Habitat - Indoor :: new aquarium

[sabooya]

Ok, I received my red ear slider from my uncle who for the past 20+ years has had her in a plastic bin (maybe 15 gallons max) with about 2 inches of water. and a basking area made of rocks. He has used a normal house bulb and the turtle loves to bask under it.

I recently purchased a 30 gallon aquarium. It came with a light but it seems to be not as bright. and glows kinda purplish. Im wondering If i need a different light? Also will a floating platform suffice as a "dry land"

[Arisu]

hello and welcome!

have you looked around the main portion of this site? it gives very detailed and and only the most important info. check it out! this site really aids me and my turtle keeping.

first off, how big is the turtle? you mentioned that your uncle has had it for 20+ years... thats amazing! especially after hearing what kind of condition hes been in. can you return the 30 gallon by any chances? if your turtle is any bigger than 3 inches, it is going to need a lot - A LOT - more room.

the not-as-bright and purplish light is a fluorescent light. did it come with the 30 gallon set up? you need to provide 2 things for your turtle when it comes to lighting: 1) UVB rays and 2) heat.

fluorescent lights do not emit much heat but can be provided by a regular house hold bulb, like the one your uncle had. the light you have now probably does not provide sufficient UVB. you're gonna have to look for a SPECIALLY designed bulb (available only @ pet stores and online) that is designed for such purpose.

here is a very readable guide to turtle lighting:
http://www.redearslider.com/lighting.html

and a link that tells you exactly what kind of bulbs you'll be looking for:
http://www.redearslider.com/light_sources.html

[sabooya]

old habitat(the plastic things were added a month ago by me before it was just rocks in middle :

tank I bought :


It may not look it but the new one is a bit longer the the old one.
Ive looked around the site and am a bit overwhelmed at the lack of care my turtle has been receiving, I just want to get it all fixed up.
The turtle is about 6 inches long.

[Mandyb]

i hate to burst your bubble but you already need a bigger tank. Its 10 gallons per inch of shell.....also take out the gravel turtles tend to eat it! and lights....hopefully all is well

[sabooya]

i hate to burst your bubble but you already need a bigger tank. Its 10 gallons per inch of shell.....also take out the gravel turtles tend to eat it! and lights....hopefully all is well

the gravel are large rocks way bigger then the turtles head.

[Chrisbarnett]

How big is the new tank?

You could always build an ATBA and raise the water level.

[Rubicon]

Wow that poor turtle!! I mean you gave him an upgrade but by no means what he really needs. In comparison to us to him. It would be like haveing a small bathroom as your whole house (cramped and uncomfortable). You need a much muhc bigger tank.

[SpotsMama]

One of the nice things about having a big tank is that they are much easier to keep clean. Turtles are pretty messy (as you've not doubt figured out) the more water there is to dilute the waste the better.

How is he liking his new basking platform? It's probably a big change for him if he'd been living in the tub for 20 years! From the photo, I can't tell if there's a heat light in addition to the fluorescent. He will need heat to motivate him to get up and bask. Lighting for a turtle tank is a major issue and very important. Read up on lighting on here, look a photos of different setups (both in the habitat gallery section and in the photo section) and then let us know if you have questions.

You'll probably wind up needing to change things around some more. Don't feel bad about it - we all wind up creating several different habitats before we get it just right. The important thing is you care about him and are making a good effort. Once you get the setup just right, you'll find it easy to maintain and it will look good and smell good, and your turtle will love it.

By the way, what's his name?

[joeybsmooth]

I love how you talk to me people Spotsmama so nice .

.. But back to the topic at hand.

I would suggest that you use craigslist to find a tank. Tanks are high and you can find good deals there. So I think that holding off on getting a new tank until can find on at a good price by do you better. Because you may have to get a lot more stuff

[sabooya]

My aquarium came with a hood, and on teh hood below the light was a glass cover, I guess so water doesn;t splash teh light. Is this affecting my UVB bulb?

[francinemarie]

well at least your trying to make an effort . i know that you said that the gravel is too large for him to swallow or bite, but may i suggest that you take at least half of it out? it'll save you A LOT of time when cleaning the tank & be much easier. And if you don't have enough money saved up for a bigger tank yet, perhaps you could make an ATBA to utilize more swimming space. at least you have some plants in your tank, i don't really have any & am saving for decorations after i buy my water heater

[Chrisbarnett]

My aquarium came with a hood, and on teh hood below the light was a glass cover, I guess so water doesn;t splash teh light. Is this affecting my UVB bulb?

Yes. UVB doesn't pass through glass. I've never had water splash on bulbs and it seems like a pretty rare occurance so you're fine with removing it.

[sabooya]

my hood has the glass(or plastic unsure) glued in.