to feed them and what's not.

About the legality of turtle sales in Texas, i'm not sure, but they are frequently banned/restricted because of salmonella concerns. Not to say that all turtles have salmonella, but they can carry it so do wash your hands after handling the turtles or coming into contact with their water.

I hope this was helpful, i'm sure you'll have lots more questions, so feel free to ask. We're all happy to help out new turtle owners. Good luck

[Lithgow]

Thanks for the info. The infrared lamp is red, and the 2 RES do bask in it. I can rig up a regular lamp for the Painted turtle for now. Little by little we'll get a proper environment for them! I'll get some pics up soon. Thanks again.

[SpotsMama]

Here's a handy summary of what constitutes a good setup:

http://www.redearslider.com/startup.html

On the basking situation, turtles are natural born heat seekers. that's what motivates them to get up and bask. You're supposed to keep the water temp at around 75 degrees and the basking area at 88 or 90 degrees so that they will get up on the basking platform to get warm. Warmth aids their digestion and stimulates their immune system. The infrared light you're usiing now does generate heat so that's why your turles are getting up to bask now. However, it is not providing what the turtles really need.

Probably the most important benefit of basking is exposure to good UVB light. Turtles must have UVB to process the calciium they eat, otherwise their bones and shells will get soft and deformed, a condition which eventually is fatal. This means that in addition to a heat light to motivate them to bask you must have a UVB light bulb over the basking area. UVB bulbs are cool (fluorescent) by the way so the UVB bulb has to be in addition to a heat bulb.

For heat, most people use a regular household incandescent light bulb. I think 75 watts is pretty typical.

Be careful when shopping for a UVB bulb. There are lots of bulbs that advertise that they are "full spectrum" or "basking bulbs" or "UVA bulbs" but these do not provide the needed UVB. Look for a bulb that specifically says it provides UVB and the percentage (like 5.0 or 10.0). You need a strength of at least 5.0. A good choice would be an exo terra Repti Glo 5.0 26 watt bulb (the 13 watt bulb is too weak to be of much use).

[Lithgow]

Thanks for the info. We now have the 26W UVB 5.0 lamps set up, in addition the regular lamps for heat.

[mikee]

Litgo -- You are on the right track with the tank and basking temp. The uvb is also very good. In regards to your filter, I suggest that you get one that exchanges the water at least 5 times the volume. There are some good canisters and that would be my suggestion. The infamous pet stores do not have a clue about turtles in general and certainly won't know how to size a filter. Some pet shops think that just doubling the fish requirements are enough. It is not. There is a lot of good help here. Good Luck!

[Lithgow]

Thanks for the help. I now have heaters hooked up as well. Also, the tank that we thouhgt was 75 gal is actually 50. Some day I need a larger tank, but for now it will do. A good filter is next on the list (maybe the Xp3).

[TheComputerGremlin]

Definitely check online first for XP3 prices, I found a good place on ebay selling them for 120$ after shipping, some other people have found good specials online. In store, they are very expensive. And something I discovered when I got mine, it only comes with 1 1/2 canisters of filter media (out of 3 possible), you have to buy the biostars or ceramic discs or whatever else you want to go in there separately! That was an unfortunate discovery I made ...

[Lithgow]

I bought the XP3 from petsmart. I found out that our local store will match the petsmart web price, and the on line store was back-ordered anyway. They matched the $104 price.

[mikee]

The XP3 pumps about 350 gallons per hour. You should be fine with a 50 or a 75 gallon tank. --- MY WAY -- I use an under ground filter grate and hook the suction hose to one of the up tubes. That will eliminate the possibility of the turtles getting caught in the suction and it adds to filter media. It also takes advantage of poop that settles to the bottom. If anyone wants to consider this, I wiil go into it in greater detale at your request.