Yellow Bellied Turtle Questions?

[Zawiha]

Looks very similar to a red-ear slider.
And looks almost identical to my cumberland slider.
Yellowbellies usually have a blank bellie with maybe a spot or two, yoursis a symetrical pattern

Both get same around size and are amazingly similar

In my opinion cumberlands are nicer anyways!

 

[three-fingers]

here is the tank setup.

Nice, but no UVB?

 

[Zawiha]

here is the tank setup.

Nice, but no UVB?

isnt the UV the strip light?

 

[three-fingers]

That's a little arcadia arc lamp unit, I've never seen UV bulbs that fits them.
And even if there was one, the UVB is filtered out the plastic cover bit, UVB is a very short wave radiation, and as such most things filter it out - including glass and plastic.
That turtle is getting no UVB .

 

[stucolls]

thought the strip light was the UVB to?

how much did the UVB set you back Brooksy?

Im going to get one of the UVB bulbs that do light, UVB and heat all in one I think just for th hex tank for a month or so, its only a temp measure

 

[Zawiha]

That's a little arcadia arc lamp unit, I've never seen UV bulbs that fits them.
And even if there was one, the UVB is filtered out the plastic cover bit, UVB is a very short wave radiation, and as such most things filter it out - including glass and plastic.
That turtle is getting no UVB .

as long as you suppliment the animals with D3 enriched food
(hikari cichlid gold works a treat), you can get past the uv light requirement.
My friend doesnt hv a uv light, does this and hes had his for 20 years.
Gets them annually checked a vetsad they're in tip-top condition ^^

But a Solid UV lights always better in my opinion

 

[stucolls]

ooh I have another question!!

my water filter im gig to use is currently running in my fish tank, do I need to clean it out at all? and If I wanted to put the turtles in the fsh tank, would I need to clean the tank first (obviously without the fish in as I know they will get eaten!!! even though the reptile shop had wat looked like guppies in the turtle tank!)

 

[Zawiha]

them guppies were probly turtle food unfortunately.

Turtles dont require the same amount of water cleanliness as fish,
though its always best to try and provide it.
Your filter sounds fine, and nope. leave the tank the way it is.

unlike fish, turtles dont breath water through gills, they breath air.
(though they can aborb oxygen through their skin).
So water quality isnt of masive importance

 

[stucolls]

cool, brooksy your little fella is really cute!!

Because im using the hex, im going for the map turtles this time rather than yellow bellies although once I move to the 5ft tank I may see if I can mix maps and yellows

 

[brooksy]

I will need to sort a uv light out. What do u reccomend? Can u get uv and heat bulbs combined? I was told at the pet shop when buying the basking light he didn't need uv light!

 

[Zawiha]

cool, brooksy your little fella is really cute!!

Because im using the hex, im going for the map turtles this time rather than yellow bellies although once I move to the 5ft tank I may see if I can mix maps and yellows

unless you get a female map, mixing isnt wise in the long run.
1.maps are more aquatic.
2. male maps are the smaller of the two genders getting 6 inch
male yellow bellies usually get about a foot. FAir size difference.
3. maps are more shy and skittish usually leaving the more confident yellow belly to get most
food.

though with slider species ur free to mix

Not sure about a 2 in one (i dont know if they exist, ive never heard of them)
dosnt sound like a good idea.

 

[stucolls]

The reptile shop had bulbs for £45 which did UV, normal light and heat all in one, they do them on ebay to, just a simple screw in bulb.

Thanks for advei on mixing breeds, may well stick to sliders now then, a little baby would be ok or 1/2 months in my hex

 

[Zawiha]

yeah it'd be fine

Just makesure it goes into the bigger tank as soon as possibly.

Some babies we have grow like crazy ^^

 

[Buslady]

YBS get HUGE (12-15 inches SCL) you will eventually need a 150 gallon tank at minimum if it turns out to be female.
Prolly 2 large cansiter filters and a large enough basking spot to hold her weight. A strong floor to hold the weight as well. Think about a pond later on!

 

[three-fingers]

as long as you suppliment the animals with D3 enriched food
(hikari cichlid gold works a treat), you can get past the uv light requirement.
My friend doesnt hv a uv light, does this and hes had his for 20 years.
Gets them annually checked a vetsad they're in tip-top condition ^^

But a Solid UV lights always better in my opinion

However it's not exactly easy to get the right amount of vitamin D3 in the diet, your friend is obviously great at keeping turtles, but is really just lucky when it comes to the vitamin D3 his turtles have been getting. So many people have big trouble with keeping turtles because they don't provide enough UVB.
[URL="http/www.uvguide.co.uk/vitdpathway.htm"]http/www.uvguide.co.uk/vitdpathway.htm[/URL] - very good read .

It's not even just the UVB from these lamps that's important, the UVA provided helps the reptile too, as reptiles can see UVA while we cant, providing UVA replicates the reptiles natural environment closer and generally perks them up alot.

For things that love to bask like turtles, I would always recommend the best UV bulb possible, and a combined UVB/heat basking bulb (the mercury vapour ones) is by far the best - and especially suited for the larger tanks turtles should be kept in .