Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 10:39 pm
Instead of reading through the posts on the forum, read through the main site, [url]redearslider.com[/url]
Here's a quick rundown:
housing: the basic rule of thumb is ten gallons per inch of shell, so for a 5-6 incher, you'll want something in the 50-75 gallon minimum. The cheapest ways to set this up are to get a used aquarium off craigslist, buy a rubbermaid tub and enforce the siding, or get what is called a stock tank. Stock tanks are meant to be used as watering troughs so they're cheap, large, and meant to hold water. I did a search the other day and very easily found a 150 gallon one for under $100. Something like that will provide you with a permanent home for the turt until you want to and/or are capable of putting her in some sort of display tank. Note: a display tank is in no way necessary but some people like the look of aquariums better than large plastic tubs.
Filtration: look for a filter that is rated for around 3x the size of the tank you'll be using. You're best bet will be to get what is called a canister filter. It consists of an external case that houses all the filtration media that has tubes running into and out of the tank. For larger tanks, the internal filters and the filters that hang off the back of the tank are just not powerful enough.
Lighting: you're right about the lights. You need either one uva (regular house bulb, just for heating up the basking area) and one uvb (special bulb purchased from pet stores) or one mvb (mercury vapor bulb, provides heat and UVB all in one bulb, but they're more expensive). Once you have the bulbs, go to your local hardware store and purchase the domes to screw them into, its much cheaper than paying for the ones at the petstore. Just make sure that the base is ceramic and not metal or plastic, you don't want anything melting or overheating. These lights need to be placed over the basking area, the UVB will have to be a certain distance away to prevent damaging the turtles eyes (usually about 12'' away, it'll say on the package). Once you have it set up, plug them into a timer and set the timer to go on for twelve hours and off for twelve hours, this is called the day/night cycle.
basking: you want the basking area to be big enough for the turtle to climb completely out of the water and dry off. It's best if the basking area is fixed and not allowed to float freely throughout the tank. The reason is because you need the lighting on it at all times. You want to provide as much water as possible, so don't bother turning half of your tank into a land area. There are turtle floating docks which suction to the wall of the tank that a lot of people use (I used them for years and they work great), there's also something called an ATBA (above tank basking area) there's a sticky post about them in the indoor habitat forum, basically its a custom made basking area (by you) that sits on top of the tank with walls around that the turtle cannot climb out of. This allows you to fill the tank up completely providing the most swimming room. Make sure that whatever one you use, it isn't too rough or your turtles shell will get scratched.
Decorations: substrate (gravel, sand, rocks, etc at the bottom of the tank) is not necessary at all. The easiest way to maintain a clean tank is if the tank is bare bottomed. That being said, gravel can be ingested by the turtle which can lead to impaction and death so do not use it. Quite a few people have had success with sand, there's a sticky thread about that as well for any questions. A layer of large river rocks will work just fine, but again, waste will collect between the rocks dirtying up your water and you won't even see it until it's too late. I keep a handful of larger rocks on the bottom of my tank to give my turtle something to push around and it works great. Plastic plants are great, they add color to the tank and provide the turtle something to play with, swim through, and rest on. Caves, floating logs, etc are nice too, just make sure the turtle has no way of getting stuck in it (meaning its way too small for it to fit in or big enough for the turtle to turn around in). Bubble sticks, wands, discs, etc are great for movement, giving the turtle something to play with, and it breaks up the surface of the water preventing water stains from accumulating on the sides of your tank. Decoration is really based on your taste, if you want to go the whole nine and make the tank look realistic, go for it, if not that's fine too. As long as everything is turtle safe (they love to rip things apart and rearrange decorations) you're fine.
Water heater: yes you need one. Especially for the winter months. We turn our heaters off in the summer because we live in Texas and our summers are ridiculous. Just find a heater that is rated for your tank size and have it on to maintain the necessary temps.
Thermometers: you need a thermometer in the water and one on the basking area, check them daily to make sure nothing is going wrong and your turtle is getting the right temps.
Food: due to the size of your turtle, she should be eating veggies and pellets as opposed to only pellets. There's a list of acceptable greens on the main site and other treats. Make sure not to feed too much protein as that can lead to pyramiding of the shell. We feed Mikey turnip greens about 4 days a week, pellets 2-3 days a week, and he gets occasional fruits or bugs as treats. You don't have to feed anything live if you don't want. Rosy red minnows are a great treat though that don't require any handling on your part, outside of dropping them in.
I think that's everything. Again, look through the main site, it has everything you need to know there.
~Christi
1.0 RES: Mikey R.I.P.
1.0 Het for Albino Red Tail Boa: Kaa ~adopted out
0.0.1 Northern BTS: Petri ~now a well-loved class pet
1.0 Am. Staff Mix: Brutus R.I.P.
1.0 German Shepherd: Pax
1.0 Husband: Will
0.1 Daughter: Lily
The only thing I found on a popular website we use here (Kijiji) is an 80 gallon tank with filter and stand for $200. I don't have a lot of hope for finding a 120 gallon tank, used, for a good price. Great find on your tank though!! I wish something like that could come along for me... hahaha
