General Care Discussion :: heating overnight

[aldenie]

Hi all, we're new to the turtle thing...

In fact, tonight is going to be Captain Jack's first night with us. He's about three inches and the poor guy is stuck in the dinky 1 gallon plastic tank he came in for the night.

My question is this: right now, he's sitting right next to my table lamp, which I think is providing adequate heat for now (he's up on his rock, chilling out). But tonight, when we go to sleep, I am obviously going to need to turn the light off, and I don't have any sort of heat source for him while that light is off. I can keep my room fairly warm (*maybe* 80F or so), but will that be enough for him tonight?

I'm not going to be able to get him much til next Monday, either. I had no idea what I'd need for him when I agreed to let my mom buy him for my son's birthday. I have about $30 to spend for him, and a 10 gallon tank coming from freecycle. What do I absolutely need to purchase for him (other than food, obviously)?

Any help is appreciated!!

Thanks,
Nicole

[DanielRES1180]

$30 is not enough for all the accesories essential to the care of turtles. You'll need proper lighting, not just a table lamp, but something that provides UV light, or you can just take him out in the sunlight for a couple of hours a week, it'll do.

Other stuff you'll need

• Tank (of course)
• Heat lamp
• Filter
• Water heater
• Basking spot that'll support the weight of the critter
• Floating plants he can rest/sleep on

Keep in mind there's more to the feeding thing than just pellets, you'll need friuts, veggies, and live foods at points but that isn't too often. Everything there is to feed is in
What to Feed Your RES.

Also, remember you'll have to provide 10 gallons per inch of turtle, that means a 10 gallon tank is barely suitable for a 1'' hatchling. As Jack grows, you'll have to try the best to reach this rule.

Allright, you're all set with the basics, unless someone else wants to hop in and add something.

[DanielRES1180]

Welcome to the forum by the way .

[Allusion5275]

Even though I am still a newbie here I think I can help you prioritize the items a bit.

Heater -

For a 10 gallon tank, I very much doubt you need a water heater, if you are using a heat lamp keeping the water cool will be the problem. The advise I am sure you have read is to keep the water temp somewhere around the mid 70s if the turtle is healthy. Given that most people keep their house at that temperature the water will eventually come to the air temperature unless you provide external heating and cooling. So if you add a heat lamp the temp is going to rise. Now if you keep your house temp in the 60s, a heater may be needed, and it may be needed in the winter, but right now I don't think you will need one.

Tank-

10 Gallon is small and you should look to upgrade as large as you can soon. Temperature regulation is much easier in a big tank and it gives the turtle room to grow and quality of life and it will make your water changes less frequent (but not stop them).

Lighting and Heat-

This is a much debated discussion. My advice is to get a good quality UV light that produces both UVA and UVB. Many models out there do it well. UVA is good for well being and normal behaviour, UVB is needed for calcium absorbtion and health. Next is the heat portion. One way to do this is to get a heat lamp. The other way to get this is via what is called a mercury vapor bulb. The MVB produces visible light, UVA, UVB and heat. So it is the all in one solution. Some people use a ceramic heat bulb so that they can use it at night. The MVB bulbs are expensive though. So...it's not a cheap problem to fix correctly. Maybe in your case get a UVA/UVB bulb for now and see if that gives enough heat. Later you can get the more expensive stuff.

Filter-
Lots of turtle sites will give good advice on this topic, my advice is to get more filter than you need but not something that sets up a horrible current.

Floating plants -

Mine love these and sleep in them a lot.

Thermometer (s) -

I use one of the simple little stick on ones on the side of the tank to give water temp. I use a more advanced digital one with a probe for measuring the basking spot.


Hope these tips help and I am sure some of the more senior folks will add some of their own.


Luke

[DanielRES1180]

Since you have more severe winters than FL cooloffs, I might advise keeping a water heater at hand for the winter or any freak chill.

[sonyj]

Until you get him into the correct setup try keeping the room temp up to keep the water from getting too cool. Just remember that the sooner you can get him into the proper habitat the better off he will be and the less chance he will have of getting sick.

Start by reading here: http://www.redearslider.com/index_about.html

When getting a tank/habitat set up for him, try going as large as you can now to save you money in the long run. Remembering that when fully grown he/she will need between 90-120 gallons depending on sex will help. The minimum size tank he needs now is 30 gallons but you will have to upgrade as soon as grows, so go larger if at all possible.

Insuring that he has the correct water and basking temps are extremely important in his habitat to keep him from becoming ill (which is why getting him into his permanent home ASAP is important). For his size, the water temp should be between 72-75F and the basking temp should be between 88-90F.

You will need a basking area that will not take up too much of his swimming space (floating dock or something similar) with the heat light and the UVB light directly above the basking area. Many on here use a regular household bulb for the heat light and a UVB bulb that emits at least 7-10% UVB rays. As mentioned above MVB is an option that takes care of both but due to the high heat it produces it shouldn't be used in tanks smaller than 50 gallons.

You will need a filter rated for at least 3x's the size of tank you have. Filters are rated for fish which are not as messy as turtles. Investing in a good filter is a must.

A heater is a must since a turtles health depends on his water temp not becoming too cool.

You will need to buy a good reputable pellet as the staple of his diet. Pellets should be fed once-a-day every other day for a turtle his age/size and only the amount that would fit inside his head if it were hollow. Veggies should be fed daily especially dark leafy greens such as green or red leaf lettuces, romaine, dandelion leaves. See the feeding sticky for more info.

Hope this helps. Read through the forum and main site as well as look at some of the great pics in the Photo Gallery section. If you have any more questions just ask.

[sonyj]

And just a little PS to the above...

How old is your son? Just wanting to warn you early on that a turtle is a watch and not touch pet and the primary care will be on your shoulders if your son is younger (not a teen ).

[aldenie]

thanks guys!

Logan is just now 5... he understands that Jack is a 'look, not play' sort of thing.

I made a late night run to Meijer, and I managed to scrape together enough for a 10 gallon tank, a basking setup, and food. We're military, and I get my allotment from DH at the beginning of the month so I'm stretching it. lol...

This is definitely not a long-term setup... this is just to get us through the week. I am babysitting next week which will give me the rest of my setup money.

Thanks again guys... I'll have a pic up as soon as I finish his setup.

Nicole

[sonyj]

That's good to hear... I can't wait to see pics of him.

BTW, I'm assuming that Capt. Jack is a "pirate" turtle. Cute name... we just went to watch Pirates 2 this afternoon.

[aldenie]

sorry for the double post, but...

as you all will quickly find out, my sense of measurement is skewed...

Jack is approximately 1.5 in. by ruler.

nicole

[aldenie]

Here are the pictures of Captain Jack in his new tank... the gravel on his basking island has since been removed. Logan thought that would be cool to put in there, not realizing he could choke. Any comments or suggestions would be welcome.

[missibsu]

Welcome from a fellow Buckeye! Looking at your pics...I'm assuming that the next to last pic is of the 10 gallon tank? If so, go ahead a fill it up. Capt. Jack will love to swim. Also, if you have a filter, or are getting one, then it will help the quality of your filtration. If you haven't gotten the UVB light yet, you can take him outside on sunny days for some sunlight. Just be sure to provide some shade as well, and constant supervision!

[aldenie]

yep, that's the 10 gal.

I threw this all together at about 10:30 tonight... I'll probably finish filling it up tomorrow, and rearranging things to where I want it, but for now, he seems pretty pleased. He hasn't stopped swimming laps for about 10 minutes now. It's a huge step up from the plastic carrier so I think we'll be ok for another day or so.

Nicole

[aldenie]

well, Jack made it through the first night...

I can't tell you how relieved I am. I honestly thought I'd wake up and have to clean up before Logan woke up. We had fish about a year ago with not much luck... of course, we were living in CA and the water wasn't all that great, but that's a whole other subject.

Thanks again everyone for your great advice.

Nicole

[missibsu]

Turtles can withstand more than fish, but it wouldn't hurt to get a good water conditioner to add to your water if you haven't. I don't know what kinds of things you have added to your water, but things like chlorine can irritate your turts eyes, etc.