Habitat - Indoor :: New Turtle owner

[Biohazard]

I have had an interest in Red Ear Sliders for a while now and iv'e decided its time to finally get the turtle ive always wanted. Im looking to get a Male RES at about 5 inches. I have read alot of the posts in this forum and also alot of the care information on this website. I was wondering though what the community would think about the ideal setup for this turtle to a new owner of turtles.

[Kallistos]

Congratulations of being one of the smart people who think "how do I take care of this turtle" before they drop $15 and buy the turtle with the cute turtle lagoon.

My reccomendation is to start at big! It's a big waste of money to start with a small enclosure and then work up. This is my idea of an ideal set up

75 gallon tank and stand (the bigger the tank, the better!)
A mercury vapor bulb over the basking area (T-rex)
250 watt stealth heater
XP3 canister filter w/ an aquaclear 70 supplementing it
Homemade cover w/ 1/2" holes

Don't be tempted to buy a companion for your turtle, it's best to keep them alone.

[Biohazard]

i was thinking about a companion but apptly went to no after readon some forums. Thank you for the reply. I was wondering though on a 55 gallon tank i wanted to start with as money contraints keep me from going bigger at least for a year. Do you think a 5 inch RES would grow out of a 55 gallon in a year?

[Kallistos]

It depends from turtle to turtle and what kind of diet they've been fed and are going to be fed.

I'm just curious as to what your overall budget for this project will be. The 55 gallon tanks are very close in price compared to the 75 gallon tanks. Is the rest of the equipment above affordable? A cheap alternative to glass tanks are rubberbaid storage tubs.

This is off topic ,but as I mentioned to another person, with a 55 gallon tank you could house a 3-Striped Mud turtle for life. Here is a link to a care sheet of this turtle. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/c ... ed_mud.htm

[Biohazard]

Well now that ive looked at 75 gallon tanks that dosn't seem to bad i would want to go with glass tank and i have my heart set on RES turtles. AS for the money issue its not severe as of right now and when im finished with college coming up soon ill have more than enough for the turtle . In a general ball park though would you have an estimate for how much it would take to start a good living condition for the little guy?

[Kallistos]

IF you're patient and stalk out good prices you could establish a 75 gallon set up with around $300 maybe even less. Some people might say that this estimate is way too low ,but it can be done if you search Ebay/craigslist.

75 gallon tank and stand (the bigger the tank, the better!) - $100
A mercury vapor bulb over the basking area (T-rex) - $45
250 watt stealth heater $25
XP3 canister filter w/ an aquaclear 70 supplementing it -$100-$125
Homemade cover w/ 1/2" holes $10-$15
Homemade basking platform - $5-$12

[Biohazard]

Does the mercury vapor bulb take care of the UVA and UVB lamps needed. Also from what you have personally seen do you think its a better idea for an above tank basking area or floating area?

[Kallistos]

Yes, the mercury vapor bulbs (MVB's) provide heat, UVA, and UVB rays. I'm not sure if a MVB can be used in an abouve tank basking area. It's up to you if you want to go through the process of creating one. Both of them are equally fine as long as the beneficial rays are provided.

[Biohazard]

Ok sounds like im off to a good start thank you for all the help

[Kallistos]

No problem, if you ever run into any problems or have any more questions feel free to continue asking.

[steve]

Nice job RESowner34. One thing about MVB's is that they are powerful and will need some distance (Minimum distance for a 100watt UV Heat flood bulb is 12", a 160 watt spot would need to be 36")

[Biohazard]

so i would have to get the 12" i dont think i will have 3 feet distance above the tank. Thanks for the input

[mkoby]

Try Craigslist.com for a tank and stand. Sometimes they have great deals. I'm currently considering a 90 gallon for $175!

[Biohazard]

Thanks that site has some really good aquariums for cheap

[SpotsMama]

The MVBs generate a lot of heat too. Be sure there's sufficient ventilation for the heat to dissipate.