General Care Discussion :: i got a heater but not adjustable?

[saioke740]

hello all.

i just got a RES yesterday. its a baby and about the size of a quarter.
my water seems to stay at 60 degrees without a heater. i recently found a submersible aquarium heater but its not adjustable. its just a stick with a plug. on it says "300v IBAWG XINYA" so i know its 300 volts. im afraid to put it in the aquarium because im afraid it would cook him. een if the water don't if he touches the heater he could get burned because the heater gets pretty hot.

what should i do? im very unprepared! there isnt even heat on his basking area yet.i mean even without the heater he behaves like a normal RES would... he eats and swims the only thing he dont do is bask.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Well, he won't bask until he's enticed to bask. That water is too cold, whether it affects him right away is questionable, but eventually, he'll lose his appetite and die. Go out tomorrow and buy stuff! (Or Monday.) But soon! Don't put the water heater in if you think it will endanger him. He's better off cold one night than dead.

[geekyturtle]

Put the heater in a bucket of a similar amount of water without the turtle and see how hot it gets. How did you 'find' the heater? If what you've posted is written on the cable, that might just be specs for the cable and not the actual heater.

I have a non-adjustable heater that's set to 78F, and has worked fine for the past 7 months.

[saioke740]

thanks for the tips guys..

yeah the heater i got was in my attic and no idea where i got it. from what i learned from the heater it never shuts off automatically even if it gets too hot either so that would be a risk im not going to take. also, there is about 3-4 inches of water in the tank so it wouldnt take long to heat. what i typed was indeed on the cable. i dont even know what brand it is.

anyway, is there any recommendations of what to buy.

i just got this fluorescent type of bulb that goes on top of the aquarium light. i heard this bulb supposed to help keep his water warm and im noticing quite a change. the temp in the water is at 70 now. but i only got one bulb (my aquarium top can have 2 lights. but they only had one of these types of bulbs in stock.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Can you be more specific about the bulb type, like name and stuff?

As for recommended heaters, most people recommend the a stealth heater, like this one http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12060.

It also had a chart on there as to what wattage to buy for the gallons of tank.

[saioke740]

thanks ill be sure to give that a look. although i have a 20 gal tank so should i get the 15 gal version?

well i threw away the packaging so i dont have complete details of what its called. but here is a picture...

[SpotsMama]

That bulb in the photo is a compact fluorescent. It puts out very little heat and won't be able to heat either the water or the basking platform to the level you need.

However, some compact fluorescents are good for providing the UVB that a turtle needs. It depends, though, on the type and strength. Not all fluorescent bulbs are useful in this way. What's does the writing on the base of the bulb say? It's too small to read in the photo.

You said there's only 3" or 4" of water in the tank. Red eared sliders are aquatic and love deep water - they like to swim and dive - and can handle much more depth. If a turtle isn't used to deep water, you can raise the level but do it slowly - add an inch every couple of days - to give your turtle a chance to get used to it. Also, it's important to provide things for your turtle to rest on - like plastic aquatic plants that reach to the surface of the water.

Could you provide a photo of your setup?

[saioke740]

i see. well the water temp seems to be at 70 still. the contents on the bulb is just a big "caution" warning. could you recommend a aquarium bulb?

i have the water so low because the turtle is a baby. i read up on some information and it said babies are supposed to have 3-5 inches of water until they get at least 2 inches big. whats bad as of right now is the basking area is just a huge rock. i plan on making a turtle dock tomorrow with wood, suction cups, and a close hanger but trying to figure out if wood glue would be safe in the water and wont poison my RES.. i have two fake plants in the aquarium right now which he likes to hide behind them but if they get too wet they tip over probably because of there being not so much water in the tank right now.

i been also trying to get my filter working. whats strange is the fan spins and such but the pipe wont suck water in to filter it. there is no clogs in the pipe what so ever.

i will post a setup once i get my camera working again.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Babies are born knowing how to swim. Of course, if you don't have a basking dock for it to rest on, then it's probably better to keep the water low until you get that done. Make sure the wood you use is untreated. It's better to use plastic or something of that nature because when wood gets wet it can rot. There also might be chemicals in the wood that could harm your turtle.

Have you read the information on the main site yet? I think that would help you out a lot, and answer a lot of the questions you have. Here is a link to the main site. Read through all the sections and you'll know everything you need to know!

[saioke740]

i see. maybe i could find some other type of material. plex glass seems too complicated to me.

lately i been trying to find a heat lamp for the basking area. there hard to find in my area and if i do find them they are around 20-40 bucks. could anyone introduce me to a cheap one?

would this be a acceptable one? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=6186

or could anyone direct me to a much cheaper lamp?

edit: i tested the heater for about 3-5 hours in water about the sqame amount of my tank water. the water just stayed cold.

[SpotsMama]

That's a very nice lamp. I've heard that people have gotten very inexpensive clamp lamps at hardware stores like Lowes or Home Depot. You might look to see what's available near you.

For a heat bulb, all you need is a common household incandescent bulb. A 75 watt bulb seems to be a popular choice.

For the UVB bulb, a good brand is a Repti Glo 5.0 26 watt compact fluorescent bulb. You can only get these at a pet store or on-line pet supply place. If you shop around on-line you can usually find pretty good prices. Here's one:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.ph ... ts_id=1817

Here are a couple of good on-line stores (there are other good ones out there too):

http://www.reptilesupply.com/

http://www.bigalsonline.com/

Sounds like you need a new water heater.

[saioke740]

thanks for all your help.. i just found this clamp lamp 5.5 at petsmart for 10 bucks. would 5.5 be alright?

also, how long do UVB lights last? i notice on some sites UVB lights can get up to 20 bucks.

[marisa]

A UVB light like the one pictured above should be changed about every 6-8 months, since the strength of the UVB rays emitted weakens over time with the bulb's use.

If you have a 20-gallon tank, a 100-watt submersible water heater would be fine to use. As was mentioned, Stealths are popular water heaters, but there are other brands as well. Whatever you get, make sure it has an adjustable thermostat so you can set the temp of the water.

[saioke740]

wow uvbs last that long? i figured they would go out in about 3 months.

okay i will try to get my hands on the heater.

for my basking area, instead of wood i may go to my hardware store and buy some plexi glass. iseen quite a few people use plexi glass to make their own turtle dock.

[marisa]

They often light up for longer than that, but you really don't know if any UVB rays are being emitted unless you have a UVB meter, so you don't know if your turtle is benefiting from them. It's therefore good to replace them every 6-8 months.