redearslider.com

Does "10 gal per inch of shell" mean tank size or water in the tank? Sylar is 2 inches long already and I have him in a 20 long. I can only keep it 1/2 to 2/3 full so that he can't just climb out. I want to take the best care of him possible but I don't want to buy new tanks every couple of months! So I have been trying to put off buying a new tank so I could save up to get the largest one I could. How long do you think I can keep him in this set up?
Maybe if I could figure out a way to raise the water level and keep him safe I could get alittle more use out of it? I was thinking of getting one of those terrarium tops for it....but someone mentioned he might be able to climb up that and might get hurt! Any other ideas?

Just get a screen top. You can cut holes in the screen for things like filter hoses with a pair of wire cutters if you need. (I used a dremel on high speed with a cutting disk to cut the pieces I needed.) I ended up only needing to cut a door for feeding purposes. This door was only about 1"x1", Just large enough to put chunks of cuttlebone, pieces of lettuce, and his beloved Reptomin in.
Here is a photo of my tank, A 30 gal, with a screen top. No worries about escape.

Huh, why didn't I think of that? I think I might do just that! Beside being able to raise the water level, I wouldn't have to worry that my parrot was going to land in my turtle tank! Uhh, but what about the UVB? I thought the screens interfered with the light penitration?

UVB gets lessened through screens, but only if the holes are less than about 1/4-1/2". The holes in this screen are right at about 1/4" to maybe just a bit larger. The UVB is cut by about 30% through small screens so I would say that my screen is maybe cutting out about 10% of my UVB output. I have a 7% UVB bulb in my fixture, so factoring that in, I am still getting about 6.3% of UVB to my turtle. Which is more than the 5% minimum. So all in all, It isn't cutting my UVB output by all that much.

The UVB is reduced if the holes are less than 1/2". Anything smaller than that will greatly reduce your UVB input. Don't increase the bulb, though, in case you irritate their eyes. (And I haven't seen a 7% UVB bulb, but UVB isn't additive, so if you have a 2 x 5% bulbs, you don't have 10%, you just have a wider area covered. Watch anything higher than 5% as it can irritate their eyes and skin.)

As for ways to extend the life, build an above tank basking area with an edge so you can fill up the tank up to about 2 inches from the top (aquariums don't recommend going over this point, with water weight and pressure, they aren't rated for more water) and extend the life a little. But start looking now for a replacement, probably a 75 gallon or so.

Oh, and you can get custom-made screens or make one yourself if you need the holes wider.

My fixture is an ESU Reptile, Slimline Reptile fixture. It comes with a 7% Florescent UVB bulb. Squirt's eyes and skin are not irritated in any way.

Even if the UVB is reduced a bit, Which it is because of the screen, I would venture a guess that I am still getting at least 5% with the bulb about 6-7" away from the turtle.

Computergremlin...accually I saw a 75 gal in the petstore i really liked. it was wider then most of the other larger tanks i saw. but it was over $200 for just the tank, no stand, no nothing . I'd also need a new filter..new heater...etc so the bill would add up very quickly. Well, my tax check should be comming soon, and i told my hubby what i REALLy want for our aniversary is more turtle stuff. i'd really like to go straight to a 120-150 gal so i would never have to buy a new one but i'm trying to figure out how to do this without spending $1000s of dollars!!! i have been checking craigslist like everyday......

Yeah i tried craigslist for a while when i wanted to upgrade to a 75 gallon tank, but after a few months of no luck i broke down and shelled out $200 for a new one. I built the stand myself so i saved a lot of money there, but i still needed a new filter and heater. If you know you want to end up with a 120-150 gal tank, just save up and do it. Multiple upgrades get sooo expensive when you think about the new heaters and filters that go along with it. While your tank might be officially too small, it's totally okay for now untill you can find/afford a nice big tank. He doesn't look cramped in there, and if you could raise the water level a bit you could get a little more time out of it. Good luck looking!

If you're using a compact fluorescent you can always just set the dome lamp face down on the screen and use wire cutters to clip out a hole for the rays to pass through.

I agree that your tank doesn't look too cramped yet (I have seen much larger turtles in much smaller tanks ...) Take some time to look. Also look at any local garage sales or in the newspaper. And I have a screen on my tank, I have to because my crazy cats won't stay off of the tank. So I'm not saying screens are terrible, they just reduce the UVB.

The whole UVB thing is one of my biggest concerns with this tank. I want to switch to a MVB and I can't because my tank is too small. But I am afraid the way I have the lights set up he isn't getting enough UVB. I have the compact florecent 5.0 and when I first started using it his eyes swelled shut. I found out I was not the only person to have problems with the compacts. When I moved the bulb farther away Sylar's eyes got better. But now the bulb is kinda far away, and focused more on the water then the platform (those clamp lamps suck) In the pic I posted above the UVB is the middle lamp at the very top of the picture.

*ps* Oh! and in some peoples pics of their set ups, I see they have lamps mounted right to their walls! I love that, I just don't know where to get the lamps. I put a heat bulb in a desk lamp and the bulb burned out, so I assume these are special lamps. Does anyone know where i can get one?

The rule of thumb is 10 gallons of TANK per inch of shell. Your guy's good for the time being. Being able to raise the water level would be even better.

Grey goose is one that mounted some really nice lamps on his wall. Why don't you pm him - he'll be happy to help.