General Care Discussion :: Newbie

[chrisnu7]

Hello:
I apologize in advance for my ignorance. We just "inherited" a two year old turtle (RES). How large should her tank be? The one we have measures only 13"x11"x21".
The only heat or light we have is a light that reads "7%UVB desert."
Is he warm enough? The light says something about removing the lens but I have no idea what that means.
Also, can he/she have a mate? I read they must be alone but think otherwise.
Thank you so much~hate to be pesty, just trying to treat this critter properly.
Chris~

[Nettle]

Tank: For every inch of turtle there is, there should be 10 gallons of tank (4 inch turt needs 40 gal tank).

Heat: There should be a submersible water heater that keeps the water at 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lighting: There needs to be two lights; a regular incandescent bulb for heat (around 90 degrees), and a UVB bulb for turning calcium into vitamin D. The Exo-Terra Repti-glo 26w 5.0 bulb is the standard.

Mate: Turtles usually become very aggressive after a year and are MORE than happy to be alone. Turtles that share a tank can fight and cause serious injuries to one another.

For any other info, check out the main site:
http://redearslider.com/

Let us know if you have any other questions! ^_^

[chrisnu7]

thank you!
Last question...this turtle has very long fingernails. should I leave them be ?

[TheComputerGremlin]

Yes, leave them alone unless you see a problem with one. They should naturally stay trimmed, but longish - you have a male, congrats! I'd recommend against another male or female, male because they'll fight a lot, female because then you get babies ... However, as long as you don't mind them getting eaten, you can get fish to have in there. You didn't say how large the turtle is? That will help determine if the tank is okay or not.

[chrisnu7]

Thank you!
He measures 5" front end to end of shell (his tank must be way too small?).
He was given to me with pellets only, as his diet.
I see, from reading here, that he needs more variety.
He has no light or heat, other than the UVB light I mentioned above.
he must be very cold.

So, while I was told he was loved and well-cared for, the rules were not followed well about his husbandry. But, he appears mysteriously healthy.

We bought some minnows and fed him one. He didnt eat it, so we added three more. Then he ate all four in one day. I presume this was too much at one time?

Also, can he ever get out? He has a small banking platform - but we took him out in the yard to walk around. Was that a bad idea?
Since he was given to me after spending the night in a dry bucket, I figured he could go without water for quite some time. Obviously, I am showing my ignorance


Thanks in advance~

[SpotsMama]

You and your turtle (what's his name by the way?) are very lucky. If he was living in substandard conditions for two years but is currently healthy, then he has a strong constitution. Eventually, poor living conditions will catch up with a turtle but some of them seem to be able handle it better and longer than others.

On the minnows, if a turtle likes minnows and is good at catching them, then it will be next to impossible to keep him/her from gobbling them all down at once, so all you can do is limit the number you put in the tank. As someone on here once said, turtles are lousy at food budgeting. I think some people provide about 1/2 dozen small minnows a month.

Taking him outside to get some natural sun and explore is great as long as you watch him like a hawk and he seems to be enjoying it. Turtles have differently personalities and some find it scarey to be out in the open and others seem to be stimulated by it. You really do have to watch him every minute. A turtle can move further and faster than you'd ever imagine.

[chrisnu7]

Thank you again. Yes, he moved very fast outside. I was shocked. With the hawks nearby, of course, I stayed with him every second.
His name is BIG TURTLE, courtesy of toddler son. And, we are washing hands after handling very carefully...i read about the salmonella.

[SpotsMama]

"Big Turtle" - very descriptive!

[TheComputerGremlin]

Since you have a small child, learning good washing habits now is excellent. Right now is an excellent time to start looking for a large aquarium, as it's spring cleaning time. So keep an eye out on Craigslist or your local newspaper. 5", I'd guess a 55-75 gallon tank should do fine. Lighting, heating, and filtration can vary based on what tank you decide on, but it'd be good to read through a lot of posts on here and ask questions so you can save up the money (and save yourself a headache!). And having a turtle is extremely rewarding, esp. getting your child involved!

[chrisnu7]

Two more questions.
Should his UVB lamp be on 24/7?
And, this may seem obvious, but how do you clean it out? In other words, how to remove all that water and how frequently?

I served him some romaine tonight and he ate it.
He has not eaten the freeze dried cricket. I guess it should have been live, huh? He didnt seem to like the disgusting frozen blood worms either

Thanks again...tell me more. I am a sponge...and want to get him the right equipment, but honestly, cannot spend any money.


Chris

[mikee]

chrisnu7 -- You will need increase the size of you tank. The rule of thumb that is used is 10 gallons of water for each inch of turtle. You should keep the lights on about 8 to 12 hours per day. Try and follow the day light hours that you have. I keep them on a little longer in the evenings so I can enjoy them. When you up size, everyting else will have to be up sized also. Your filter will need to pump at least 5 times the volume of the water in the tank.

[megcornell]

As for the lights, keep them on a natural "day/night" cycle. Now that it's spring that means about 11-12 hours of light.

As for tank cleaning, the python is the way to go. It's an expensive ($30-60 depending on size) siphon system that hooks up to a faucet and uses the water pressure to suck out tank water and debris and can then be used to refill the tank.
It is pretty much a necessity with larger tanks. I bought mine a year ago and it's made cleaning a world easier. It's worth every penny you'll spend.