Urgent Care :: Took over care of a turtle.

[richieboy]

About a year ago my brother was given a RES. I had no idea how it had to be cared for. He kept it in a room in a tank. No heater, no uv light. The tank actually got pretty dirty before it was cleaned. And for the past 2 months it was kept in a room with no windows! He moved and the turtle was left in my care. I did some research and had no idea how much care a turtle needs. So first thing i did was buy this uva/uvb/heat lamp. The turtle almost immediately climbed up to bask in light (it did have a platform to bask). I don't have the means to go out and buy a filter and heater. The lamp cost about a hundred. WIll the turtle be ok with not being in light for months? It acts normal, swims, eats. I don't see any signs of bad health that I read from the site. Except for a very light red patch on the back of her neck. I should be able to get a filter and heater in a week. Thanks!

[Anette]

As long as the water is room temperature and not a ridiculous temperature like 50 below it should be fine. It would probably bask like crazy until you get him a heater, in order to get his internal temperature where it should be.
Any long term problem he could have from being in the dark for too long would probably be shell related. So just check for any abnormalities. But turtles are surprisingly strong, he will probably be okay, even after being in the dark for so long. The lighting you got for him/her will help it greatly.

[Miss Tee]

Proper care of turts IS expensive, and most people (including myself 2 months ago!) don't have a clue.
Sounds like you are doing the right thing...Good Luck!

[richieboy]

The shell looks just fine and my room is usually in the 70s. The tank is 4ft long, 2ft high and a foot wide. It's water has a LOT of particles floating around. I changed the water and it's still there. Should I scrub the tank? With soap? It's about half way filled.

[Anette]

NO dont use soap, it could hurt the turtle's eye. If you must scrub use water to scrub. If you really want to clean the tank, you might have to do a full water change, and use a solution of half water/half vinegar, and then rinse the vinegar off the tank. That's the only thing I ever use to clean my turtles tank. Put the vinegar/water in a spray bottle and have it handy for whenever you need to clean the tank.

*EDIT* meant to say to put the vinegar solution in a spray bottled.

[richieboy]

Okay. So I noticed that when she's basking she's closing her eyes. Closing...then opening. Is that normal? The light is about a foot away. I think I should change the water...

[missibsu]

It is normal for her to close her eyes. Just wait until you get the superman pose and she puts her legs up in the air too! You might want to invest in a themometer too, they don't cost that much and it will let you know if your basking temps are ok. While she is enjoying her basking area, you don't want it to get too warm and burn her.

[richieboy]

I dunno.. She's moving slowly and looks like she's rubbing her eyes. I just changed the water and let it sit over night. Just put her in. I'm leaving for work now. Something doesn't look right. I think.

[Love of Animals]

What temp is the water and the basking area? Are her eyes crusty?

[richieboy]

There is no crust. I am unsure of the temps. I'm gonna have to get a thermometer. The tank water is crystal clear now. I'm hoping the temp is in the 70's. We have the heat on. I don't yet have a water heater either. I feel bad for the little guy. Hopefully things look better when I get home.

[Love of Animals]

What size tank is she in? Without a filter the water can get pretty bad quickly even if it looks crystal clear. If the ammonia levels are high in the tank it could irritate her eyes. $100.00 dollars for a lamp is a lot of money. What kind of lamp did you get? Look up budget turtle keeping. There are some really good ways to save money. You an even try a DIY filter. You can look them up too.
How often do you change the water without a filter? Do you use a chlorine remover? Chlorine can irritate the eyes as well.

[Love of Animals]

Here is a link on this forum for a DIY filter. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14460
You can also look them up on you tube.

[richieboy]

Tank is 60 gal. I been changing it every week. Now im letting the water sit overnight. First time I didn't and used hot water to warm it up. I realize this was wrong now. I'm gonna look at this diy filter. I bought a MVB bulb and a clamp, bulb was $70 and fixture was $25. Just so I know priority wise should i get a filter next, then heater?

Okay, looking for a filter to buy http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUARIUM-FISH-TANK- ... 230defca0a - would something like this suffice? I have the water about 2/3 full. This does 100gal and i have about 40 gal of water in it.

[Anette]

priority wise, I would get the heater next.

[Love of Animals]

Try to get the heater next and do partial water changes everyday. For the filter you want something that is rated 3 to 5 times more than the water amount. Filters are rated for fish and turtles are messier. Also as the turtle grows you'll want to add more water and not have to upgrade your filter so try to get something a little larger than that one. If you can't that one will do, you'll just have to do more frequent water changes and more filter maintenance. I think for the heater you want one that will be 3 to 5 watts per gallon.