General Care Discussion :: Help me out with a few things

[Pauld418]

I have a number of questions

1). I once found my turtle wedged under his basking land, which is a stone tablet. THis left 2 white knicks in his shell. I have put VitaShell on the entire shell. Is there anything else I should do?

2). How long should I have my bulbs on for each day? And how do I minimize the amount of water that is evaporated. If i left the bulbs on for 12 hours a day, I'd have to change the water every week or 5 days.

3). I have a 75 gallon long tank for 1 turtle. With this, how high should it be filled? I was told no more than 6 inches, and this is how I have it set up. Should it be any deeper than this?

4). What things should I feed it other than ReptoMin?

5). What would be the best filter for me? I purchased a Rena Filstar a few years back and it never really worked. I would like a canister filter to keep the tank super clean.

Thanks for your help

[my.lovely.turtle.]

For question number 3, from what I have gathered from lurking on this site for quite some time, fill it up as high as you can without a risk of escape! They are aquatic turtles therefor they like as much room as possible to swim, just as us humans would love the bigger space to live in, instead of a tiny cramped apartment.

For question number 4, this site is an excellent source as to what you should be feeding your red eared slider turtle. From what I gather, but other people correct me if I'm wrong, your turtle's diet should be no more than 50% of pellets. Babies are more carnivorous, and as they grow older they tend to become more a herbivorous. And as you can see I can't spell either of those words properly

As for question five, how many gallons is your tank rated for? There are many recommendations that your filter be rated for at least three times as many gallons than you actually have. These filters are initially rated for fish inhabitants, not turtles. Turtles tend to make much more waste than fish.

Please lurk on this forum as much as you can, and also the main site has tons of great information about taking care of your red eared slider turtle. We want he or she to be as healthy and happy as possible

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Your turtles shell should be find as long as there is no bleed or bone exposure. It will heal in time but may leave a scar if it was damaged allot.
I simply have a timer on my bulbs to turn on when the sun comes up and turn off when the sun goes down. The water evaporating is just something that happens without our control, mark the back of the tank with a marker where the waterline is and when it goes down just have a pitcher of water ready and fill it up whenever needed.
Try filling it up with 3-4 inches to spare on the top so he cannot escape and provide him allot more swimming room then just 6 inches.
Check out the what to feed and what not to feed your red ear slider post in the feeding section it has all your answers.

[azazeal]

1. if there is no blood or bone injury you don't have to worry about it, what you are doing is enough.
2. the water evaporates if you have light bulbs or you don't, you just have to refill the tank to the wanted level. the light should imitate the seasons, winter shorter days then summer.
3. it only needs water as deep as it's shell is wide so it will not get stuck if it flips over, if it's deeper than that no problem, as long as you have a barking area to rest.
4. the food you give it will depend on it's age, a young turtle will be carnivorous (fish, snails, worms), and an adult will eat some vegetables.
5. the filter should be able to displace at least double the amount of water you have in the tank.

[marisa]

Skip the Viashell. It's oil based and doesn't allow the shell to breathe. The nicks would have a better chance of healing with basking, a good diet, and clean water.

[Pauld418]

Ok so it's no problem if I don't have the water filled all the way up? I see everyone on here has there tanks filled up basically to the top and then a whole separate entity for basking. I cannot exactly accommodate to this. As the turtle grows, I have been putting more water. How necessary is it to have a ton of water in there?

[Pauld418]

So is it not necessary to fill it up nearly to the top? This would require me buying a ton of new things and constructing a new basking platform, which is not able to happen at this time. Do I need to fill it all the way up?

[azazeal]

there is just a minimum amount of waterr required so it won't injure it's self, no max limit, you can put as much as you like.

[defdylan]

3. it only needs water as deep as it's shell is wide so it will not get stuck if it flips over

this is not true. (not being rude) they will not get stuck if they flip over mine uses its neck to push itself over. mine only got on her back when she was dry docked trying to get out.

[imderanged]

3. it only needs water as deep as it's shell is wide so it will not get stuck if it flips over

this is not true. (not being rude) they will not get stuck if they flip over mine uses its neck to push itself over. mine only got on her back when she was dry docked trying to get out.

They can get stuck especially if they are ill or weak for any reason. Given enough time the turtle may be able to turn itself over but, if it takes a while and the water is deep enough to cover their head but not for them to flip over easily they may actually drown! If the waters not deep enough they can injure themselves jumping in the water.

[imderanged]

I have a Fluval FX5 on my 75 gallon. it was a bit of an investment, but I've never been sorry. REALLy great filter, keeps his water beautiful!!!

[defdylan]

3. it only needs water as deep as it's shell is wide so it will not get stuck if it flips over

this is not true. (not being rude) they will not get stuck if they flip over mine uses its neck to push itself over. mine only got on her back when she was dry docked trying to get out.

They can get stuck especially if they are ill or weak for any reason. Given enough time the turtle may be able to turn itself over but, if it takes a while and the water is deep enough to cover their head but not for them to flip over easily they may actually drown! If the waters not deep enough they can injure themselves jumping in the water.

yeah true. but yeah my turtle is big and strong though, all turtles are different.
but you are right

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Your turtles water depth should be at least twice the size of his shell length.