General Care Discussion :: BASKING ?????????

[fish21]

HI I AM NEW HERE I BOUGHT A 4INCH RES ABOUT 4 DAYS AGO. HE SEAMS HAPPY. HE EATS GOOD. I HAVE A BASKING FLOAT BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM USE IT AND I PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. I keep the water temp at 78 deg. he is in a clear rubermade container i wought at wal-mat for 10 $. basicaly the same thing as they were charging 100 for at the pet store. i found that funny. well please she some perals of experience on me.

[jenaero]

he just needs some time to get used to his new home, that's all. Is he eating yet?

[Giddy]

It's good that he is eating good. It mine a few days to start basking. Do you have a good filter on that tank?

[fish21]

yha he eats fine. well that is a funny story. he ate the pellets the first day. but i also gave him some of the feader fish i give my oscars. he went bizerk on them. now he waits tell he is relly hungry to eat the pellets. also i have a basking light. 50w about 6 inches from the top. do i also need a uvb light. my turtle pellets say that it contains uvb and calsium.

thanks for the advise

fish

[Giddy]

Yes, you need the UVB bulb. That is even more important than the UVA created in the household bulb or a uva bulb.

Have you tested what the temp is at the basking site?

[fish21]

yes a 15 gal canister filter. he puts his head under the water fall. it must feal good.
thanks

fish

[fish21]

his water is 78 deg. the basking are is warm but not to hot i dont think. i do not have a temp thing yet.

[Giddy]

Well,

I can tell you right now the filtration will not be strong enough for him. The recommended water volume is 10 gallons per inch of shell space. How big is your turtle and how much water do you have in the tub?


I have bubble eye goldfish and gildfish need 10 x the GPH for water filtration. The turtles are dirtier than that so 10-15 times can easily be needed. The GPH stands for gallons per hour and this is usually stated on the unit or box.

So if you have 20 gallons of water, you should have at least 200GPH worth of filtration. Also remember, bio media is much more important than charcoal. You can use ceramic rings, sponge, biomax, filter pad, etc. I use a combo of bio rings, sponge and fine poly pad to finely filter to keep it clear.

Your tank will be cycling for the first month. It is a good idea to have a good test tube based pram kit on hand so you can make sure your ammonia does not get too high.

[fish21]

at least 20 proably 30. i have a 50-60 gallon filter in my closet. ( i have a ton of fish stuf)
thanks
fish

[Giddy]

I would add the second filter, it will make a big difference in the water. Let us know when the turt basks!

[fish21]

ok i will. i am going to give him space today. and see. also how old is he or she if he is approx 5 inches long. and is there any wat to tell if it is a boy or girl( i only have this one to compare it to.

[Giddy]

There is no real way to tell the age evidently since that really depends on past care. There are sexing threads around here somewhere. I will try and find it.


Do you know what your basking temp is on his basking rock?

[fish21]

it is about 90deg. i used a person thermomiter the float is about 130 under the light. not to hot i dont think. if you put your hand under the light it feals nice and warm but not hot by any means.

[steve]

Put the thermometer where the turtle would be, the light should be 6-12 inches away and the temperature should be around 90 degrees F, the water should be 78-80.

Read this file for some basic info:
http://www.redearslider.com/res-guide.pdf

It should provide you with some more insight.

[marisa]

Is the basking area easy for your turtle to get on to?