General Care Discussion :: Tucker's Tale, and a coupke question...

[kiruna]

This is Tucker...
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd68 ... 200706.jpg
Tucker was in this since May of 2009 till this past Valentine's Day...
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd68 ... 190701.jpg
How I came to adopt Tucker is located here...
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=28911
To which, I have to say Thank you Steve, for the toothbrush scrubbin' suggestion... That made a BIG difference in Tucker's shell...

So, I now have Tucker a nice home set up, thanks to this site and my fellow turtle lovers...

My questions are these...

I'm thinkin' on cleanin' the tank this Saturday, (almost 2 weeks after set up)... Should I do a complete clean? If so, I should clean everything with 1:1 white vinegar/water, right, substrate and decorations (minus the bio filter on the filter)? Should I do a partial change, and if so, how much? Or should I leave it alone since the water is clean and clear without odor? The filter I have is no where near what I'll need, but is up to the task so far (rated up to 20 gallons, 90 gph, and there is only maybe 4 gallons right now) although I do plan to, if nothin' else, change the carbon media...
*I'm pretty sure ya'll will tell me to put more water in, but I can't just yet... I know Tucker is an aquatic turtle, but since he/she was kept in about 2 inches of water for so long, Tucker panicked when in deeper... You'd have dropped the water level too if you'd seen the panicked look on Tucker's face... I've been slowly increasin' the water level (1/2 an inch ever day or so) and the improvement in Tucker's swimmin' abilities has been remarkable... Tucker now "plays submarine" as my hubby calls it, and plays in the filter intake and outtake for resistance, I'm guessin'...*

Also, do you think ya'll can take a guess at the sex from this pic?
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd68 ... 200704.jpg
I think I can see the determinin' factor, but since I'm still new to all this, I'd like your opinions...
Also, I know that typically Tucker is small for sexin' (1.5 inches), but since Tucker will be 2 in the end of April, beginnin' of May, I thought I'd give it a shot... ^_^

I know I'll have questions later, and I'm tryin' to read all I can to make Tucker's life the best it can be, so I thank you all sincerely from the bottom of my heart for all the help...


Oh!!! And I have to brag about somethin' that made my day Monday... Tucker has started baskin'!! I can't wait till I get to see Tucker bask personally... ^_^

Once again, thank you all for the info and support received from this site!!

[steve]

For only 4 gallons of water, I would definitely change the water. It sounds like you have a small filter, so I would probably rinse out the media too.

When you have a bigger setup, a thorough cleaning (tank, basking area, decorations, etc) shouldn't be necessary unless they are visibly dirty or there's been an illness or injury and you want to clean everything.

Partial water changes should be the most frequent duty you have to preform and that depends on the amount of turtles you have, the filtration and how much water you have. Filter cleanings would be the next thing you do regularly. Some people simply rinse their media out, others take their filters apart and wipe everything down.

As for what Tucker is... way to early to say.

[kiruna]

Darn... Wishful thinkin' to find out the sex early... lol But then, I didn't lose anything for askin', and I just need to find my patience cause when it shows it'll show for sure... Thank you for humorin' me in my silly question... As for the future, I don't plan to have more than Tucker in the turtle department, but then I never planned to have Tucker, so we'll see... Think the hubby might shoot me if I keep addin' to the zoo... Although I do have to say I'm not sorry to have any of my babies, and I'm just so in love with this little guy... And I suspect the hubby is too, if to a lesser extent... He tore a page out of one of his magazines to put at the back of the tank so our little Tucker has somethin' other than the brown wall paneling to stare at on that side... <3

Sorry to carry on like this... But I'm in a talkative mood right now, and my best friend tells me I'm obsessed, so I have to share my love for Tucker somewhere!! lol Watchin' him swim around has quickly become one of my favorite things to do... So relaxin'... ^_^

All that bein' said; Thank you so much, Steve, for the advise and all you do with the site... ^_^ It is very informative, and the people that frequent it friendly and helpful...