Habitat - Indoor :: temporary housing for 2 weeks vacation

[oostern]

I am going to the country (Adirondack mountains, New York) for 2 weeks and am considering bringing my 1.5yr-old res.

I actually have a 30G tank there, but no filters or lights, and I can't do a full-equipment setup.
Does anyone think its possible to keep the turtle in the tank on the deck for two weeks?
The tank would always be in the shade. I could change the water out every couple of days.
The water comes from a ground well. Can I use that untreated for the turtle?
Would it be a problem to let it rain in the tank (I would put a screen on top).
The turtle would travel in a car for 6 hours. Can he go in a large tupperware with a little water and the lid cracked? Maybe in my food cooler - that's nice and tall, so the water won't spill.

My other option is to leave the turtle at home. I can have someone come every 3 - 5 days. I've read its okay for a turtle to go a week with out food. Is 4-5 days okay for a 1.5 year-old? Or am I being irresponsible with that time frame? Another concern with this option is that if no one is home, the apartment will get very hot without a/c (top floor, NYC). How much heat can a small turtle handle for 10 days?

I'm curious which seems the best option.
Thanks!

[VeipaCray]

Neither option sounds fantastic. Can you board your turtle? Our vet will let us board our turtle for a few dollars a day.

[Miss Tee]

I'm not really an expert here.. so I'll just tell you what I would do.
I would take Miss Tee with me, since I would be wary of beastly heat waves (like we're having now), and a turtle stuck in a city apt. with no ac or fan.

OR: Would you consider keeping the ac on low for him? It probably would be cheaper than boarding...
and a petsitter to come in for 10 min. every other day to feed?

Although--the Adirondacks sound great TO ME at this point!

[VeipaCray]

Our vet charges $7 a day for boarding the turtle.

[BRuTAL_HiTMAN_]

If you don't mind the extra work, just take him with you, how far of a drive is it? you don't want to put water in there, maybe put some of his water in a jug, and if it's a long drive, take a break every couple hours and put the water in something for him to get in and soak himself.

[oostern]

thanks for you replies

you don't want to put water in there, maybe put some of his water in a jug, and if it's a long drive, take a break every couple hours and put the water in something for him to get in and soak himself

why no water in the cooler? Can he drown? How about an inch or so?

My local animal boarding house will take a turtle for $15/nite (!) plus I have to supply bucket and food. I think the animal would be better off with me: larger tank, I don't trust them to de-chlorinate the water.

I'm monitoring the turtle room in the heat. It seems to reach 85°. Am I wrong he would be safe up til 90°?
I would turn the basking light off while I was away, but leave the daylight bulb on.

[BRuTAL_HiTMAN_]

http://www.redearslider.com/transportation.html

[oostern]

thank you!
(should have found that on my own)

I think bringing the turtle is probably the way to go

[BRuTAL_HiTMAN_]

Agreed

[steve]

A small turtle? Bring the entire setup to a friend or family member you can trust. You can use a simple 80 quart rubbermaid and all they would need to do is feed and fish out poop. That's worth a few souvenirs

[Chazz]

I did this for a 2 week vacation. It was a cheap pool, threw it away when I was done. Can't tell in the pic, but it had shade. (It was also during a not so steamy hot summer as this one.) Turtle loved it. It held up, didn't leak. Had no way to filter it, but I replaced water when it needed it by just pushing down the sides and letting the water out and refilling. Looks horribly tacky! But worked for a short turtle vacation!

[steve]

Looks good Chazz! I tried one of those last summer without any luck.

[oostern]

Wow,
I love the pool setup.
I might go in that direction if this happens again next summer!

What I've been doing is this:
We had a large plastic storage bucket, which I've filled with water, and made a rock cave. I keep it in the shade on my deck, and the daytime temps up here have been fine. The water stays ~75° and I change it out every 2 days.

At night it gets cool now - low 60's. Once we had 50's. At first I was bringing the turtle in to another bucket in my bathtub for the night, but now I have the tank heater from home, and he stays on the deck at night too. The heater may not have been necessary, since I've not actually seen the water cooler than 68°, but I've never needed to know temperature fluctuations in a bucket on my deck before, and didn't want to stress the turtle further.
I think next year I could go with the kiddie pool, and with a larger volume of water, forgo the heater at night.

And just to add another segment to the story: I had to bring my 2 remaining black tetras along as well. They are in a bucket in the bathroom with a bubbler.