Habitat - Indoor :: I think i need help... but cant be sure

[draggonkitten]

hi i'm new to turtles and have 2 small ones rescued from an unwanted home, (i have a nack of people giving me pets they no longer want and i cant see a pet go unloved,)
they are both small and were in a tiny tank, which i have now swiched for a larger one i dont know the size by gallons but it looks too big, and i'm not sure if it has too much water in,
i have a pump filter that came with them and a rocky basking area as well as a floating bark log, the water is warm, being on top of a vivarium housing a brazillian rainbow python, and they have a basking light right above the rocky area is this enough or do i need anything else for them?

I would apreciate all the help i can get as i dont want any harm come to them i have read many websites and just want to make sure i have it right
xXxXx DK xXxXx

[jameshermanto]

put UVB (reptisun 10.0) with bulb (for heat). dont use aircone because the air temperature will be rise too. you can see how much gallon are you, in aquarium calculator on google. in here to in redearslider.com, tank size calculator, in goggle type, aquarium calculator. buy test kit (ammonia, PH, nitrite, also hardness). give him variation food (guppies, tomatoes, carrot, etc (( see in nutrition on redearslider.com)), just give him basking area with UVB and UVA also diet propeply, good heater, good filter (canister filter or DIY filter). thats all buddy, for filter use mechanical and bio. dont use chemical (carbon active, dll.) its make carbon hardness.

for bio material : bio crystall, bio ball, bio ring, bio rock.
for mechanical: sponge, cloth

DIY is inexpensive but with idea. look at google, type DIY filter, also llok at youtube.com.

but remember. the most thing that you must think is vet. good vet is hard to find, but once you find it. you will happy.

me live indonesian use DIY filter, with canister filter
for material, sponge, bio ball, and bio ring

crystal bio and bio rock is still the best, but most of them is expensive.

dont ever use coral for filter, because in coral have CA+ (CALCIUM), if you want use coral, use water softener (compost), on your media filter.

for me the best canister filter is rena fillstar XP 3.
best one love it.

[draggonkitten]

cool is there anty way you can tell what type of turtle they are we were told was a res but it has no red on it at all but the belly lookes similar?

[BullDog]

Have you read through the main site? (www.redearslider.com) There's tons of information there.

For the basics, there's no such thing as too much water for RES. The rule of thumb is 10 US gallons of water per 1 inch of shell per turtle. (Something to keep in mind as your turtles grow).

You'll need a thermometer to measure the temperature, and a heater to keep the water the proper temp. If they are under 10cm, you'll want the water at about 25-26*C (78F). If they're over 10 cm, you can have the water at 23-24*C (74-76F).

As James mentioned, you'll need a bulb for heat (this can be a regular incandescent household bulb), and UVB bulb. If your tank is over 55 gallons, you can use a mercury vapour bulb (MVB) which combines both heat and UVB.

Rocks are not the best choice for a basking area. If the rock is rough, it can scratch and damage your turtle's shell. Also, if the rocks are stacked, it's possible for them to topple over and trap your turtle. Also, make sure all rocks are larger than your turtle's head. Turtles can and will eat just about anything in their tank, and small rocks can cause them to become impacted.

For identification, if you can post a picture of the turtles, and someone should be able to help you with that. Pictures of the head and shell (top and bottom) would be the best. Also, if you post a pic of your setup, we can help you with that too.
This link gives an explanation on how to post a picture:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1811

[draggonkitten]

i have a rather large order on its way to me now thanks for all the help
the rocks in the tank are all smooth rocks that were recomended by a guy that worked in the shop the turtles were bought.
and here are the pics of the turtle


and the tank

i am going to get a bigger tank when i move house but it may be a few monthes before this happens
thanx
xXxXx DK xXxXx

[jameshermanto]

get clean of the water. and bye the way. feeding your turtle in his/her habitat will increase ammonia. buy container (small one, its ok) for eat. its ok if you want feed your turtle in his/her habitat, but first you must change the water in 3-4 days one more time. for big aquarium you must change the water one week, and add the fresh water (1/2 width, then put the clean water)

sorry for the bad english. I LOVE REDEARSLIDER.COM, THX TO REDEARSLIDER.COM.

[draggonkitten]

the pictures in the water were taken just before a full tank change which is why they were fed in there, all other times they are in an old halloween sweet bucket for feeding.
i am having problemes keeping the water clean and am currently changing half the water twice a week i have ordered a new filter as mine isnt doing its job properly
i have also ordered a care book for turtles and terrapins,

i have to say that i like turtles as pets i was going to get another tropical fish set up but was given these instead and i spend more time watching them than doing what i am supposed to around the house!!

[BullDog]

Hmm, by the pics I don't think they're RES. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say a cooter of some type, perhaps Pseudemys concinna.

I would suggest taking the gravel/rocks out from the bottom of the tank. They trap a lot of debris, which is probably contributing to your water quality problems.

Be careful about the turtle care books, since they don't necessarily have accurate information. It's always good to double check by couple of sources. Also, unfortunately most pet store employees don't know much about turtles, and are more interested in selling turtle supplies than making sure the turtle has what he needs.

[draggonkitten]

is there anywhere i can go to get more information, i use websites alot and i am just confused because they all give conflicting information,
thanks for all the advise.
is there any thing i can put in there instead of the gravel or a way of colecting the debris, i dont mind having extra work as the animals are kinda my life at the moment

[BullDog]

I've found the best place to get info is from experienced turtle owners. I know what you mean, about the conflicting info. The basic care info from this site can easily be transferred to many aquatic turtles. Another reputable page is www.austinsturtlepage.com

Many people go for a bare bottom tank, because that's the cleanest. You can also use a few river rocks (larger than the turtle's heads), but again, too many will trap debris. A lot of people have been switching over to sand recently, which looks really cool (there is a sand sticky at the top of the indoor habitat section).

[grem89]

@ james

dont use chemical (carbon active, dll.) its make carbon hardness.

do you mean that the carbon will leach into the water and cause hard water? Just a lil chemistry, carbon isn't water soluable which means it will never disolve in water so it wont make the water hard. Hard water usually comes from metals in pipes such as copper, iron, and also calcium etc. But carbon isn't necesarrily a bad thing to be used in an inital tank setup. You can use it for a while until your tank is fully cycled to help remove some of those bad odors that can come from a cycling tank.


@ dragon

is there anywhere i can go to get more information, i use websites alot and i am just confused because they all give conflicting information,

A great site to look for information on turtles is the website your on right now! Don't follow things you might find on yahoo questions or any large 'how to' website. Also you might hear some things on these forums that could conflict with the advice you receive from many petstores but I feel you can really trust the people here (as well as steve and his site) for info on taking care of your new turts. Turtles can be one of the longest living pets you'll ever have, just as long as you take care of them properly. I've heard of some people who have had their turtles for over 20 years (scary, right? ). You show me a dog or goldfish that can top that. Think of it this way, turtles usually come from lakes or ponds which can have anywhere from 100,000 to millions of gallons of water in them, and we're trying to imitate that with 1 tank that can be anywhere from 20 gallons to 250 gallons so you can see how proper habitat maintenance is very important.

[draggonkitten]

@ james

dont use chemical (carbon active, dll.) its make carbon hardness.

do you mean that the carbon will leach into the water and cause hard water? Just a lil chemistry, carbon isn't water soluable which means it will never disolve in water so it wont make the water hard.
.

I think he meant the carbon content would be too high in the tank rather than it make the water hard per se

thank you for the advise i really apreciate all the advise i can get, turts wouldnt nesaseraly been a choice of pet that i would have made but i am thinking when i move i may get more and another set up,
as long as i can make sure i can look after them first. i usually get pets with a litte more resarch on how to properly look after them like the dog and snake
and everyone knows cats more or less look after themselves LOL

and now for one last question, dose the type of turt make care diffr, temp and feeding and such or is it pretty much the same as i am not convinsed they are red eard sliderse

[BullDog]

Cooters have basically the same care as RES, so basically everything you find on this site can apply to your turtles.

[grem89]

it is impossible for carbon content in your tank to build up. Activated carbon will never leach or cause a carbon build up in your tank. What activated carbon is, is carbon heated to a certain point that its surface becomes porous and absorbs any contaminants. I'm sorry but his statement was very incorrect.

[draggonkitten]

ok fair enough thas cool so would you recomend a carbon or chemical filter over an absobant sponge filter or similar?