General Care Discussion :: I NEED HELP PLEASE

[oscarflow13]

my turtle is about 5 inches big she is really small i believe she was given to us by a neighbor who kept her in a small container for about a year with the water never going above the turtle's head she would sleep really close to a rock that would cover her head?

we recently bought a bigger tank and i learned from videos that i saw online that the turtle likes to get out the water and dry up so i bought a little island for her. i tried filling up the tank with water above her head so she could swim and she stays in the water but never goes up to the island and in order for her to breath she stretches her neck up to get air she doesn't seem to try to go to sleep to where she always used to sleep (under the rock) which i put on top of the island and she doesnt look like she swims she just glides on the bottom of the tank

what should i do ? should i fill up the tank some more so that she can swim more freely? should i take the water out ? does she just doesnt want to get out of the water ? or she just cant climb the island? how can i tell what to do?

[marisa]

Does the turtle have lighting over the basking area to provide warmth? There should be both a UVB light and heat light. The warmth encourages them to bask. (The basking area should be about 10 degrees warmer that the water temp.)

Is the island easy to climb (is the incline not too steep? Does the surface provide traction?)?_

[oscarflow13]

i dont think shes ever basked and no there is no light above the basking area shes always been in a flat container with water up to her head im working on the island to make it more easy for her to get on it i will try to get the lights but what if she doesnt want to bask because shes used to the water so much is that possible?

[my.lovely.turtle.]

the turtle needs a uvb light and heat light just like marisa said. It will not bask if there is no warmth or reason to. Get those lights, then it will be a different story. and I'm sure she is probably so happy that there is more water now, he or she just needs to get used to it. Please continue to lurk amoung this site and on the main site as well, there are so many good people out there that really know there stuff. and please look at peoples basking pictures and tank setups, it will give you an idea on how a healthy turtle setup would look like. You're doing well, just keep researching!

[oothimus]

Does the UV light need to be at the basking area too? I have the heat light over the basking area and the UV over the water ot swimming area.

[papoopeepoo]

Does the UV light need to be at the basking area too? I have the heat light over the basking area and the UV over the water ot swimming area.

Heat and UV light should be over the basking area. UV lighting over the water is practically useless.

Read through the care pages on the main site: http://www.redearslider.com

Also, the pictures of my setup in my photo gallery (link in my signature) may give you a few ideas.

[oothimus]

Does the UV light need to be at the basking area too? I have the heat light over the basking area and the UV over the water ot swimming area.

Heat and UV light should be over the basking area. UV lighting over the water is practically useless.

Read through the care pages on the main site: http://www.redearslider.com

Also, the pictures of my setup in my photo gallery (link in my signature) may give you a few ideas.

Thanks Chris. We will adjust the lighting as advised.

Mark

[turtle man]

if you wanna give it a good life, youre going to have to spend, at least 65$ for a 20 gallon tank (10 gallon is OK), lighting uva and uvb, a good filter, nutitious food, a heater (should be set at 74 to 79 degrees)
you should fill your tank up 3/4 till the top, and your turt never needs to get out of the water.
question #1what do you feed it
#2 how big is the tank?
#3are you overwhelmed? yes

[marisa]

Your turtle does need to get out of the water to bask under proper lighting. Otherwise, shell problems are inevitable.

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Poor turtle. So he has never basked before? Or swam in deep water?
Put the UV and heat bulbs over the basking area not above the water, the water blocks out all the rays and is completely worthless same thing with glass or fine mesh should not be blocking the basking area.

[turtle man]

I, said what I said, because, it doesnt seem like ooth has adequate lighting, and turtles dont need to get out to "dry" (correct me if, I'm wrong!).

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

They do need to get out of the water to dry off completely.

[marisa]

Consider yourself corrected, turtle man. LIke I said above, without periodically allowing the shell to dry off under proper lighting, a turtle is going to eventually have shell problems.

[oothimus]

Just to tie out here... the new basking area is well used... and I got one of those combo uva/b lights... 100 watts.. and a goose neck clamp lamp for it. Now, it is 12 inches above the new basking area/ramp... and the turtle is up there more often and for longer periods of time. All is well... thanks for the help.

Oothimus

[Joel]

Im suprised this poor thing hasnt died after being kept in a container with no filter, space to swim or basking area!
Great thing you are now providing for him/her.
good on you.