Habitat - Indoor :: No underwater heater - leave heat lamp on?

[biomanz]

Hello, I just put a baby red eared slider (just over an inch long) into a bigger tank and added a heat lamp (just a 60w bulb) and a UVB light. Thing is I don't have an underwater heater and so should I leave the heat lamp on during the night? It's not too cold indoors here now, around 75'F. My parents also keep insisting I'm already doing too much and all (she believes all it needs is a pump and water changes...). Anyway, is an underwater heater absolutely necessary, or can I just leave the lamp on the entire day?

Also, with roughly 3 gallons of water in the tank, how often should I change the water without a filter? I was thinking half the tank each week. I know a filter is the best option but I'm terribly short on cash and my parents would just sigh at me for buying one.

The turtle has previously been kept in a smaller tank with room temperature water for over a year, with no lamp or anything.

Thanks for any help.

[untsmurf]

The lights are great! What size is the new tank? The amount of water should be 10 gallons per inch of shell (minus the bend in the shell). And yes you will need a heater for the water, but for right now with the room temp being 75, that should maintain a good water heat. But during the winter when the inside temp drops you will need a heater. So start saving I guess. They aren't that expensive. And you could try and look at some of the online stores for better deals.


It would help a lot of you posted a pic of the set up, that way we know exactly what we are dealing with.

[octpusgirl8]

A year old turtle should be much bigger than an inch or two. He's likely not growing properly because of his lack of heater/basking light. I have a turtle that was kept in terrible conditions for about 6 months, and then he was kept without a heater or basking light for 3 more years (not by me mind you!) and he's around 7 years old now, and very small for his age (only about 5 inches). You need to read up on the care of your little guy, and get him all the things he needs. I know parents can be hard headed, but they usually will come around once you start "educating" them. I'm glad you are starting to improve the little guys lifestyle, i'm sure he appreciates it! Keep it up, we'll all be here to help you out along the way

[untsmurf]

And if your parents don't believe you that your turtle needs all these things, tell them they can come on here and ask whatever questions they have.

[Safdar]

My mom was like that too
Until she saw his adorable little smile

Okay

You need a water heater to keep the water at 78-80 degrees for hatchlings
You can get a cheap heater from walmart

If you leave the lamp on all day, itll discourage him to sleep, but i gues its fine

The tank should atleast be a 10 gallon
I saw 10 gallon tanks at petsmart for $9


And the turtle should be wayy bigger than 1 inch
Like octupusgirl said
It is most likely due to the lack of heating and basking requirements

Also do you have a platform that easily accesible that he can bask on?

[biomanz]

Good thing it's not freezing cold at this time of year. I found a mini heater and a timer for my 2 lights at marinedepot.com to make life easier for us, but still looking for a good, small filter. I was considering an Eheim Powerhead 1212 but can't find it on their website, probably discontinued or something. Anyone have any good filters to use for a 5gallon tank?

I would post a photo of the tank, but my camera's at my college address, and I'm heading up there tomorow, leaving the turtle to my parents' care once again. I just hope the turtle's appetite improves.

Yea, I got some floating platform made of hard foam for him to bask on. The tank size is 16''x8x10 - at least it's more than the recommended minimum size as some other sites point out

[Safdar]

Maybe not now
But when you are confortable in the expence
You should really get a bigger sized tank
For the future

Your turle can grow up to a foot
And you need 10 gallons for each inch

I suggest you buy a 30 or 40 gallon
Which can last you maybe a while

If you have the capacity for the expences get a larger one
The Larger you get, the longer itll last

[slater]

biomanz - at Petsmart I saw a filter for a 5gallon. But that seems awfully small? Wouldn't you want to save yourself the cash in the long run by getting one for a bigger tank, that way when you upgrade tanks you may not need to buy a new filter depending on the size.

[SpotsMama]

Yes, an underwater heater is essential. They aren't that expensive and, as someone on here said, they're the best preventive medicine you can buy.

On water changes, if there are only three gallons of water in the tank and you don't have a filter, you'll need to do complete water changes at least once a week. Maybe more, depending on how messy your turtle is. Do you feed him in the tank? If you feed him outside the tank in a separate bowl, his tank water will stay cleaner. Some turtles will poop right after they eat, so you can wait to transfer him back to his tank until after he's done his business and that too will keep the tank cleaner.

The way to really know what's going on with your water quality is to test it. Water can look really clear but if ammonia and nitrites are building up it can be dangerously unhealthy. You can get good test kits in the fish section of pet stores. You should test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

[biomanz]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm already planning to order the heater, timer, and filter (once I find one) hopefully sometime this week, and I'll try to find a filter suitable for a 20gal tank but not too powerful for my current one. But for now, I'm gonna concentrate more on the temperature, lighting, and filtering to see if the turtle's appetite improves.

Also, is there a way to acquire more baby red eared sliders? I know it's illegal to sell small turtles now in the US, but read you could ask breeders or join clubs to sell privately. I'm wondering since I would like a second one in the tank when it's suitable enough.

[Safdar]

I think you should first settle down and wait till you have an approapriate environment for 2 turtles then

I recomend getting it from a rescue agency

[untsmurf]

I recommend you take care of your first turtle before you get another one. If you're thinking of getting another one to keep the first one company, then you should know that turtles are solitary creatures and they generally do not like to live with other turtles. If they don't get along then the dominate turtle would eventually kill the submissive turtle. And since you didn't get them at the same time, aggression is a likely outcome. And if they are aggressive towards each other and you want to prevent it, the only thing you can do is get a completely separate setup for the new turtle. So if you get a second one, be prepared to buy it it's own 100-120 gallon tank with all the necessary accessories down the line.

And leaving the light on all night is bad for the turtle, they need a day/night light cycle so they can sleep and not get stressed out. I meant to say this in my original post but I forgot, I guess.

[Theo's_Friend]

I have painted turtle and was told that he shouldn't have an underground heater in his tank, is this correct? He has a heat lamp it's a 50 watt Sun Glow hallogen. It's set on a timer with his UVB light. Will this be sufficient heat for him.

[steve]

Depending on the age of your turtle, you'd want the water to be around 75F. A fully submersible, underwater heater is relatively cheap and will be necessary if you are in Canada.

[marisa]

You mean a submersible water heater? What's the constant water temp without a heater (you need to check the water temp with a thermometer for a day or two), what kind of painted turtle do you have and how big is the turtle?

If it's a healthy, adult eastern painted, a constant temp in the low 70's is fine. For a hatchling, mid 70's or a degree or two higher is OK.