General Care Discussion :: lighting/heating sleeping/eating habbits

[monolithmaji]

I posted a week or two ago about two res that i received from a friend. As for as i can tell there doing alright. I just had a few questions to make shure im doing everything i can for them. for right now the only things in the tank are a basking ramp and a filter with the clamp lights on top.

We got them a uv light and a heat lamp light (50 wts) and if i put the light directly on the thermometer it heats up above 100 degrees off of it thought it stays inbetween 80 and 90 degrees. I dont have a water thermometer but im shure its around the room temp wich our central air keeps the house at 70 degrees. does this sound right or am i keeping it too hot?

i feed them 2 reptomin sticks to them twice a day with a few leafs of red and green lettuce i get from the store. too much or too litthe?

Another question i had is about there sleeping habbits. Im 21 so i have odd hours plus my gf lives with me so were always going in and out at least until 1 at most nights . when were home we turn there black light on (wich suprisingly gets the dam tank hotter then the heat bulb) and try to keep the lights out and the tv low but ive never really seen them sleeping.
i dont think noise is a problem cause they dont freak when i run the vacume the acully follow it around the room.

But would it be better to put the black light outside the cage shining through the glass with the rest of the tank covered with some kinda sheet (a easy setup for me)

[KalinaBallerina]

I would first recommend checking out the main site - redearslider.com (link at the top of the page) as it contains FABULOUS information on all of the topics that you asked about.

[marisa]

How big are your turtles and how big is the tank they're in? If they're hatchlings, a water temp of 70 F is too cool for them. Hatchings = about 78F, for older turtles many recommend low to mid 70sF. If they're in a room with AC, be sure they're not exposed to any cool drafts or breezes. You need to get a submersible heater and a thermometer to check the water temp.

The UV light is a UVB light ( which would be flourescent if it's a regular UVB light)? If your turtles don't have one, you need to get them one. Make sure the package says the light gives off UVB rays.

If a 50-watt light is making the basking area temp 100F, it sounds like the light is too close to the basking area. It should be adjusted to 88-90F.

I can't tell if the amount you're feeding is enough or not without knowing the size of your turtles. The general guide is to feed an amount that would inside each head for each turtle. For pellets, if 4 pellets each a day is the amount that will do that, then that's OK. Vary the diet more with other foods (read about what you should (and shouldn't) be feeding them on the site.

Some black lights can damage the eyes, and your turtles really don't need night lights at all. I have a RES in the living room and I'm up at all hours. I cover the tank at night so he's in the dark and can sleep and I can be up. I use cardboard to cover most of the top (he's in a stock tank, so only the top needs to be covered). You might try something like a dark cloth to cover the top and sides so they can sleep. Noise isn't a problem---they don't have very good hearing, but are sensitive to vibrations.

[monolithmaji]

well i use a black light at night cause the temp drops below 70 sometimes with out one. there in a 20 gallon tank and the turtles are probly about 2 inches long and 2 inchs wide not very big.

[monolithmaji]

oh what would happen if the water is too cool?

[DavidY]

Fluctuating water temps are stressful to captive animals, especially babies. Water temps below 75 are also unhealthy for baby turtles as they really should be kept at a constant temperature around 78 degrees. Do you have a water heater? That's the best way to maintain consistent water temperature. And by black light, I assume you mean one of those blue night heat lamps designed for reptiles right? The "psychedelic" black light bulbs should never be used as they will cause permanent eye damage.

[industrial_girl_2000]

oh what would happen if the water is too cool?

Water that is too cold will cause pneumonia. Buy your turtle what it needs to prevent this illness:

water thermometer $2-$5
water heater $15
Healthy/happy turtle that lives LONG life - Priceless

Vet visit plus antibiotics to treat RI - up to $100 every time he has RI.

And just think, if you have to treat the RI, you still haven't treated the main problem which is the WATER TEMPERATURE so your turtle could get sick over and over and over and over.........that's a lot of money!!!!!!!!!

Don't risk it. Better safe than sorry.

[Hoooneylynn]

You NEED a heater. Blacklights are horrible, they could damage the eyes. Also, Ive had a lot of blacklights before and I dont ever remember them giving off heat. I suggest getting a timer for your lights, they should be on no longer than 8 hours a day. But the most important thing is a heater, you turt can get really sick with RI, as kristin said. They are cheap, you can get one as cheap as $15. What is easy and was is the correct /healthy thing to do are two different things. Good luck

[monolithmaji]

ok well i got a water themometer and so far even with out light the water stays at 78 80 degrees.

I didnt know that the black light would hurt them so i stoped using it.

would it be safe to have no light or heat only at night its not like our house gets cold (its the summer) and the air vent in my room is closed.

ive never been told that i should only have my heat lamps on 6 hours a day only, the website never said anything like that.

althought i find it hard to think a few degrees temperature change could really be that stress full considering outside is not at a constant temp.

[Hoooneylynn]

dropping from 78 down to below 70 is a big fluctuation and is stressful. Below 70 can be very dangerous too.. what size is your tank? It cant be that big if its staying at that temp without a heater, but you already said before it goes below 70. Imagine what you would have to pay for the vet bills if it gets RI. And its 8 hours a day.

Cheap solution: buy a heater.

VERY important. We wouldnt be telling you over and over again if it wasnt.

[monolithmaji]

its already been recommended by a friend not to use a heater with the 10 gallon tank and since the light heats the water to 80 i dont think i need one. my real question is ... at night or day with no lights on them or blacklight the air temperature drops to below 80 (so how can i just keep it on for 8 hours? though the water stays above 78 degrees would this be alright if it dosnt drop below 70 (though i dont think it would since our house is kept at 70) before i turn the light on ... what do yall do for heat at night (besides have a heater)

would it be a bad idea to have a light on all the time and just make them a dark place to rest in?

[monolithmaji]

also our house temp is kept at 70 its the summer and ive closed the vent to my room so there isnt any cold air coming in so i dont think there tank drops below 70 at all its probly 80 in my room most of the day.

[DavidY]

Ok, here's a reply I posted to another person's similar question in another thread. I'll repeat it here since it seems relevant...

"In the wild turtle's have much stronger immune systems (totally natural healthy diet/environment), stronger healthier bodies (plenty of exercise/freedom), and less stressful lives (free to follow their natural instincts without constant interference from giants).

Their environment, although quite variable from day to day, is also much grander than in captivity and any changes occur very gradually. Especially in the pond, a couple of millions of gallons of water takes a long time just to change by 1 degree in temperature. All this gives the turtle a lot of freedom to thermoregulate their body temperatures (which is one of the primary functions of basking).

Now in captivity, as much as we love our turtles and do our best to provide them a healthy happy home, they are still subject to tremendous amounts of stress, especially the babies. Changes in temperature, lighting, water chemistry, all take place within minutes or seconds (lights on! lights off!). As soon as the turtle defecates, the ammonia level in his immediate surroundings shoots up. In the relatively tiny aquarium, the temperature is the same no matter where the turtle swims to. On the basking platform, there's usually not enough room for the turtle to choose the spot with just the right temperature.

Therefore, if the basking platform is too warm, the turtle's body will heat up fairly quickly, running the risk of overheating. If he needs to cool off, he jumps in the water, but what if he is overheated and needs to cool off faster? In a pond he can swim deeper and dig in the mud where it's probably 10 degrees cooler than at the surface.

If the basking platform is too cool, the turtle will not want to come out of the nice warm water to bask. But having the basking platform at an optimal temperature (being about 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the water) will entice the turtle to bask and to take his time warming up. Meanwhile, he can relax from all the stress of captivity and dry off his shell nicely. "

[DavidY]

Also...do you have the turtles in a 10gal or 20gal tank? At first you said 20gal but in your last post you mentioned 10gal. Either way, two 2" turtles should be in something like a 40gal (you can get the plastic Rubbermaid tubs for pretty cheap and a lot of people here have made some really nice setups with them).

Your lights should also not be heating up the water in the tank. It should be pointed at the basking dock and positioned high enough so they don't burn the turtles. If your light is heating up the water to 10degrees higher than room temperature, then something is very wrong. Get a thermometer for the water to make sure. Don't rely on the light to maintain the water temperature. You need to have a water heater to do this.

Your turtles are in your care. They depend solely on you for their health and well-being. I'm sure you want to provide them with a home they can be happy and healthy in. The advice given here on this forum is a combination of decades worth of experience (actually if you put all the "expert" experience back to back you'd have probably well over a centuries worth!). A lot has also been learned by other people's tragic experiences as well. We see it getting repeated over and over again by well intentioned, but badly misinformed or uninformed new RES owners. Please trust the advice given to you by the majority here. Do more research, by all means, and then do what's necessary to care for you turtles. There are inexpensive ways to achieve this. You can get a water heater at Wal Mart for around $10. If you can afford it, get a good one like the VisiTherm Stealth (online for around $20).

My (and most others here) recommendations to you are:
1) Make sure you have a big enough tank.
2) Get a water heater. You need to maintain a consistent temperature between 75 and 78 degrees for baby turtles. This is very important. Can't stress this enough.

[DavidY]

Oh, by the way, it sounds like you've got all the other areas well covered (basking platform, filter, lights, feeding, no drafts from AC vent). That's excellent for a new RES owner. You're doing a great job and by coming here and asking questions, you obviously care very much for your little guys. I didn't want you to think I (or anyone else) was blasting you or anything. Now if you can get the temperature/heating thing all worked out, you will be perfect, right?