Habitat - Indoor :: Got it set up, anything I'm missing?

[xstefanx]

So I've taken my time collecting all the necessary items to finally get my turtle. But I've finally gotten everything home and running. I'll start with some pictures here:













Alright, so it's a 55 gallon tank, running an Rena XP4. I have the zoomed medium size turtle dock for now, I want to make a ATBA soonish, but for now this will work, also plan to use it as the ramp for it.

The tube light is, I believe, a reptiglow 5.0(not sure on brand, but its a 5.0 for sure) The clamp light had a normal 60 watt bulb, this was showing only about a 80~82 degree temp. So I put a 75 watt in to see what that does. Also though as you can see I have thermometer attached to the glass next to the basking area, so maybe that's why the temp is showing so low? I feel like I may have that light a bit close to the basking area, thoughts?

Also have thermometer in the water as shown. It is showing that the water is staying between 70-75 degrees with no heater on it. Next to it is an ammonia tester that is suppose to last up to a year, we'll see.

Also, my room mate has a cat that seems pretty curious about the sound of running water from the filter. He had been getting up on the bar next to the tank and playing/drinking out of the tank. Today he seems to have gotten brave enough to step out on the tank entirely and then play in it with his paws. Any suggestions on how to keep him from getting up there or at least blocking him from getting in? Basically I'm worried about him attacking the turtle once it gets here.

Long post sorry =D

[jozzep]

That is AWESOME that you did your homework,got a nice size tank with a great filter,the lighting and temps up to par,and THEN get the turtle!!
If every beginner turtle keeper were like you, we wouldn't see so many sick turtles rolling up in here.
Mad respect........

[xstefanx]

Thanks, I'm glad I did it this way too. Let the 75 watt run for a few hours and it settled right at 90 degrees so looks like that should work out for me.

Been thinking about ATBA designs a lot tonight, not entirely sure how I want to do it at this point, but I do really want to get that done maybe soonish. Especially since that might be a good way to keep algae out, as well as the cat =P open to suggestions on that though.

[theartbook35]

That is AWESOME that you did your homework,got a nice size tank with a great filter,the lighting and temps up to par,and THEN get the turtle!!
If every beginner turtle keeper were like you, we wouldn't see so many sick turtles rolling up in here.
Mad respect........

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Stefan, your tank is beautiful looking. May I suggest a plant or two? Not for aesthetics, it will just make your turtle feel secure, since the tank is pretty big.

Ya know, before I got mine... I had asked the person who bought them, to find out what kind of turtles they are first, so I can look up some care sheets and see what they need before getting them. Yeah, he didn't listen... The good news is, if he had listened, I would've said I didn't want turtles, and I am glad that didn't happen.

Move the bar away from the tank. Very far away. I have a type of cat who is very fascinated by the filter and whole tank in general. If we leave anything he can jump on by the tank, he's up there in a flash to mess with the water! (Part of this is due to Egyptian Maus being great jumpers and obsessed with water). The cat won't jump straight up there if there isn't anything for it to use as a booster. Cats can jump straight up pretty darn high, but they can't do a Super Mario jump on something higher than four feet usually. They kind of like, lose their momentum fast and fall backwards in midair. (I find this very funny looking).

[xstefanx]

Yeah I was worried that that would be one of the answers I would get for my cat problem. Problem being we just moved into this place and that was literally my only option as to where to put it. The bar is the built in counter off out kitchen, and to the right of the tank is our stand up freezer. Seems like every other wall in the house has the space taken by something that only makes sense to have there, like our two couches wouldnt make sense to have in the dinning area =P. I'm thinking that Getting a ATBA will make the silly cat keep off it a bit. Well, hoping anyhow. Right now as you can see the basing area is on the right side of my tank, that is mainly to keep the turtle as far away from the cat as possible. once I get around to building the ATBA I think it will get moved to the left hand side of the tank. Covered top with holes for the lights of course, thinking that could keep the cat out.

[jozzep]

Thanks, I'm glad I did it this way too. Let the 75 watt run for a few hours and it settled right at 90 degrees so looks like that should work out for me.

Been thinking about ATBA designs a lot tonight, not entirely sure how I want to do it at this point, but I do really want to get that done maybe soonish. Especially since that might be a good way to keep algae out, as well as the cat =P open to suggestions on that though.

This is one of mine.It will keep the cat out and not too hard to make if you're hands on.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... lon+canopy

[BullDog]

Looks great! Can't really think about anything to add other than like Alex mentioned maybe a plant or a rock or two for interest sake (for your turtle )

For the cat, you could try egg crate, although I'd be afraid it might not hold kitty's weight. I've got an old fridge rack on my tank (though I've never had a problem with the cat trying to get on the tank). Only thing is that I'd be afraid if kitty got his paws stuck in the oven rack. If all else fails, you could just get a piece of plexiglass and cut it to size to cover one side of the tank.

[theartbook35]

Yeah I was worried that that would be one of the answers I would get for my cat problem. Problem being we just moved into this place and that was literally my only option as to where to put it. The bar is the built in counter off out kitchen, and to the right of the tank is our stand up freezer. Seems like every other wall in the house has the space taken by something that only makes sense to have there, like our two couches wouldnt make sense to have in the dinning area =P. I'm thinking that Getting a ATBA will make the silly cat keep off it a bit. Well, hoping anyhow. Right now as you can see the basing area is on the right side of my tank, that is mainly to keep the turtle as far away from the cat as possible. once I get around to building the ATBA I think it will get moved to the left hand side of the tank. Covered top with holes for the lights of course, thinking that could keep the cat out.

Honestly, I don't think cats are very interested in turtles as prey items... Both of mine are two entirely different breeds, and neither of them is interested in my turtle when they see them close up. Your cat is probably more interested in the water itself. I'm not too worried about your turtle's safety. If the cat plays with the water though, they is a chance of the kitty getting salmonella. That is something to be concerned about.

If you don't want to make a canopy (Although Jozzep's is mad awesome looking) you could just get a giant sheet of egg crate to go over the whole top of the tank. Egg crate won't sterilize the UV rays, so, it works great when it's over the basking area.

[untsmurf]

You could put a plant or box or something decorative on the bar that your cat can't climb on. This way the cat wouldn't be able to sit on the bar and paw at your tank. You could also get a water bottle and squirt the cat every time it jumped on the bar. My grandma does that with her cat and it doesn't jump on the counters anymore.

There's a sticky thread with tons of ATBA pics ranging from cheap and easy to super fancy. You should be able to find something you like there.

Any decorations you add to your tank should be based on the size of the turtle you get. If you get a hatchling, or similarly sized turtle, you should look into tall plants and caves. These will assist them in swimming and it will give them somewhere to go if they want to hide. Caves can be made super cheap with a large piece of pvc pipe. You can decorate it with rocks and plants (using aquarium sealant) if you like a more natural look. If it's a larger turtle, you could forgo the cave but keep the plants for resting spots. Either way you should look into a bubble stone. They are great fun for your turtle, they liven up your tank, and they help minimize water stains because it agitates the surface of your water. You should also get a water heater even though your temps are good for an adult turtle right now (70 is a little low). You can get it and keep it off, or out of the tank until you need it, but having it is a must to keep your temperatures stable. I would also forgo any substrate until you're acclimated to your turtle and understand how messy they really are. A few river rocks are great for playing, though.

[xstefanx]

Good tips, headed back to wal-mart in a few because the girlfriend bought a 5gal today for some fish and wants to look for decorations. I spent about 4 hours today running around looking for sand for my tank. I couldn't find a single store that carried something that was fine enough for what I thought would be safe. Rather annoyed. I wanted to get some purple crayola sand but the 3 wal-marts in town sold out a few days ago apparently. >.< After looking for that I decided that if I could get some white sand from a hardware store that that would be fine for me. I actually spent some time last night reading through the 16 page sticky =D anywho, home depot as well as lowes had nothing for me. Both had the arena sand type stuff. Home depot had one that I thought might work but still had some larger rocks in it that I didn't really like. We'll see though, suppose to be calling the department manager at one of the stores to see if she will order me a few bags of the crayola stuff. For now I'll hold off on it though.

Turtle will be here on Tuesday though, excited. Did manage to get some suplies for my ATBA are in my adventure today, think I'm holding off till sometime next week to get started on it though. Thanks for the advice.

[gwennie]

In regards to cats and turtles:

Honestly, I don't think cats are very interested in turtles as prey items... Both of mine are two entirely different breeds, and neither of them is interested in my turtle when they see them close up. Your cat is probably more interested in the water itself. I'm not too worried about your turtle's safety.

My cat actually got my hatchling out of my tank, and tried to eat him, so yes, I would say cats can and do view turtles as prey if given the chance to do so. Cats will normally try to hunt anything smaller than themselves, unless they've been raised with the said animal.

I now have closet racks on top of both sides of my tank (70 gallon) and even with those on, I've come out in the morning to find one rack pushed slightly to the side so the cat can get his paws in.

My cat also can be seen sitting on the floor, stalking the turtle through the glass.

I've started to put a light cloth over the tank at night so the cat can't move the racks or be tempted, but even that is proving easy for the cat to get past, since a few days ago I came out and the cloth was pulled off one side of the tank, and the rack slid back again, and cuttle bone on the kitchen floor. The cat had pulled the cuttlebone out of the tank.

Luckily my turtle is healing up nicely, and now sleeps at the bottom of the tank instead of anchoring himself on the end of his floating dock. He did have to go to the vet and have some dry docking time every day and antibiotics while he healed up though, and he won't be fully healed for some time, as there were some heavy teeth marks in his shell from where the cat tried to chomp down on him.

I just have an uber-hunter cat it seems. I might have to look into getting racks with sides on them that'll fit over the sides of the tank so it can't slide, but the cloth trick seems to work at night if I tuck the cloth in with things.

My tank is also right next to the bar in my kitchen though, but it actually is parallel with the tank instead of perpendicular though, so your cat may not have an easy a time of things, hopefully ^^

I would definitely suggest getting a rack to put on top of your tank.

In regards to things for inside your tank:

Fake plants work wonders and give your turtle something to rest on, and adding a cave is good too, like untsmurf said. If you're getting a hatchling, he/she will need things to rest on until they get better lung capabilities.

I have a terracotta pot in one end of my tank that my turtle likes to rest on and go into as well, so it works as both a resting place and a cave.

[xstefanx]

I looked into some fake plants tonight while I was out, the ones that are sold at wal-mart don't seem to have any kind of anchoring other then being held down by sand or gravel, which brings me to my next problem.

Went back and asked if they could order be 4-8 bags of the sand so that I would have some back up while they aren't carrying it. Guy was a jerk and kept saying "wont have any till spring" to everything I asked. Going to try to talk to the DM at the other store in town, see what they say. Otherwise I think I will call the N2M guys that have a number on the bag. It seems silly to me to have an "exclusive" item that is also a seasonal one in some stores. At least I should have the option to pay online and have it shipped to the store. I'll see what I can do about complaining, if not I guess I'll have to go without a substrate for a while.

Got a bubble stone tonight, it's one of the curtain ones so it's 18" wide and I put it on the bottom in the middle a few inches out from the back wall so Donnie will be able to swim through it if he wants when he gets here. Also got a bag of river rocks, 6-8 stones that I put on the bottom as well. I'll Have to see about plants once I figure out a way of cheaply keeping them down.

[untsmurf]

If you want to weigh down your plants, you can just silicone some river rocks to the bottom of them. That's what I did with mine. You just have to let them cure for a few days before adding them to your tank.

[marisa]

I've done the same as untsmurf. If you want to spend the money, there are plants by Tetra that have separate bases/rocks that their plants can be pushed into to keep them anchored.

[xstefanx]

Sound like a good idea, will probably be looking into that tomorrow afternoon.

So last night I sent an email to one of the head guys of the N2M Group. I told him I was frustrated with the availability of the Crayola sand and this and that and he just called me to get some more information and find a way to get things worked out. Said he would try and find out if there is anything close by that I'm missing and if not then they would have the factory over in Chicago ship me some and try and work out a deal on shipping so that it wouldn't cost me much more then I would be paying at walmart, good guy.

Edit

Oh also, my little guy will be here in the morning, pictures tomorrow at some point for sure =D