Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Speedy And Ricochet

[Ferd]

Hey everybody! I just got 2 turtles about a month ago after putting in some studying time on the little fellas and decided i needed a new pet. I have two RES, speedy and ricochet. They are currently in a 20 gallon long tank and are just lovin it. I have a Tetrafauna Decorative reptofilter that acts as a waterfall, a few river rocks to fill in the dangerous spots, more river rocks that form a basking spot that stays moist and warm, and a huge rock in the corner for them to swim about. I also have a few plastic plants for hiding purposes too. i have a basking lamp that gives off heat and a repti glo 5.0 tropical lamp. The little turtles like to climb up on top of the water fall and lay off to the side of the basking lamps light. However, i do not now how to put a picture on this webscite, but i do have piscutes. If some one could tell me then i could put them on. Anyways, if there are any helpfull hints, about the turtles, anyone can spare, im all ears![/img]

[missibsu]

Welcome! I love your turtles names!

To post pictures you will need to find a site that will host your pictures. I use www.photobucket.com It's free and easy to use. After you have uploaded the pic to their site, you copy the image (img) link and paste it right in your message. You will probably have to reduce the image size first, but it's trial and error. For step by step instructions, use the sticky in the photo gallery section.

Before I learned how to do that, I posted the pics on my yahoo photo album and then provided the link...that works too.

[sonyj]

Welcome to the forum.

There is a sticky with instructions on how to post a pic located at the top of the photo gallery section of the forum.

I just wanted to comment on something in your post that concerned me. When you said you had river rocks for their basking area and it stays moist and warm, this is not the ideal basking area to keep them healthy. For one thing, it takes up valuable swimming space in a small tank already. And an important note here is that their basking area should not be moist. They need a very dry place to climb up to dry off all parts of their shell, both the carapace and the plastron. If their shell can not dry out thoroughly they will develope shell problems. I would invest in a floating dock that stays on top of the water as to provide them with both of these important requirements.

[Ferd]

They do have dry areas where they can stay completely dry. They love to climb on top of the waterfall/ filter and bask up there. Also, by moist i meant that the edges of the rock stay damp while the rest is completely dry. I apoligize for the mis type

[sonyj]

Good. As long as they are basking under the UVB and heat bulbs and drying off completely each time you shouldn't have problems.

[Ferd]

could the lamp be too strong? i have the lamp over the waterfall and they love to get right up on top of the filter and stick their legs out to get right under the lamp

[missibsu]

I personally would worry if they could get on the filter, because from there it is an easy way out of the tank. UVB lights shouldn't be any closer than 6 - 10 inches...some bulbs even further away. What kind of bulb do you have?

[sonyj]

Their lamps ( both the UVB bulb and the heat bulb) should be over their basking area. They need the heat to help digest their food and regulate their body temps as they are cold-blooded, and they need the UVB bulb to maintain healthy shells and bones. Try placing them over the basking area as much as possible so that their basking temp will be between 88-90F.

It sounds like they are trying to go where the heat and light are... trying taking it to them (or actually where they should be basking).

[Ferd]

My turtles are under 1 inch in diameterso i am not worried about hem escaping. No, i didn't purchase them illegally. I did get them in Kentucky wher i had to sign off that they were for educational purposes. technically, they have two spots to bask, one is about 3 inches below the other one and 6 inches from the top alltogether. the turtles love to climb to the top one, the filter/waterfall, for no apparent reason. However, the other one is easier to reach. Which one should i go with?

[sonyj]

I can't really comment on which basking area for you to use with out seeing your setup... but keep in mind that you need to fill the tank with as much water as you can so use a basking area that will allow you to do this. And of course when you fill it up be sure there's enough room left at the top so they can't escape.

[Ferd]

i have pictures, but i cant get them on here. I tried to use photobucket but the page would freeze on me every time i reached it. Is there another way to put pics on here?

[sonyj]

Try imageshack.us That's what I use most of the time.

[Ferd]

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7/turtles006lw2.jpg

This at least gives an idea of what the cage looks like. This is the best picture i have of the full cage

[missibsu]

A couple of things that I would mention based on the picture...

The window leave a potential for a cool draft or too much sunlight. Either way it can cause the temps in the tank to fluxuate and cause sickness.

Is the UVB light resting on a screen? If it is, make sure the holes are larger than 1/2 inch, or it will filter out the beneficial rays.

RES love to swim, and they would have more swimming room if some of the rocks were removed and the water level raised. Have you thought about a turtle dock that floats on the water?

[Ferd]

about the window... it leads into the house itself. Also the screen holes are smaller than 1/2 an inch. where could i find a better lid? about the design, the turtles will climb up on to the basking rock just above the water level and sleep there. It doesnt take up much space and the turtles are still small, so they have the entire right end of the cage to swim in. Even so should it still be taken out?