General Care Discussion :: tank - GOING BIGGER

[myboyblue]

Hello,

Im getting ready to upgrade to a 75 gallon set up. Besides the obvious
(more filtration, better heater ) is there anything I need to know about releasing him to this much bigger environment ? going from a 29 long to this new 75 gallon monster.. Ill keep the set up pretty much the same, maybe a few new tank accesories, but basking areas will stay in the same locations.

Thanks again

[theartbook35]

Hello,

Im getting ready to upgrade to a 75 gallon set up. Besides the obvious
(more filtration, better heater ) is there anything I need to know about releasing him to this much bigger environment ? going from a 29 long to this new 75 gallon monster.. Ill keep the set up pretty much the same, maybe a few new tank accessories, but basking areas will stay in the same locations.

Thanks again

You've pretty much got it down pat. It helps to reuse the same things over and over again. I got my turtles used to frequent tank cleanings as well, and nowadays I can rearrange the tank set up and within less than a day they are totally fine with it.

Just watch him for stress.

[myboyblue]

Yeah, I read some of the stories on here about turtle stress and odd behavior and I feel bad for folks. I found my RES in a vacant apartment with no food, no heat and mucking around in about 3/4 inch of filthy water. Hed been there for at least 18 days ( going by when the idiot who homed him there moved out ). Maybe it just toughened him up because nothing seems to bother this turtle. Tank Cleanings, kids running around, dogs barking, its a madhouse here and he just does his thing. My Chow had his front paws up on the edge of the table that the turtles tank sits on looking right at him barking and he just kept basking...didnt even get off the dock.lol...hopefully he maintians this level of happiness

[papoopeepoo]

Your turtle is an OG! Just the sound of someone in the next room spooks my turtle. He doesn't exactly fit his name (Al Katraz) very well yet.

[theartbook35]

Your turtle is an OG! Just the sound of someone in the next room spooks my turtle. He doesn't exactly fit his name (Al Katraz) very well yet.

One of my two females is like that. The site of me makes Typhoon flip out, and then she realizes I am the bringer of the food and knocks it off. She's nippier than the other one, Hurricane, so handling her in the future will be interesting.

It amazes me sometimes how different the two are, and how I can get them both to live together happily. I just made their tank really interesting for them, so, they have little reason to fight with each other. Know what's a bummer though? Not everyone's RES can have interesting environments and have been raised together to get along. Sometimes no matter what, they still fight with each other.

[myboyblue]

LOL at my OG turtle and AL Katraz...thats good stuff. Yeah I had someone in my home who owns 2 sliders and he was amazed. I was feeding him ( the turtle..lol) a pellet by hand and he locked right onto my finger and wouldnt let go...my wife had to come over with some tomato and lured him off...LOLOLOLOL.

[GreenRocksOfDoom]

Lol, you had to use a tomato? I've been reading too about how cautious the turtles can be but my turtle is the exact opposite. Just a couple days ago, he used to be afraid of everything in the area but now he seems to have undergone a transformation. I started trying to feed him pellets with my hand and now he is completely unafraid of me. When he sees me, he will swim over and beg for food and he will even let me pet him while he's basking. I don't see how he could have changed so fast. Maybe he realizes that I'm the food bearer and mean him no harm.

[theartbook35]

LOL at my OG turtle and AL Katraz...thats good stuff. Yeah I had someone in my home who owns 2 sliders and he was amazed. I was feeding him ( the turtle..lol) a pellet by hand and he locked right onto my finger and wouldnt let go...my wife had to come over with some tomato and lured him off...LOLOLOLOL.

I swore when I got my turtles that I would not allow them to associate my hands with food. Somehow, I still got them to associate my hands with food. At least I know when Typhoon nips at me, she's just trying to get the invisible food and means no aggression. At least they aren't 36 foot reticulated pythons, then I'd be so screwed. Not that I'd keep a snake that large anyways... (I'm more the royal python and Kenyan sand boa type).

[CB]

i have upgraded my guy 3 times and he's usually back at it in a day or 2. he's also very social, eats from my hand (no nips yet) and will actually climb onto my hand and look up at me. he's in the buisiest part of the house with 6 cats, a dog and my 6 year old daughter. with the intake you may try adding a length of tubing to the filter to get it to depth. not sure if the motor will pull it but tubing is a cheap fix if it works.
cb

[myboyblue]

Yes, he really likes a little tomato skin now and then. I could have easily shook him off, hes only about 4 1/2 in but I didnt want to hurt him. So I went to the kitchen counter, my wife cut a little piece of tomato and he let go and went for it !!!!! LOLOL. Im seriously considering taking my extra bedroom and bulding a 6x8 indoor minipond.

[VanishingReality]

My little boy is obsessed with the colour orange so to make his transition easier we gave him an orange rock. Plus we set up his new stuff in his old tank for a few days so he got used to it.

[theartbook35]

My little boy is obsessed with the colour orange so to make his transition easier we gave him an orange rock. Plus we set up his new stuff in his old tank for a few days so he got used to it.

If I can get my turtles back from my mom's ex-boyfriend (Just because he bought them that doesn't make them his. I'm the one who bought EVERYTHING for them, minus the food. I'm the one who takes care of them.) I'm going to reuse most of what I have right now for them and for future reptiles and amphibians. There is no sense in buying new stuff when you can make an upgrade less stressful and accommodate someone else who can use some of it.