General Care Discussion :: going away

[myrtletheturtle]

Well im going away for about 5 days for christmas and i was wondering what i should put in myrtles tank I have put plants in before but he shreds it and its a big mess so should i just leave lettuce in there??

[megcornell]

Buy a timer for the lights.
Add some water plants and feeder fish.
Look into buying an automatic feeder- chances are your turtle will eat all the fish and the plants in a day and be hungry for the last four without a feeder. If you can't get a feeder is there someone who can look in on him?

I also always change my UVA bulb before I leave if I've had it a while- that way I don't have to worry about it burning out.

[mikee]

I have left mine alone for several days, but I make sure that I am back and have someone on hand for emergencies. I now use a feeder and set it to put small amounts so that I don't over feed them. I will suggest that you make a 50% water change just before you go. Timers are a good idea also.

[myrtletheturtle]

i have a timer and i just did a 90% water change Monday so i wont hav to do it for awhile cause i have an xp..where can i get an automatic feeder? I guess i could get a plant even tho im now a fan lol i have introduced myrtle to fish yet hes still pretty small so i dunno how he could eat a whole fish?!

[RunninWideOpen]

oh....they eat em. piece by piece. sometimes leavin the head behind.

guppies make good feeder fish.

[mikee]

myrtletheturtle -- I purchased mine at Wal-Mart. It is a NutraMatic 2X. It is battery operated by two AA batteries. If you use this one you will have to adjust the opening for pellets. It is easy to over feed them. Make sure that you will not have a problem with evaporation while you are gone. Make sure your water level is at your maximum height for the turtles.