General Care Discussion

Hey all, newbie here. I have had my RES for 2 and a half years. I have uploaded 3 pictures, and please would you look at them? One is of the turtle's shell. And one of my tank set-up. (We are getting a bigger tank when we move in 1 month or 2. And 1 is of the rock size. (I am suspecting that it is not favorable we have rocks at all when we get the new tank, according to another thread.) Also, one questio nabout the turtle's skin, there seems to be something hanging off of the skin (any part that's not shell). I am not sure if it's dead skin, or mould type. Is this normal? We feed it pellets only, but I am trying to start giving it some carrot every other day, I read it's very good for them.

What are you guys' opinions? Are there any drastic changes that I need to make? Thanks so much.

Hi, welcome to the site. If you didn't purchase the new tank yet, definitely check craigslist for used tanks and stands. Petco also has occasional sales of tanks up to 55 gallons (for $55). You also need a UVB bulb for your turtle. I would remove the rocks the next time you change the water. Skin shedding is thin and wispy in the water, and not very noticeable when out of the water. The shell could be a bit smoother. It looks rough, probably from fast growth and lack of shedding.

Thanks, this light is one for turtles from the pet store. It must be UVB right?

Don't listen to everything the pet store tells you, especially about reptiles.

You need UVA, UVB and heat over your basking area. Most bulbs emit UVA, but you need a special bulb to produce UVB. They come as fluorescents (tube or compact) or as mercury vapor bulbs (externally or self ballasted). Fluorescents produce very little heat, so you will still need a heat bulb. MVB produce a lot of heat, so they should only be used in larger tanks.

yeah this is the one I have. So should I replace it with a UVB one? Or have both? If I had to choose only one, which is more beneficial?

thats just a basking bulb, u need both a uvb and a basking bulb. if u only choose one bulb u need an MVB which contains both but needs a ceramic fixture and a tank of at least 55 gallons. id also recommend you get rid of those pebbles in your tank, but just like steve said you turtle really needs a larger tank and you should start looking for deals on craigslist and other sites

Rsour24 is right. You should also consider a new basking area and filter. Go large with everything to reduce upgrade frequency. If you have a male get a 75 gallon tank, a female 100 gallon tank and that can be a forever tank (though larger is always appreciated).

The pic of the turtles shell...my oldest turtle has the same white areas when he is dry. His shell still feels smooth and he is still very young so he is not brown like that yet but what is the white stuff is it cause he is going to shed soon?? He's had it for a long while tho.

The white stuff looks like hard water deposits. If you are using water from the tap to fill the aquarium, that's probably where it is coming from. Water always wants to be in balance, so it will leech the calcium (which makes it hard) out onto things that are in the water, even a turtle's shell. It won't hurt the turtle, it just doesn't look good.

-Michael

What is the smallest tank I could buy for use with an MVB bulb? Couldn't I just move the bulb farther away from the tank if it's too small??

Definitely would suggest a much larger tank. It's recommended 10 gallons for every inch the turtle is.

regulater wrote:What is the smallest tank I could buy for use with an MVB bulb? Couldn't I just move the bulb farther away from the tank if it's too small??

Yes you can move it further away, but too much heat and UVB is not a great thing for hatchlings and smaller RES. It's usually recommended that a tank be at least 40-55 gallons when using a MVB.

The problem with running a big lamp on a small tank is the heat gets too high in the tank and will kill the turtle. When you move it back, the UVB that is being produce has less intensity the farther away it gets. If you set it up on that small tank then it will be farther than the guidelines we go by, because you moved it farther back to get the right temp. The result of this will be too little UVB reaching the reptile. Reptile use this UVB to synthesise into Vitamin D3. Without this the reptile will become vitamin D3 deficient, this leads to Metobolic Bone Disease and will become a very large vet bill or even worse, kill the reptile.

^^^^ Thanks for this info

Well I upgraded from 5 Gallon to 10 Gallon, it's not much but we are gonna work our way up.

I bought a UVB bulb go go with my UVA bulb, and I forgot to look at a outlet to plug the bulb into... Would it be better to unscrew my UVA and put my UVB in that outlet to use in the meantime? Or is the UVA better to use if I had to choose just 1 for the time being?

The UVB bulb I got says it also stimulates through UVA radiation.... Wouldn't it be an MVB bulb then? It's clearly labeled 26W 5.0 UVB though.. Should just this bulb be enough for basking too then? (10 Gallon tank)

General Care Discussion :: What should I do different for my turtle? (PICS)

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