Photo Gallery :: Photos of my setup and RES

[pretty.rock.machine]

Here are some pictures, as promised. I bought him a little treasure chest, some times he likes to climb up on it to get a breath. I still haven't gotten him to eat, but I've given up trying for now. Until he gets adjusted.

I have no idea why he has himself jammed up between the deck supports and the glass. I got him out of there once, because I was worried about him. But he went back again. He finally left, and he's now chillin'.

That's a Whisper 20i filter. Any comments or helpful suggestions would be nice. I plan on adding more water later, when he adjusts a little better.





The white thing at the bottom is his cuttlebone. I'm confident that he can get himself out of anywhere he sticks himself. Is there a reason he likes tight spots?

[sassygirl]

Oh can I relate to sticking themselves into small places

I have a pvc platform in my tank - my res pries herself between the pvc and the tank glass all the time. When they want to feel secure they hide - I think this is one of their hiding techniques. You may want to put the water level higher now - changing anything in the tank will make them uneasy so try to do it as infrequently as possible.

One tip on your setup - since he is insecure in his new surroundings - get him some water plants to help block him from the world - my res became much more at ease when I added all of her plants, plus they love to eat the arachnis.

[flutterby]

I would raise the water level as well. And it is reccomended that you have larger rocks so they don't eat them and become impacted.

[pretty.rock.machine]

I learned about the small rocks after I put them in. I didn't think it would be too much of a problem while he was small. When he starts to grow I plan on putting larger rocks.

What kind of plants would work? And how do you clean with plants in there?

[flutterby]

Plants you can get at pet stores, garden centers, there is a list in the food forums. Most plants we've had float on top, it gives something for the baby to hang on to while they get used to the set up.


Though I love the name, I had a Rottweiler/Chow (big ole black dog) that I named Sid after Sid Vicious. Too bad she hung herself.

Had a parakeet named Syd. He died too, got killed by Jo, she was the black widow of parakeets, killed all of the ones we put with her.

[cam722]

Yep, raise the water level and get some plants. I'd change the rocks sooner than later, maybe the next cleaning?? You can go to a store like Home Depot, Lowes etc and get a bag of landscaping rocks, or even get rocks outside. Just make sure you clean them throughly.

My turtles also wedge themselves behind/under things. Never thought of it as hiding though. Mostly they do it to try to get whatever is attached to the tank off.

hahaha.. Jo a black widow.. and she was a white parakeet.. but she was nasty!! She could also meow like our cat.. use to drive me crazy going around looking for the cat trying to see if she was locked in a room and it was the gosh darn bird.

[pretty.rock.machine]

Sounds like you've have some bad luck with "Sid's", flutterby.

So when I clean I need to change the water, wipe any junk that has formed, and put in larger stones. Any other things I've missed?

[flutterby]

Didn't you say you needed to get a heater as well?

[pretty.rock.machine]

Yeah. Do you know if they sell any at Wal-Mart? The closest PetSmart is about an hour and a half away. At least until I can buy him a better one. When I move up to college I will be in the same city as where I bought him, and they have tons of supplies. Right now I'm just trying to get stuff so he is comfortable and safe.

[jenaero]

I've never looked for them at Walmart but I heard they have them.

[flutterby]

Walmart has them, I'm not sure of the quality of them. I know they have them next to the whisper filters and such.

[pretty.rock.machine]

Okay. Maybe I'll make a trip to Wal-Mart. I have to work tommorrow so maybe my sister could get it for me. Do you think another night of just leaving the lamp on would be okay?

Also. I'm worried about the rocks. He finally ate a couple food pellets. Should I just scoop it out while he's still in there and then replace it with bigger rocks? The water is only a day old and I'm going to be adding more water when it starts to warm up (bought it at the gas station, a gallon of spring water). I have just been rinsing everything well with tap water and drying with a clean cloth. I've heard people talk about boiling or washing with vinegar... What's the specs with that?

Sorry about so many questions, I just want him to get settled in okay. I'm sure it's quite a shock to a tiny turtle.

[cam722]

Do you have cholorinated water?? if so, you can use it for the tank, you just need to add a decholorinator.. its a lot easier and less expensive than buy water by the gallon. If your water comes from a well, it should be ok as is. Try getting a submersible heater.. they work the best for keeping and maintaining the temp. The over the side ones are horrid. Don't forget some plants too .. even fake ones will work for it to float on/hide.. etc.

As for the rocks, he's really still tiny .. so just wait until the next full cleaning to change them all out. (that's just MHO though)

[pretty.rock.machine]

We have a reverse osmosis at home. When I go up to school I could probably use tap water. How does decholorinator work? I'll be a poor college student then so I won't be able to afford the gallons.

On a full cleaning what should I do? I learned that about every week (depending) you should change 50% water level, if not more, and get rid of the scum if any. I think I might buy a snail to help with that (though I have no problems right now, and it's a small tank anyway).

I've finally added quite a bit of water, but he still hangs out under the filter or under the deck (in the spot pictured. He really likes it, I guess). I think I'm going to buy a cave or something he can hide in/around and place it under the dock so maybe he will start going there instead.

So basically I'm confused on how decholorinator works (is that how you guys get so much water in your outdoor setups?!) and the full cleaning business.

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm really glad that I found a board with so many nice and helpful people. Especially with newbies like me.

[ohiolobo]

The dechlorinators work by a chemical reaction. Usually this is sodium thiosulfate which binds up the chlorine, and breaks up the chloramine, and binds up that resulting chlorine. The breaking up of the chloramine releases ammonia which should be removed, and will be, if you have some form of chemical filtration, like activated carbon for example. The explanation is more complicated than the use. Just put some drops in the water you are adding.

I always treat the water for my turtles now, but I never did for my full grown Reeves turtle. There were no obvious difficulties caused by this. Fish are certainly sensitive to chlorine, and can ultimately have problems with their gills I have read, if subjected to prolonged exposure to chlorine in even small concentrations.