General Care Discussion :: Moving to the big apple at age 26

[bpmiles]

My 26 yr old male red eared slider "tubby" has lived in Pittsburgh his entire life and has never had any issues. I have lived in NYC the past 5 years and finally decided to bring him up with me after my last visit home (1 month ago). My mother has never treated the normal tap water and since moving him here and using NYC tap water (with drops to take the chlorine out) he seems to have irritation in his current tank. He has been rubbing his eyes and they seem somewhat cloudy only when he is submerged under water. I stayed away from the zoo med eye drops for turtles because his eyes are red or swollen they just seem a little cloudy again only when he is under water. I am concerned and would welcome any suggestions anyone has as he does not seem sick, just irritated with the current water conditions. Thanks in advance for your recommendations and helping my buddy.

[steve]

Does he have a UVB lamp? Some are known to cause eye irritation. Those drops can't hurt, so they are worth a try sometimes. You can remove chlorine/chloramines in the water with activated carbon. Either add some to your filter or pre-filter the water as you add it into the tank to remove it.

[bpmiles]

He has a lamp but I believe it is just a normal light bulb from the hardware store (so not the typical UVA/UVB) should I change it and get him one? The local pet store in Pittsburgh always just reiterated the philosophy of if its not broke don't fix it with him so any change I am very weary of. I am looking to improve his life as he was in a 30 long for most of his life and have just purchased at 75 gallon tank and plan on moving him into it in a week or two. Hopefully its just an adjustment and he will be ok and if it worsens I will take him to the local vet but this was my worry of bringing him up to NYC in the first place. I want to improve his quality of life as much as possible and any other recommendations are appreciated. Thanks Steve.

[steve]

Being in NYC won't negatively effect him, but he's a bit up there in age so I wouldn't ignore any symptoms either. What's his diet like?

[bpmiles]

After I got home from work today he is in the water and eyes look back to normal which is exciting. I do not currently have a UVB lamp for him but was thinking of getting one for him when I transition him from his 30 gallon to 75 gallon next week. Do you think it would be ok to introduce him to one this late in the game? I feed him once a day and typically give him the 10 or 11 reptomin floating food sticks. When he was younger we would feed him feeder gold fish every once in a while as well as meal worms.

[steve]

It's remarkable that he's healthy without one. You can always use one, they have a range of different strengths.

[bpmiles]

would you recommend me starting with a lower strength since it will be new to him?

[steve]

You can just have it higher over the basking area, just don't expose yourself over it for long periods.

[bpmiles]

Steve, I just received the UVA and UVB lights (http://www.petco.com/product/124152/Zoo ... e_Lighting) and had a quick question. Do I aim them both at the basking area? Thanks.

[ljapa]

You do, and you want to overlap them. The uvb combined with the heat of the basking lamp allows for a reaction I their skin that lets them create vitamin D3, which is necessary in the metabolism of calcium.

Ideally, you want the basking lamp to provide a temperature gradient over as large an area as possible, so that your turtle can find a comfortable temp.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[bpmiles]

Thanks, ljapa!

[bpmiles]

Since introducing the new UVA light to the tank it seems as though the shell is sunburned. Am I giving him too much light? Is the light too close? Looking for some suggestions. Thanks in advance for your help!

[devilduck]

That type of light? what is the wattage? How far is it from the dock?

[bpmiles]

It is part of the UVA/UVB combo pack but the UVA is the ZooMed 75W basking spot lamp and am keeping it I want to say like 12 inches ( I am guessing and need to measure) away from the basking dock

[steve]

He has a bit of melanism which is why he looks darker. It probably happened years ago, so you would have noticed it back then... unless you're referring to something else, can you post larger pics?