General Care Discussion :: going out of town....

[myboyblue]

Heading to Ny for the Holidays (wil be gone 4 days) and I dont really have anyone I trust enough to come by to care for Solo. A neighbor has offered, however I just really met them and not sure if I want them in my home when Im not here.

One option is bringing him over to the neighbors, it would just take the obv work to do so. ( water removal, tank transfer and so on) I dont care about the work, Its just shes got crazy kids and its like a mad house over there and I hate removing him from his environment.

So the big question obv. ... Is 4 days too long for him to go without the basking lamp. The heat will stay on in the house of course, and the water heater maintains 76-77 and hes certainly gone longer than that without eating. ( found him in a apartment that had been vacant for almost 2 weeks).

Or is bringing him there the best move.

Sorry to ramble on, and thanks

[Daniel3507]

why wont he have a basking lamp? i think he would be fine. you could go get an automatic feeder too so he wouldnt even have to miss a meal.

[myboyblue]

Hi Daniel ,

Im just afraid to leave (basking lamp) it on unattended for 4 days. Also I routinely shut it down during night hours and he camos himself in the tree to go to bed. LOL. Do you let your basking stay all the time?

Theres also a few rosys in there so I know he's not going to go hungry.

[marisa]

It sounds like you don't have a timer for that basking lamp. Why don't you get one for it (and for the UVB light as well). Make sure it's set for the times you want before you leave.

If he's healthy, he could do fine for 4 days. Feed him a bit more just before you leave, and put some anachris and carrot peels in the tank for him to nibble on along with some cuttlebone. If you do choose to get an automatic feeder, make sure it's working correctly before you leave.

[myboyblue]

Yeah, I really should get a lamp timer, just havent had the need yet as I work from home. I think he's pretty healthy... basks, swims, climbs, eats. chases rosys. Im going to get a lamp timer before I go and leave him at home. I'll worry less that hes home in his set up than at the mad house ( 4 little boys all wanting to handle him). And it sounds like he'll be ok.

Im not leaving till the 23rd, so if anyone sees any reason I shouldnt do this, please chime in.

Oh and yes all 4 dogs are going with me as always.

Thanks again all

[megcornell]

I'm heading home this weekend for the holidays as well. I always have my lights on timers and they work great so you have nothing to worry about there. I've spent the last few weeks experimenting with automatic feeders since I'll be gone about a week and Eheim makes one that distributes pellets wonderfully if you're interested in picking one up. A lot of the other ones are "flake only" and the pellets will just clog in there.

[myboyblue]

Thanks Meg, its reassuring to hear from someone that has used the auto timers while they're away for more than just the " gone for the day" use.

Ill pick one up this weekend, and keep the name of that feeder in mind in case I decide to go that route.

By the way, hows Manhattan...I miss it everyday ...but not enough to move back

[joeybsmooth]

Well the other guys may chew me out for this, but I am just throwing what I do out there. I leave the UVB light on and cut off the basking light and put plexglass over the top of the tank.

I just don't feel safe with that light on when I am gone so long.

[robind]

I have 2 webcams trained on my tank for peace of mind when I leave town.

[mikee]

I don't mind leaving mine for a few days without feeding. I would say 4 or 5 max. Use the light timer and duplicate the day light. I leave my heat at 67 or 68 when I go on a trip and I cut off the tank heater. The water cools slowly and it lowers their metobolizm and they don't get as hungry. When I come home I increase the temp slowly to the normal temp. m.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I am leaving for 6 days. I'll have the water heater and filter running constantly. Those have never shown a problem. I have both of my lights on a timer for the last year and it has ran consistently with no problems, so don't worry about that. It's just a cheap timer with a dial on it. It's good to have at home as well, that way you don't have to remember to turn the lights on or off.

Normally, I'd leave my turtle alone for the whole 6 days, but I am leaving two cats and a fish at home as well. So I have a hired pet sitter coming by twice, mainly for the cats. She charges $20 a visit for the cats, feeding the turtle is free, yay! She'll just drop in a preportioned amount of pellets into the turtle tank and the fish tank. You can always look into that, professional sitters are nice because they are insured and it's their job, so you know that they won't steal stuff or anything.

Another option for feeding is to get a few rosie red minnows and put them in before you leave. Don't get too many, my rule of thumb is 1 rosie red per inch of shell length. That only works if your turtle eats fish, though!

[myboyblue]

Thats not a bad idea gremlin, especially at that price. Id be much happier knowing someone (other than a neighbor in my home) was looking in and feeding him. Especially considering the weather in the NothEast. If it turns out to be more than 4 days ida wished I hired someone.(and whats more important than having piece of mind at home for the holidays for the 1st time in 6 years).

Yeah he eats the rosies on occasion and I have 2 that will be in there when I leave, if he doesnt eat them before I go. I dont think he can catch these 2 though, because Ive seen him aggresively going after them and walk away and come back and both still there.

Oh, and 1 more thing, no one ever answered a question I had asked...Just out of curiosity are RES snapper turtles ??

thanks again everyone

[joeybsmooth]

I want to say no. They are in the slider family ( common name). There are other sliders like yellow belly sliders and such. And their Genus is both Trachemys, while the common snapper is in the Chelydra Genus .

[megcornell]

Blue, although their bites look vicious RES aren't snappers.

Pet sitters are a nice alternative. I prefer to leave timers and feeders because it's so much cheaper, and really turtles are so independent that unless I had a cat or dog or pet that really needed the attention I wouldn't want to spend the money.

And NY is as hectic as always, but I really think Christmas time is the best time to be here, I love all the lights, and everything looks a little better under a layer of snow, haha.

[joeybsmooth]

Everything does look better under snow. Like when the panthers beat the G-men unders snow that would look so nice . I just wish I could be in New York for that lol.