Aquarium Turtle

[paul_219]

Ah yeah i see i haev some not all.

 

[aaronnorth]

can you list your whole set up please?

 

[paul_219]

Just a tank with stones filter heater gravel background and air pump.

 

[england]

these are my sisters terps,,,
shes getting them a 5ft/2ft/2ft soonish

 

[Efren]

cool pics nelly - -

 

[paul_219]

Nice pics nelly. What size of tank u have.

 

[paul_219]

What setup u have and what do u feed them?

 

[aaronnorth]

buy a dock, and get a basking lamp ASAP, a household bulb can be used, just put it further or closer to the spot where they will be basking to achieve the correct temperature of 30-35C.

Also get a UVB light - this is extremely important for the turtles shell. get a minimum of 5.0% output. 8.0% or 10.0% is better still.

By getting both od these it alows the turt to absorb D3 and calcium (you provide this) effectiveley and the shell will be in top condition.

Please get these, your turts need them.

What size tank are they in?

 

[paul_219]

What size of tank should i get for them. They are temporally now in a 29 gal tank.

 

[aaronnorth]

To work out how much water volume (note that's water volume which is different to tank volume) your turts require you need to measure them, you do this the same way as you measure tortoises which is to measure the Straight Carapace Length or SCL. The correct way to measure is in a straight line from the front edge to the back edge of the carapace (upper shell), ignoring the curve of the shell and the head and tail.

When you know the SCL (in inches) multiply it by 40 to give the minimum water volume required, eg a 2" turt will require a minimum 80 litres, a 3" 120 litres, 4" 160 litres etc...
If you have more than one turt then allow 40 litres per inch for the biggest one, plus 20 litres per inch for each additional turt.
Remember that these are minimum amounts, more is always better!

When you come to select a tank you have to bear in mind that in most cases you won't be able to fill it right to the top, this is because they need dry land to bask. If you are a bit of a DIY person, you can build a basking spot above the tank to allow more water volume. see here (scroll down to basking area) - http/www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm



i would reccomend you have a good look through this website, it is an excellent source for details:

http/www.austinsturtlepage.com/

 

[paul_219]

OK i got your point. I will do as u said and for light is fluorescent light or they need a Uv light. What can i do the bask from i mean i do i put on the ground.

 

[aaronnorth]

the light has to be UVB with the outputs i mentioned earlier.

for the basking, it can be anything, cork bark is quite often used for a DIY docking station or you can buy them. Bogwood can be used. I think there is an article on the website i gave you earlieer abut building one.

If oyu want any more questions answering i would use reptile forums UK - its not that people wont have any good answers on here but it specialises in turtles so you will get far better answers - i am only a begginer myself and i have learnt everything i have told you from there.

 

[paul_219]

Ah ok just how much time should the turtle stay outside the water. Where can i get a ubv u have any info about it. Can u send me the website by Pm.

 

[aaronnorth]

turtles stay outside as long as they want too, they usually bask to warm up, then take a dip and cool off :wink:

just have a ledge leading to the water so they can climb in and out.

I'll PM you about UVB.

 

[paul_219]

OK man thanks. I will setup a 5 gal tank to see how it work. What type of turtles u got.