Habitat - Indoor :: Water level

[irisheyes24]

I have a RES that I have had for about a year now.

However, I am always wondering if I should put more water in the tank. I am paranoid and I keep thinking that if I fill it up too high, he won't be able to breathe. He commonly sits at the bottom of his tank and stretches his neck very long so that his nose is just about the water and just hangs out there.

How deep should his water be? He is a pretty active turtle (climbs through his plants a lot and dives off rocks etc) but doesn't really swim much.

[jenaero]

The deeper the better. In the wild you'd find them in lakes and such so depth isn't a problem. If you're concerned, you can give him some floating plants and some sort of under water platform so he can rest if he needs to.

[ashleygamergirl]

yes the deeper the better dont freak out that you have to much water cause im sure you dont have enough water. they can swim in very very deep water and they do like it that way

[marisa]

How big is your RES and how big of a tank is he in? How much water do you have in the tank now?

[dcaron1217]

Okay...I have a question about water depth. I have a 10 gal tank. My RES is 3 inch. I recently got her a UVB flourescent light that sits length wise across the tank. I took out the screen cause I heard it cuts the UVB by 50%. But it also says that the light has to be about 10 inch from the basking platform so I took out some water. The leve is about 1/2 way in the tank. Is that enough for her? Should there be at least 10-12 inches away from the UVB light? Or can I add a few more inches of water for her. I also have a regular incadescent light for heat.
Thanks.

[octpusgirl8]

A 10 gallon tank is pretty small for a 3 inch turtle, she should really have at least 30 gallons. You do have to be careful not to gert the UVB light too close, but with such a small tank you really want to maximize the amount of water in there. Can you rig something up to suspend the lamp above the tank?

[TheComputerGremlin]

A 3 inch RES needs at least a 30 gallon tank, mostly filled. Your tank is too small. Go out and get the biggest tank you can. Also, until you get a bigger tank, follow the instructions on the bulb box. If the bulb is used incorrectly, it can hurt their eyes.

[Bascomb]

Yep -- You need a larger tank. Opps - your turtle need a larger tank. They need a minimum of 10 gallons per inch. You are in the up buying mode. Every thing gets bigger as your turtle gets bigger. That is the facts of life with turtles.