Habitat - Indoor :: My first hatchling....is the tank "ok" for it?

[trtlgrl5150]

The Hubs an I took our new RES, Crush for a Vet "check up" the day after we bought him. The Vet, after a minute or two of looking at him stated that his shell was flaking and that his underbelly was pink. She stated that he would need antibiotics right away and that he might need them for a while. We were pretty upset.... *snuffle*.....poor Crush.

After talking with the Vet for a while and finding out that not only would all of the other turtles at the store have this, but that we would have to return him to the pet store while he was being treated (I guess they keep him while he is getting injections and what not.) Well as attached as we had already become to Mr. Crush, I wasn't too happy with the idea of leaving him at a pet store while he got shots for what the Vet said, could be weeks! We drove back to the pet store to speak with the manager about the vet visit.....

She was pretty helpfull at first but within the first few minutes of talking things over with her about what would happen with Crush and his treatment, we decided to return him to the store and never evvverrrr get anything from there again !


Wait, the story does have a happy ending!


While driving home, a friend of mine called ( he works at a pet store ironicly enough!) and said, "Guess what, we just got the cuuutest little hatchlings in here at the store."

Oh, you know The Hubs flipped a mad U turn right there ! ! !


Sooo, long story short, we are now the proud parents of a mounth old RES, WOOHOO FOR US ! ! !


We picked out a few new thinks for the little baby, and its sweet new pad. I never really thought I'd ever have a baby this tiny before! I'm pretty sure we picked safe gravel (every peice is waaay bigger than its head.) Not much in this world isn't lol! I was just wanting some opinions on the tank. If it's sutable...if I should add anything, or take anything away. And what all I should try and feed this little guy. I've read that babies eat more meat (crickets, mealworms, fish) than greens. Is that true? We got Natual Aquatic Turtle Food: Hatchling Formula for it, I was just wondering if I should add more to its diet. Please advise?!?!?



P.S.

Here is the tank, oh yeah and the new baby, Scratch !


~Chillin on Dad's hand~


~Yes, I'm small....stop stairing!~


~See Mom, I caaan swim!~


~Are you still watching me?~


~The Pad~

[Tenodera]

It's a pretty good setup for a beginner! It looks very pretty.

But you are missing some of the basics.

You should take the gravel out and just leave a few big ones. It can make the tank REALLY filthy really fast. Also, when he gets bigger, he'll be able to eat them, and he probably will. ( He'll choke on them or it'll cause internal damage.)

You can make the water level higher. Turtles like being able to swim up and down.

Do you have a UVB light and a heat light?

Also, did you read the care sections on this website?



Kevin

[trtlgrl5150]

Oh yes, the UVB light is on top of the tank. The heat lamp is on the right side of the tank, pointing to the basking rock. I've read anything, and everything I can find on RES, I'm just a little nervous now, with such a small baby. The water level is a perfect example. I wasn't sure how high I should make it. Figured better safe than sorry!

[Tenodera]

for turtles you can make it as high as you can! Remember, they've evolved to live in water for millions of years!

[octpusgirl8]

Definitely raise the water level. You can use cork bark or a commercially made basking dock (zoomed makes a good one) for the basking area instead of the little log thing. It will make a good underwater resting area though. Also, get a couple of digital thermometers, one for water temp and one for the basking area. The temperature of the basking area is very important in enitcing them to bask enough. All in all it looks pretty good though.

[TurtleGirl08]

Your little turtle is soooo cute!!! I dont think I have ever seen a turtle that small... I think that the gravel in his tank is okay for now, but when he gets bigger then you probably should take it out. But congrats on your new little guy!

[compas]

one word to say : CUTE!!!

congratulation

little hatchling will need huge commitment...time mostly...much more than you can imagine, because they are so delicate and easier to get sick (i have the same size too)

good luck

[SpotsMama]

Cute as a button! Round and green!

I agree with raising the water. One of the reasons to do so is to get your turtle closer to the UVB light bulb. For a tube fluorescent, a turtle needs to be pretty close for it to be effective - less than 12". Some people put their turtles within 8" of a tube fluorescent.

You can't get that close with a compact fluorescent, by the way, if you ever decide to switch. By the way, the tube fluorescents are a good choice if you have the right kind of fixture. They are reliable and proven over time.

[marisa]

It never ceases to amaze me how big their heads appear when they're that small (the fourth pic).

If that's a Reptisun 5.0 tube flourescent, you can have it 6-8 inches from the basking area. (There's no glass or plexiglass between the light and your turtle, is there?)

[Sgt. Pepper]

As everyone else said, lose the gravel, raise the water. They're born to be swimmers, and he's a baby so he'll try to eat anything.

So what about Crush? Is he still gonna get treatment or (more likely from the sounds of that manager) just stay in the store until he dies or someone else buys him and goes through the same thing?

[trtlgrl5150]

Thank you all for your comments, they were super helpful! I replaced the gravel with river rocks (bigger than his hole body!) The UVB light dosn't have any plastic between the bulb and the mesh lid to Scratch's tank. I also raised the water level to about 3/4 of the tank. I havn't really seen Scratch bask yet. The temp in the water is 75' and the basking rock is at 90' is that about right?

I'm sorry for all of the questions, as I've said before this is our first hatchling. We want everything to be as perfect as possible for the little guy.

As bad as this sounds, I don't know what has happend with Crush, I don't really want to go back to that store ever again. All of the turtles were sick however, which leads me to believe they arn't going to treat him (or any of them) any time soon.

[Sgt. Pepper]

How tight is the mesh of the lid? If it's smaller than 1/2" it could block out too many rays. You might want to cut a bit of a hole in it where the UVB light is. It'll probably be a little while before he's comfortable enough to bask so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

I guess you can't save them all...

[TheComputerGremlin]

I think you need to raise the water temp to 78-80 because he's a baby, if I remember reading correctly. And tell the vet that treated Crush about the store, maybe they can force their hand or something to get them treatment!

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

MORE WATER !!! yes about the temp....78-80. baskin temp around 90.

how many gallons is that tank??

[trtlgrl5150]

I went to the vet with Scratch today for his little health check up. It was the same vet that saw Crush. I asked her if the scumy Pet Store owner ever brought Crush in for treatment. She said no, but with a smile on her face. I can smell revenge a mile away. So I asked her what she'd done...

She stated that after I brought in Crush and told her about the rest of the turtles, and the managers attitude (or lack there of) when I took him back. She (the vet) had gone to the store after she closed her clinic that evening to take a little peek around this person's store.

Needless to say, she didn't like what she saw. She asked the cashier to get the manager (also the owner of the store) to come out to the frount so she could speak with him. While she waited, yeah she called Animal Control....

She told the owner that she was a vet and had been brought a few sick animals, from this store. She stated that she was very dis satisfied with the way he was keeping alot of his animals. Well I guess if your a vet and you have a few friends on the inside, Animal Control is quick to come to your calls.

The vet told me that Animal Control sited him for several violations and he would also have to go to court for not having a few permits *oh how sad* I guess when your evil and don't follow the laws, bad things happen to you.

I am really happy something was done, although Animal Control didn't take any animals way from him, they will check on him and the care of all of his animals from now on.

I like this vet....I think Scratch and I will keep her!

~Scratch~



All of the rocks in there are bigger than his head I promis! This is a 20 gallon tank.
The temp of the water is at 80' and the heat lamp is 93' I can't change the temp of the heat lamp without getting a stronger bulb right?
I also cut a hole where the UVB light shines through the mesh of the lid, so Scratch is now getting all of the vitamins he needs from the light! Yay!


P.S.

I've caught Scratch basking a few times now, I peek around the corners into the livingroom he's in before I just walk in. Almost every time he's up on his little basking pad.