Yes, my friend Dave named his boys after Cuff and Link of Rocky fame!
Unlike Mel's boys (Memphis and Nash), Cuff and Link are big guys and thus their situation is more dire. Dave's had them for about two to three years now, I think. Poor size approximation from memory: I'd say their carapaces are 4.5" to 5" front-to-back. I *think* they're boys because I recall seeing long claws. They must be five or six by now.
TANK SIZE: 30g. Fortunately he keeps his boys on his dresser, which is much sturdier than Mel's Ikea sofa table, so he might be able to upgrade to the ideal size almost immediately with a little planning. I told him to look into that and get used to the fact that he can't just carry the tank to the sink anymore for cleaning purposes. Going by the 10g/inch + 50% for additional inhabitant rule, looks like they'll need at minimum an 80g tank. He also owns his apartment and it's also a co-op so I'll have to ask him what his building's bylaws are re: reptiles. I'll advise him to look at Craigslist; pet stores don't do $1/1g sales on tanks bigger than 55g do they?
WATER LEVEL: Last I saw, there was maybe 4" of water. Enough for them to swim back and forth, but that's it. But as soon as I told him about what I read here he said he would add much more water in the interim. As Steve mentioned in my other thread, I don't think there's much he can do about filtration until he settles on a new tank, so I'll hold off here.
LIGHTING: Regular bulb. He had a UV bulb and it broke so he switched to incandescent, but his turtle seller--like Mel's--offered almost no useful knowledge and never expressed the importance of UV rays. I suspect the only Vitamin D they're getting is from pellets. With boys as big as they are, are 5.0 bulbs sufficient or should he move up to 10.0?
