Habitat - Indoor :: Have I been given a dangerous habitat?

[bdk]

Hello,

My wife and I have taken in two RES and their habitat from an aquaintence of an aquaintence of my in-laws who was moving and couldn't find a home for them. We now have the habitat set up in our home as the previous owner recommended and I've spent all evening reading up on care of these turtles both on this site and elsewhere, and am confused because this habitat does not seem remotely correct or safe for them, yet they appear to be happy and healthy turtles:

First, the turtles are a male and a female, one is about 6" long, the other about 5". They both seem active and healthy, so they couldn't have been mistreated too badly despite the following issues which do not seem to match the recommendations on line:

1) They are in a 40 Gallon tank, which the previous owner had filled with about 5.5" of water based on the water mark on the side of the aquarium (about 18 gallons of actual water) The tank itself is 36" x 24" x 15". Isn't this too small?

2) The previous owners did not give us a basking platform, and recommended that I put bricks in the tank. I bought the largest floating turtle dock I found at the pet store today, but it didn't have enough bouyance and they kept sliding off of it trying to climb on. Temporarily I gave them some grey paver bricks, which they seem to like, but I'm worried about it being too abrasive. Are these safe to leave in the tank until I can get something larger on-line shipped, or can someone recommend a better temporary solution?

3) The lighting is a 75 Watt incandecent centered over the basking stone, there is no other source of light or heat. The previous owner claimed that this light provided all the heating that the turtles required, but after checking the temperature w/ an aquarium thermometer (the previous owner apparently didn't have one) The water temperature is only 70 degrees even after the light has been on for several hours.

4) The previous owner claimed that their filter had died, so didn't provide one. At their recommendation, I purchased an in-the-tank filter which is rated for a 10-30 gallon aquarium, but am thinking that this may also be too small.

My plan right now is to pick up a submersible heater tomorrow to raise the water temperature, and possibly a UV lamp of some sort. What else do I need to do immediately?

Medium term, I am thinking about increasing the water level to closer to 10". (the tank has a locking screen so I'm not worried about them escaping even though they seem to like to bask on top of one another) This should provide more water for swimming and waste dilution and I'll be replacing the stack of pavers with a floating dock. If possible I'd like to keep a couple of the pavers in the tank but submerged w/ the new water height to give them a section of water where they can rest in the water and still reach the top of the water. I am thinking that the brick wouldn't be a problem here since they aren't trying to climb out of the water on it, or am I mistaken? If I raise the water level, I'd have about 25 gallons in the tank, so I'd want to get a larger filter. The floating dock should also give them more swimming space since they can go under it, unlike the stack of pavers.

Longer term, I think I am going to need to acquire a larger acquarium.

Thank you for any recommendations.

[Sgt. Pepper]

You're definitely going to need a bigger tank. It's too small for even the smaller of the turtles by itself. The guideline is 10 gallons per inch of shell length (without the curve) so together they'd need 110 gallons, and they're not fully grown yet. When you go to get a bigger aquarium get the biggest you can because in the end you'll probably need about 200 gallons. You might want to look into getting a stock tank instead of a traditional aquarium.

I would definitely go for the heater and UVB light right away. I need a new filter myself but until I can afford one I'm just going to do water changes more often. I have a filter rated for 30 gallons in a 50 gallon tank and it hasn't been too bad.

[megcornell]

For the immediate future you are right to address the temperature and basking concerns. Too cool water will impact a turtle's health, as can improper basking lights.
As for trying to improve the habitat by filling the tank with more water and adding a stronger filter, I think you may run into problems there. With that much turtle in such a small tank, no amount of filtration is going to keep the ammonia levels low enough. You can try and keep one turtle in the 40 gallon and buy a larger tank for the 6 inch one but keeping both in there just won't really work. As you may have read- buy the largest tank you can afford, it cuts down on costly upgrades later.
One thing to watch out for is aggression between the turtles. Turtles that large and that close together may fight.
You should also familiarize yourself with the signs of a gravid (pregnant) female, and what to do to make a nesting site. Even if she hasn't mated, she'll still lay eggs.

[powerofvoodoo]

I agree with what's already been said with one addition:
When you do purchase a UVB light, make sure that, if the light is separated from the basking dock with the screen, the holes in the screen are large enough that it does not filter the UVB rays (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the holes need to be about 1/2")

[industrial_girl_2000]

Everyone had some great suggestions here.

Yes, you will need a much larger tank as everyone said. I just want to reiterate about temp of the water: it's extremely important since turtles are cold-blooded & they rely on the heat of the water & basking dock in order to be warm enough to digest food & have a healthy immune system. Too cold water can make them get turtle pneumonia, a serious life-threatening disease.

Also, for a minimum 100 gallon tank you will need to either put it on a concrete slab floor or reinforce the floor in your house to be able to hold it properly & prevent floor-sag or cracks in the aquarium walls. This might seem like a lot of effort to go thru, but honestly, it's not all that bad. Or you can separate the turtles into 2 different tanks. They will most likely continue to grow (males grow to max 9 inches, females up to 12 inches). Currently I have my 9 inch female in a 90 gallon tank, but she isn't growing anymore, and she loves it in there. The 10-gal/inch rule may seem like overkill, but once you get the right size tank, you will see how much happier they are when they can completely stretch out & swim.

For turtles larger than 6 inches, the floating docks may not do the trick. There is an acrylic dock with wall suction cups that you can get. I have one of these for my adult RES & she loves it. The only thing you will need with that is one of those aquarium 2-piece magnet algae wall-cleaners (one side of the magnet is on the outside of the tank, the other piece is on the inside & when you move the outside piece, the inside piece scrubs the wall...pretty ingenious actually!) to put under the dock to keep it from sliding down the wall. I never actually use the thing for scrubbing algae....I just use it to hold up the dock, LOL.

Enjoy the reading on the red ear slider website....there's tons of info, but don't be overwhelmed. Change takes time. None of us had the perfect set up overnight.

[bdk]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I got a submersable heater for the tank today and have the temperature at 77 degrees currently. I also picked up a UV light that I will set up tonight. I am working on getting a larger aquarium for them as well. My family room, where I plan to keep them long term as a concrete slab floor, so the weight shouldn't be a problem.

[DocShay]

I know of a guy who mistreats his turtles, I confronted him but hes stubborn and says it's fine. Not really a freind, more of a freinds roomate, anyway I snapped this picture. I feel bad for the turtle...



As you can see the turtle has very little swimming room, and can't get out of the water fully to bask - heck I don't even think he has a basking lamp, just a florescent tube!

[N4784N R4613]

Wow, does that guy know anything about RES?