Urgent Care :: help with turtle setup and maybe dead turtle

[crazyturtle]

thanks SpotsMama and industrial_girl both your words have convinced me to buy another turtle and try again... but the problem is I live in NJ and they don't sell turtles in pet stores in jersey the only place to find them is china town where they keep like fifty in a bucket that is where I got my first one and where my friend bought his as well... the only way I can buy a turtle is if I buy one online.... I was thinking of a online site ... if you have any suggestions it would be great... I don't like the idea of shipping a turtle one day air but I don't want a china town turtle again..

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Dont buy from any of those online sellers,they have a realy bad reputation,trust me.If anything get one from www.turtlehomes.org its free and you live close to them,plus these people actually care for they're animals and treat them right.

[crazyturtle]

thanks SpotsMama and industrial_girl both your words have convinced me to buy another turtle and try again... but the problem is I live in NJ and they don't sell turtles in pet stores in jersey the only place to find them is china town where they keep like fifty in a bucket that is where I got my first one and where my friend bought his as well... the only way I can buy a turtle is if I buy one online.... I was thinking of a online site ... if you have any suggestions it would be great... I don't like the idea of shipping a turtle one day air but I don't want a china town turtle again..

[SpotsMama]

I'm going to show how ignorant of geography I am (please don't tell anyone!) but is New Jersey within any kind of reasonable distance of Pennsylvania? About 200 healthy little turtles were rescued from a river about a month ago by George (see this link http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6922). I'll bet he's still got a few! Another member of the forum - Mybrosteve took about 15 of them and is also adopting them out. Industrial got one.

If it sounds at all feasible - why don't you PM or email them and arrange to see one?

[crazyturtle]

thanks spotMama just pm him... xsavingssaturdayx will be checking that out as well.. thanks everyone again... great community we have here...

wow I just checked out turtle homes they have one long application..

[mkoby]

I just had to add my 2 cents!

It is NOT your fault!

My girlfriend and I both got our hatchlings the day after Thanksgiving at a flea market. They were in a tank with lots of other turts and the water was so dirty you couldn't see through it! I didn't know any better. I did my research after the fact.

My turt appeared to be very happy and active swimming around his 10 gallon complete setup. I believe I did everything right too. I did a lot of research and purchased everything he would need according to this board. He died less than 3 weeks later. This was after 3 trips to the vet in one week! My girlfriend's turt was a lot more active and actually seemed ok. He just passed a week or 2 ago. Sometimes it just takes longer for syptoms to appear.

Industrial_Girl_2000 convinced me to get another turtle. She met me at a petstore and picked out Rascal. She is sooooo different from Squirt. She eats out of our hands, swims all over her tank and basks like crazy. She also devours her veggies!

Aside from looking for growth in the shell, we also made sure the shell wasn't soft. Her eyes were clear. We also watched her swim around and made sure she wasn't lopsided. We held this turt for at least 15 minutes before we decided to take her. I don't think there was a turt we didn't look at!

I'm sorry for your loss and good luck in the future!

[grey goose]

I'm really thinking it might have been the reptisun 10.0(not compact bulb) or the water temp..

How close is that 10.0 UVB bulb? Is there a reflector in that hood? Even a 10.0 fluorescent bulb should be minimum 12" from the basking area. Reflectors can double the UVB output of these bulbs.....it could be too much for a baby to handle.

[crazyturtle]

it is like six inches away and there is a reflector on it.... but it is sitting on a screen so that should filter out some of the UVB but I still have concerns so I replaced it with my sun-gloo bulb.. that was the first bulb I bought.. I don't know if it has UVB because the box never said anything about it but it is a reptile bulb so I guess it has it... but yea I am concerned about the reptisun being too much..

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I'm glad you've decided to get another turtle- just think about it in the sense that you gave these 2 little turtles, who were most likely sick to begin with, a really nice home for the little time that they did live! Your most recent little one was obviously sick already being so small after so long and he got to chase around fish and ghost shrimp and enjoy a huge 20 gallon tank before he died instead of being crammed in a 10 gallon tank with 3 other turtles! You'll be and have been a great turtle parent, it just stinks that hatchlings are so fragile and are more times then not, kept in the incorrect conditions before they're brought home which makes them more prone to being sick! Alot of people go into buying a turtle having NO idea what they're getting themselves into (i.e. me) lol so it's good that you have this site with very experienced people to tell you what to look for and what you need before you go into buying another turtle! Good luck with everything! Keep us posted on the new little one once you get him/her!

[SpotsMama]

I agree with Grey Goose - the 10.0 UVB bulb was too close. Don't know what effect that might have had on the turtle. My guess is that it might have hurt his eyes - in which case they would have been swollen and irritated - and that it would have discouraged him from basking. I don't see how it could possibly have led to his death.

For future reference, a turtle really needs good UVB - just not too much. But any bulb where the packaging doesn't say how much UVB it's providing probably isn't providing enough to do your turtle any good. If the bulb is providing a decent level of UVB, then it will say how much on the packaging. I doubt that the sun glow bulb would do your next turtle any good. Probably should re-think the UVB lighting for next time.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Crazyturtle,

You should meet up with mybrosteve (real name is Kyle) on this board who has many healthy babies that need to be adopted (I had a hard time making up my mind since they were ALL healthy & looked great). Kyle lives in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia and if you are in NJ you are NOT far from him. I drove from Detroit area & stopped in Atlantic City NJ on the way out just because it was so close to Philly! For you a roadtrip would be no problem at all.

My baby hatchling came from Kyle's rescued babies. 2 weeks later, my adopted baby is eating like a pig & doing great. So PM "mybrosteve" and see if you can meet up with him. Good luck!