Habitat - Indoor :: I'm worried about my setup and timing

[Gianni989]

Hello all, I have recently acquired a small, two inch Red Ear Slider turtle and have had it roughly a week and a half. As of now he is in a 20 gallon (long) aquarium, there is no water heater (yet), his dose of UVB rays comes from me letting him outside for roughly 30 minutes - an hour daily, the rocks in his aquarium are rough stones that I built into a sort of mountain in the center. The rocks cover a Fluval 2 submersible filter; what i did with it was take one of the two screen inserts and switched it with one from my current 10 gallon fish filled cycled aquarium in order to get the bacteria started. As for a basking area he currently has a 60W incandescent spotlight in the center of the aquarium over the rocklike mountain i have constructed.

I feed him Wardley Reptile sticks, cucumber, carrots, and well, thats about it. Now i have a few questions for you guys about my set up. I know there is a 1 inch - 10 gallon rule, so how big will he get within the year or so? I want to know so I can prepare ( I already am but...) for when i have to get a bigger tanks for him. Also, is my filter adequate for the tank size and for my turtle? How often should do water changes? (As of now it weekly) Now, I dont want to take him outside every day, how much is a UVB light? Will a regular flourecent light work? Can i use a black light and turn it on at night? How long can he sustain roughly 70 F water for? What else should I be feeding him? How can a add extra oxygen to my water? Are the type of rocks im using ok? Finally, how fast will he grow, and how long will he live?

Sorry i have a huge chunk of questions I just want to make sure my turtle will be happy and live long enough until I can get a better filter and larger tank.

[untsmurf]

a lot of your questions can be answered here:
http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_care.html
So do some reading and see what you can find. It's chalk full of great info.

As for your questions, I'll run through as many as I can,
-make sure none of the rocks are small enough to fit into his mouth, if he can fit
them in his mouth, he will eat them and can die of impaction
-make sure the rocks are sturdy and will not collapse on top of him if he starts digging around
-I believe I had a submersible fluval in my smaller tanks and it worked alright, it wasn't great for water circulation and i found that a lot of debris was getting trapped in the rocks and messing with the chemical balance of the water.
-uvb bulbs cost around $15 and they last about a year. they should be pointed at the same spot your heat bulb is pointed at. Check the label and make sure you don't position the light too close to the basking area, this can result in damage to your turtle's eyes.
-within the first year, they usually grow to be about 4'' and then they grow about an inch or so every year after that until they reach their adult size. the average size tank recommended for an adult turtle ranges anywhere from 75-125 gallons depending on the turtle's size
-wardley pellets aren't bad, i use them along with reptomin pellets. mazuri is also a highly sought after brand of pellets. as your turtle is still small you don't necessarily need to worry about the veggies, but if he's eating them then go for it. there's a list of all acceptable foods on the link i gave you
-with a tank that size, once a week cleaning sounds good. take out about 25% of the water and replace it with new water. you can get some test strips in the fish section of any pet store to test your pH, nitrites, nitrates, etc. Also, you can top off your tank as needed for evaporation.
-i'm not sure about the blacklight. it's definitely not needed. they don't give off any decent amount of heat so it's not giving the turtle anything. i don't know if it's in their visible spectrum, if it is, it might mess with their day/night cycle. im not sure on this though so do some reading and wait for more comments
-70* is a bit on the chilly side, you should warm it up to about 78* Water that is too cold can cause a turtle to become inactive and less responsive. A loss of appetite may also occur and your turtle may think it will be going into hibernation. A situation where it is too cool for normal behavior and not cold enough for actual hibernation is referred to as a “death zone”. If the conditions are not correct your RES will become more susceptible to illness and may need medical attention. A submersible heater shouldn't cost more than $20 for a tank that size.
-You shouldn't need to oxygenate your water. do you have a specific reason for wanting to do this? Adding bubble stones help to aerate your water and they keep the surface moving to prevent stagnation and water lines on your tank.

If you add a floating basking area, you can remove all the rocks and provide your turtle with a cleaner tank with more swimming room. Also, getting a stronger filter always reduces the amount of necessary cleaning. Lastly, I recommend getting a top for your enclosure that will secure your tank and allow you to fill the tank up almost completely. This will supply more swimming room and it will take longer for the water to get dirty.

[Caphits]

Ok, Im gonna attempt to answer this post. It is a whopper!

1. It will probably be around 4" after the first year. It sounds like it has been a few months since he was hatched, so maybe a little bigger.

2. For the filter, you want one that will filter 5x the amount of water in your tank.

3. I think weekly water changes of 10-25% should be good. Never do full water changes, unless you really have to (like poison falls into the tank or something)

4. UVB is very important for turtles. It allows them to process the calcium in their diet. 2 highly recommeneded bulbs are Reptiglo, and Reptisun. Reptiglo is around 20 bucks, whereas the Reptisun is around 40. Buy the 5.0 tropical version.

4.5. No, a regular flourecent light wont work.

5. There is absolutly no need to have any sort of light on during the night.

6. For water temperature, it should be around 75 F. Get a submersible water heater. Also get an underwater thermometer to check the water temperature.

7. You should feed him mostly pellets. I like the brand reptomin. It is easily available at walmart, and is pretty inexpensive. You should also include some red or green leaf lettuce (Not iceburg). Dont be surprised if your turtle doesnt love it.

8. There is no need to add oxygen to the water. Turtles breathe air.

9. As long as the rocks are pretty big, you are fine. They should be bigger than your turtles head, so they dont try to eat them. (THEY WILL EAT GRAVEL! which is not good.) A Floating dock is an easy way to maximize swimming area though.

10. Your turtle will grow to 4" the first year (as said above), then around 1" per year after that, until full grown. Males can reach sizes of around 9". Females can get up to 12-14"

11. A properly cared for turtle can live 40 years or longer. So they are a very long time companion.

I hope all of that made sense. I did the best I could

Edit: Ah! Someone beat me to it.

[Gianni989]

I thought the oxygen would be good for the bacteria actually (thats why i was wondering). Also, thanks alot for the link I appreciate it, I'm assuming this means I should probably grab another light then?

Also below is a picture, the rocks are large enough that he wont be eating them any time soon.

(Sorry I couldn't get it in better quality)


Thanks for the replies, I'm just trying to make sure he actually lives to be forty .

[Caphits]

The screen on top will block almost all UVB. You are either gonna have to cut a hole where the UVB will be, or get some eggcrate (Light diffuser) for the lid. The holes in eggcrate allow all of the UVB to get to the basking area.

[Gianni989]

Oh, more questions. I realize the rocks definitely reduce swim area, overall area, as well as filter efficiency. What I'm more worried about is his plastron being injured. Where can I get perhaps an acrylic platform such as the one shown here http://www.redearslider.com/basking_platform.html?

Really? The screen messes with the UVB that much eh? I suppose I could cut a hole in it where the light will come through.

Also if I take out the rocks could I add more water? Or would that not work out well?

[jozzep]

Oh, more questions. I realize the rocks definitely reduce swim area, overall area, as well as filter efficiency. What I'm more worried about is his plastron being injured. Where can I get perhaps an acrylic platform such as the one shown here http://www.redearslider.com/basking_platform.html?

Really? The screen messes with the UVB that much eh? I suppose I could cut a hole in it where the light will come through.

Also if I take out the rocks could I add more water? Or would that not work out well?

You can buy a turtle dock at petco or petsmart......
Also if the tank came with a screen, then most likely it's a "critter cage" for snakes or geckos and not meant to hold water.Read the label (if there is one) and make sure.If it's an "aquarium" then just get rid of the screen but make sure you don't raise the water too high so the turtle can escape.

[untsmurf]

You can take out the rocks and raise the water level, just make sure you provide a basking area for your turt(s). If you see your turt struggling to swim to the top of the tank, just add some plants or decorations the turtle can rest on on their way to the top. Also, make sure the top of your tank is secured with a lid that your turt can not push up. They are great climbers and are very strong.

[Gianni989]

Ok, update here!

I've moved him into my room, he now has a real turtle dock, the water level's raised, and the water is kept @ 74-76 degrees, or so my water therm tells. (its in the water not on the glass, no heater in water yet, room temp).

Now look at the pics below.

(the UV light seen is actually a mirror)



The light is a 24" Reptiglo 5.0

I'm worried that

A: My UV light wont work in such a position, ie, it wont give my turtle the necessary UV rays, and

B: That it will damage his eyes.

I dont know how to raise my light though, so will this current set up work? Or am i going to have to purchase a device that raises the light?

[untsmurf]

If you're worried that the light isn't reaching the basking area, you can create a top out of egg crate (light diffuser). A 4'x2' sheet costs about $11 from your local hardware store. It's plastic so a pair of wire cutters is all you need to cut through it. Then you can ziptie it into a square shape and rest your light on top. That's what I do with the fluorescent light over my water. It also insures that your turtle won't be able to escape! And since your water level is higher now, the risk of escaping is increased...

Other than that your tank looks great!

[Gianni989]

Well, he's about an inch and a half wide so... I don't foresee him climbing up roughly 3 inches any yet :\ And i need a little more explanation on that whole egg grate process. honestly I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm not worried that the light isnt reaching the basking area, I'm more worried that the light isnt reaching ANYTHING in the tank, i just want to be sure he's getting his UV rays is all.

And so the current set up wont hurt his eyes then?


and thanks!

[untsmurf]

It shouldn't hurt his eyes, just watch for any swelling or rubbing on his eyes.

The UV rays don't really penetrate the water anyways, so it's not important that it gets into the rest of the tank. As long as the rays are getting to the basking area, that's all that matters.

And turtles are great climbers, while he's only 1.5'' he could very easily get on his dock and use the suction cups as a boost to grab the ledge. And if he can touch the ledge, he can pull himself out. They are unbelievable climbers.

[Gianni989]

Oh... snap... Well I have a screen as you've seen, I suppose I could start cutting away at it.

Now, when I put my hand on his basking area, my hand does reflect the blue light of the florescent light (actually it does that inside the entire tank). Does this mean the UV rays are reaching the basking area? Or just the visible light is?

I notice he also likes to chill out on top of the filter, is this alright too? (My hand is blue when on the filter as well, but there is no heat lamp on that side)

[untsmurf]

you should be alright with the uv rays then.

You have an internal filter?? I used to have one and my turtle slept on it all the time. i think it was because of the vibrations, but i dont know. It's totally fine though. As long as there isnt anything that would suck your turtle onto the filter and not allow him to get off and get some air, you're good.

You can cut up your screen to let the UV through. If it doesn't work , the egg crate is really cheap and you can make it look however you want.

[Gianni989]

Ok so, he now has a heater, water temp @ 79, a UVB Light, Heat light, everything's set up now! Woo.

I feed him one pellet and a small shred of Turnip leaf a day.

I have noticed that his shell is turning black... this concerns me. Also am I feeding him to much? Pics:



Notice the black outlines of his shell, some of them are transparentish. Is he pyramiding? Dieing? What?!