Habitat - Indoor :: Have a couple questions about heat/light

[churchill12516]

How far away does the basking area have to be away from the light/heat? I have a 55 gallon that I just set up and the water is more then 3/4 full but wasn't sure when I put the screen with the lighting on top if it will be to close?
Also when I got these guys last October they were the size of a half dollar (illeagal I know now) they are about 4-5 inches now how old do you think they are? The one is at 4 inches where the other is a little over 5 inches, but they were both the same size when I got them.
When would you have to worry about babies since I don't know the sexes of them and what happens if you don't have a egg laying area?
Sorry for all the questions

[Fuzzy Hamster]

Hi & Welcome to the site.

Most of your questions already have been answered on the main site.

For example, while distance away from light/heat is a factor, the more important factor is the temparature - on a good basking area the temperature is around 90-95 degrees F or basically about 10 degrees F higher than the water temp. You can find more info here;

http://www.redearslider.com/basking.html

From there you should also be able to use the menu bar at the top of the section to find answers to your other questions. Once you have gone through some of the info you can always update your post if you need further clarification. You will find that in some cases, such as whether you have a male or female, the best thing to do is post a picture, but you may find the answer isn't always as clear cut as we would like.

[Chrisbarnett]

Definitely visit that link.

But how large are the holes on your screen? If they are less than 1/2" your UVB output will be greatly depleted.

Heres a link for sexing.
http://www.redearslider.com/determining_sex.html

[marisa]

Welcome. That's pretty fast growth for less than a year. What are you feeding them, how much and how often?

For the heat, check the basking area temp with a thermometer. A range of 88-90F is good. Water temp should be about 10 degrees cooler.

For the UVB light, distance would depend on the brand, type and UVB output.