General Care Discussion :: Request General Care Suggestions

[pariah]

Hi guys. I'm new here.
I just inherited a baby red eared slider a little unwillingly but I'm not one to turn down a turtle in need! Basically my wife's grandfather lives with us and works at a mental institution. One of the patients found, or sneaked in or was given this little red eared slider. He gave it to gramps as a gift. Well gramps brought it home intending to release it in the pond at the park a few blocks away.
I didn't think this was a good idea for several reasons; first and foremost being that the pond is pretty small and conatains an enormous amount of ducks and geese...I can't imagine there is anything but goose crap in that water. Second, the pond overflow drains into a sewer pipe that is definitely not a good habitat for a baby turtle.

And lastly I took him in because in my youth (I am 33 now) I had 3 turtles that I didn't care for very well (out of ignorance and youthful laziness) and they died so I feel like I owe the little guy.

Still reading? Okay here's where I could use advice.

I'm currently starting my own business, paying for a wedding, and getting ready to move. So money is beyond tight!
The turtle, Mitchell, has about a 2" shell. I bought him a 10 gallon tank (with plans to upgrade to a 20 gallon asap), a thermometer, a Whisper filter, one of those turtle docks that suctions to the side of the tank, & some turtle pellets.
I took a 100 watt clamp lamp that I use in my art studio and bought a UV bulb for it to use as a basking lamp/heater (I plan on buying the proper heater when I get a bigger tank). I took some smooth stones from the yard, boiled them and put them in the bottom. Currently I have been putting lots of mustard greens in the tank for him to surf on...I had no idea they did this but it's a riot to watch! I'm getting some under water plans for him within a few days.
As far as feeding I feed him the pellets, and in the first 10 days or so I gave him red wigglers and this week or so I am giving him crickets...I bought both small and medium crickets from PetCo because I wasn't sure but I think the big ones scare him.

Still reading? Good, you are the turtle addicts I want to hear from!

I feed him in a separate tub. I offer greens pellets and worms/crickets but he only eats the worms/crickets in the tub. He won't touch the veg or pellets unless he's in the tank...the little jerk. For a baby I was surprised he actually takes a bite here and there of red leaf lettuce, mustard greens and carrots.


Anyway, that's our story. Any suggestions to help me take better care of Mitchell?

[Raphulk]

it sounds like you have done an amazing job in doing research on what is needed to keep your turtle at the top health it can be.

looks like your baby turtle is pretty willing with the food you give him, i would try to get him on the pellet diet as soon as you can. i know you keep trying, so just keep at it.

you can feed him meats (crickets, shrimp, worms) but not daily. baby RES need a lot of protein, but too much can lead to a shell disconfiguration called pyramiding.

its great to hear that you are keeping this turtle that was dawned onto your hands unwillingly.



congrats on whoevers wedding it is !

[SpotsMama]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum!

Good to hear you are trying to provide a good home for the little guy in spite of having so much else on your plate.

Here's a link with good advice on getting started.

http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_care.html

Read up on nuitrition. Diet is very important and a turtle's nuitritional needs change over time. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about turtle nuitrition:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

As you read, you'll no doubt have questions on specific topics, so just ask away.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Only two things concern me. First, don't both buying a 20 gallon tank, he'll outgrow it in a few weeks. If you can afford it or find one on Craigslist or the local ad papers, buy the biggest tank you can. My intermediate tank is a 40 gallon breeder. That will hold your turtle for at least a year or two or three.

The second is that the UVB bulb isn't a basking bulb. You need two bulbs, a UVB bulb (which you got, yay!) and a regular incandescent house bulb for heat.

Look over the main site (links from SpotsMama), that site is a wealth of info!

[pariah]

I believe I mispoke. I didn't buy a UV bulb., I bough a full spectrum basking bulb.

In my studio, where he is, I use the same clamp lamps (the kind with the reflective hood) but with daylight incandescent bulbs in those lamps. There's probably 4 or 5 on most of the time, none of them are directly on his tank but they definitely illuminate it. (I know on TV art studios are always dark and moody places but in reality they are brightly lit.) Also his tank is hit by the sunlight in the evening, tho I monitor the temp pretty religiously just to make sure he doesn't get too hot. But I think without a heater the 100 watt bulb and the sunlight are an advantage. At least he seems to like it. Should I change the set up? The basking bulb is 100 watt and it's about 16 inches from his dock surface. The temp is around 90-95 degrees. On the other side of the tank the water temp reads anywhere from 70-85 degrees depending on the time of day.
Should I change this?

And about the pellets. He does eat them but only in his tank. But you are saying I should only offer the live protein like every other day? That would be much easier on me! I have been over feeding him a little, I know; mostly out of guilt because I have had to rearrange his habitat like three time...and partly because of his superior begging skills! He's good man!

Thanks for all the advice and keep it coming!

Here's a pic before I bought his turtle dock and he just had some rocks in there.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Aww, he's so cute!!

While he is under 4", he should be given a head-sized amount of pellets daily. When he gets over 4", he gets a head-sized amount of pellets every other day.

Live food or treats are high in protein and should be given once per month. And you have to be careful about how much live food or treats you give. A turtle less than 4" should get 1-2 rosie red minnows or guppies (no goldfish, they are high in fat), 4-6" should get 3-4 rosie red minnows, and so on. Feeder fish are once per month at most and when he eats a fish, you can not give pellets that day. Crickets are the same way, I buy these gut-loaded freeze-dried crickets. I give my 4" turtle one every two weeks or so, but not in the same month as I give feeder fish. It's complicated, but it's all about preventing pyramiding from too much protein. It can severely injure them or kill them. Think of it this way, if humans had a shell around them and gained a lot of fat, the shell would expand. So even if the human lost the weight, they would still be walking around with a huge shell, probably unable to get through doors or lay down or anything. Pellets are the only protein that is given routinely, everything else is moderation.

However, you should try to get him started on veggies and fruits as soon as possible. Lettuce is a good starting place, like green leaf lettuce or romaine, carrots and boiled sweet potato are always a hit, as are blueberries. Veggies like lettuce can be given as often as desired, I stick with a shell-sized piece of lettuce or so daily. Extra veggies can cause some digestive distress.

[pariah]

OKay, I will get him on the pellets! That will make my life easier for sure!

Any suggestions as to how to get him to eat pellets in his feeding tub? Currently he will only eat them in his tank.

Other veg is hit or miss. At first I had a pile of rocks in his tank but I didn't like the way the nooks and crannies collected nasties. When I replaced them with the turtle dock I was afraid he wouldn't have a place to sleep because he used to sleep on a rock just below the surface with his head resting on the basking rocks. (almost where he is in that pic) So I loaded the tank with mustard greens and red leaf lettuce now he "surfs" on them and sleeps on them. I plan on buying him some under water plants this week so I can stop wasting so much lettuce.

Anyway, he nips at those leaves but I'm not sure how much he spits out...some at least because it clogs the filter! The lettuce looks like swiss cheese. He didn't care much for eating carrots but he attacked the bejeesus out of them. I plan on buying some bananas and strawberries today...for me and him!

But should I just put some fruit and veg in his feeding tub with some pellets and keep him in there until he eats some?
If he's been eating crickets everyday will it take a few days before he's starved enough to go for the pellets?
(I work from home so I have all day to dink around with him.)

Also, you are saying that I don't need to mess with live crickets if I don't need to? Freeze dried in the jar are just as good?

I'm dumping my cricket farm into my jerky neighbor's back yard! heh heh!


There is a lot of confusing information out there concerning diet.

[steve]

If he becomes comfortable in the feeding tank, then the other foods will interest him. Can O' Crickets (small) are pretty good but I've used them only as treats.

[SpotsMama]

Getting the lighting right is important, and not as easy as it might sound. You mentioned having a "full spectrum bulb". You should know that these bulbs don't provide what a turtle needs, which is a quantity of UVB light. "Basking bulbs" and bulbs that say they are like natural sun are the same way - they don't provide the necessary UVB rays. Only bulbs in packages that specify that they provide UVB and the percent provided (like 5.0 or 5%) will work for a turtle. These bulbs will provide UVA rays as well as UVB.

You need to get a special UVB bulb from the reptile section of the pet store. One we recommend is an Exo Terra Repti Glo 26 watt 5% compact fluorescent bulb. You can also get these online, usually at a cheaper price.

In addition to the UVB bulb, you'll also need a heat bulb. A plain household incandescent bulb will do. People use 60 or 75 watt bulbs usually.

both bulbs should be positioned over the basking area. The heat bulb motivates the turtle to get up and bask (turtles are heat seekers), and the UV bulb will enable the turtle to absorb the calcium he eats (otherwise it goes to waste) and assist in digestion and general health.

On the crickets - freeze dried are fine. In fact, if you provide gut loaded (with calcium) freeze dried crickets, they will also provide beneficial calcium. Only give crickets as a treat - once a week or so with crickets is plenty - as they are rather high in calcium.

[pariah]

Thanks for that info. I did in fact buy a UVA bulb. Grr. It had a picture of an iguana on it and said "basking bulb" so I thought I was okay. sigh...So this damned bulb that cost $7 is no better than my $3 for 4 studio bulbs. poop.

I will make sure I have the right thing, thank you.

One last question about the lighting tho. A couple of you have said that I need a heating lamp in addition to the UVB bulb but I wonder. In his small tank the bulb and clamp light I am using heats the basking side to nearly 95 degrees by the end of the day, and the water side shows a temp of about 85 by the end of the day.

Do I need it hotter? I assumed when I bought him a bigger tank I would need a heat lamp but I as is, I don't think I want it hotter than 95 degrees...do I?


This is current what he has with a 100 watt UVA bulb in it.

I guess what I am really asking is this. Taking your advice my current plan (this week) will be to buy a UVB bulb for a small desk lamp (something that can just sit on top of the tank), and keep using the 100 watt UVA bulb in my studio lamp for heat...at least until it burns out and then just use my regular bulbs (100w GE Daylight incandescent) for heat.

Sound healthy?

[SpotsMama]

The 100 watt bulb will be fine until it burns out, at which time you can replace it with a cheap incandescent bulb. Watch the temps, though. They aren't too low right now, they are too high. A 100 watt bulb generates a lot of heat for a very small tank like a 10 gallon.

For turtles under 4" - water temp should be around 78 degrees and basking temp around 88 degrees or 90 degrees (fahrenheit). For a bigger turtle, water temp can be lowered to 75 or a few degrees lower. Some turtles prefer a slightly higher basking temp, so if yours refuses to bask at 88 or 90 degrees, you might notch it up a little.

You'll need a water heater at some point to keep water temp from dropping too low, especially at night if he/she's in a room with air conditioning.

Oh, and the lamp for the UVB bulb will probably be fine as the UVB bulb will be fluorescent and cool, not requiring a fancy fixture.

[pariah]

You've been so helpful! Thank you!

And Mitchell thanks you!

[ChocoTurtle]

thats nice that your taking care of it

[pariah]

Yeah well, I wanted a dog and I got a cat.

I wanted a bearded dragon and I got a turtle.

All God's creatures, I guess.

[ChocoTurtle]

Yeah well, I wanted a dog and I got a cat.

I wanted a bearded dragon and I got a turtle.

All God's creatures, I guess.

I wanted a dog, but I got a turtle