Habitat - Indoor

Ok so I have been stalking the site for about 2 weeks now. I've gotten most of my questions answered from reading your posts but there are still a couple of things I can't quite get an answer to. To introduce myself, I teach in a middle school in north texas and was donated a RES that the family didnt want. She has everything she needs I was told. Her name is wilma and she came to me about 7" in shell length, in a 20 gal tank, tap water, and a slanted lava rock that got her half way out of the water, about 4 " of water. Nothing that was even close enought to good enough for her. The second day we had her, I had to go and get a light for her (they didnt even have a heat lamp for her.) The students are raising money slowly by selling snacks after school to other students. We have just this week upgraded to a 75 gal aquarium that I found on craigslist for $50. She is currently still in low level water because of budget constraints and I also didnt want to overwhelm her by quadrupling her tank and adding 2 feet of water. We are working on getting enough money to buy a filter. We cannot possibly afford a really expensive one...this is one I was looking at on ebay... is it workable?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300587878853?ss ... 1423.l2649

Also, I was wondering if anyone has every built an basking area/nesting area, similar to the one I've seen in the turtle tubs, with the sand? I dont plan on getting her a male turtle, belive me one turtle is more than I can handle right now. But I want her to have a place she can lay eggs. I was thinking about trying one made out of a plastic tub, supported by PVC pipe, and filled with sand? I am planning on putting sand in the bottom of the tank at some point. I haven't come accross anything like that on here yet. Is that even a smart idea?

Also, I have been reading that RES aren't really supposed to shed their skin? Wilma has a lot of what looks to be peeling skin especially around her neck and front legs. I am guessing this is coming from living the way she had for 4 years and not being able to get completely dry??

As far as her tank/environment specifics, its 75g aquarium, with a large slanted lava rock and regular heat bulb ontop. I know she needs a UVB light as well, working on that too. I don't have a water heater in the aquarium yet, but am working on that as well. I am sure the water is a little chillier than it should be.

I also have a diet question. Wilma had been fed only pellets for the last 4 years. I tried feeding her some veggies/fruits but she just wasn't interested. I found the jello shot recipe on here and she has been eating those...loving them in fact. She is actually starting to beg me (really cute!). I feed her pieces of the jello shots Monday, Wednesday, and Friday... as much as she can eat in 5 min (I can't remember where I read that.) The jello shots have kale, 1/4 of a sweet potato, a few grapes, carrots, apple peel, half a tomato and turtle pellets. Is that ok as her food? She still wont touch regular fruits and veggies, she will at least put them in her mouth now, but she bites them and spits them out.

Also, I was told she was 4 years old as that is how long they had her, but after reading the sizes and lengths on here it seems like 7" is a little big to only be 4 years old. Does that seem right? How old do you guys think she is.

I am actually becoming quite attached to her (never would have thought she'd be so interesting.) If you have any advice for me I am very open and willing. Thanks for any advice/comments.

When all is said and done you'll probably have her in the 75 gallon filled to the top with ATBA Above Tank Basking Area. You want to try to follow as close as possible 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell. You want at least double the recommended amount on the filter. So 75 gallons of water equals at least a filter rated for 150 gallons. If you can get one rated for 200 gallons even better. The filter you have linked is only for 100 gallons so that would mean a filter upgrade in the future. Or you can save some money and get the biggest one you can now. You can also find used filters on craigslist. For the basking dock most of us use plexi glass and or egg crate which is plastic light diffuser found at hardware stores. Egg crate can be cut easily or heated to bend to size, you can use zip ties to connect them. A water heater ad heat lamp are the most important immediately. The water temps should be 74 - 76 for an adult and the basking between 85 - 90. for a 75 gallon tank get at least a 300 watt heater.

It's great that she is eating jello shots. For a turtle her size she needs a lower protein diet. Actually a high protein diet could have caused her to grow to 7 in, in 4 years. For a turtle her size she should be eating the amount of pellets that can fit in her head (not neck), every other day. Fresh greens should be offered daily. Eventually when she's hungry she'll eat them. I use red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romain, dandelion leaves and a water plant anacharis. Carrots and sweet potatoes are good. Fruits should only be given as a treat. For calcium add cuttle bone to the tank. Just take off the hard backing. She'll get calcium from the greens as well. A UVB light is very important, but get her the heater first. Get a filter that you can add a lot of bio media.

Good luck with her she's lucky you found her and researched her care. Please post her picture. We would love to see her.

Alright. So I bought her a 300w water heater and got her the uvb light bulb...

i found some more filters... will any of these work out? We really cant do more than $100 right now.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/190595146391?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/250900933534?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110769610748?ss ... 1423.l2649

Going back to the nesting box question, is there anyone on here who has a nesting box as part of their regular tank...like the ATBA but with a nesting area? I know it has to be 2x her shell length and I found some tub at walmart that would actually be ok as far as size goes. I was thinking of filling it with sand so it wont mess with the filters anymore than the bottom substrate will. If I can come up with a way to support it from the bottom she will loose some swimming room, but I think I could make it work. An example to follow would be great though. I have a question about the whole egg thing to begin with though. I read on here that you should be able to feel the eggs by the back end between the leg and the tail. Wilma is hard as a rock back there...I kinda thought shed be squishy. Is that a bad thing??

Also, I was wondering how long it takes for them to process food? Wilma passed some bug parts the other day that was like one of the green shiny bugs...Ive had her for two weeks now and I definitely did not feed that to her. Does it take 2 weeks for her to pass food? Or was she maybe constipated or something?

You asked for pictures so here they are...

You can always look on our local Craigslist for filters and supplies. I got a Rena XP3 (100.00) and a Cascade 1500 (150.00) for 57 dollars shipped. At my local Petsmart theres a Rena XP4 on sale for 120.00! You just have to look around and think long run before you buy a cheap-o filter from eBay.

She's beautiful. Her shell looks great. Shedding skin is normal as long as it can be seen only in the water as thin wisps. I haven't had time to look through the filters you posted. I will later though. I'll also post a pic of my habitat with an ATBA for you. Most of us don't have a basking area with sand for laying. You'll know when she has to lay. She'll become frantic to get out of her tank. If she does this just try to take her outside supervised so she can lay, or you can get her a big bin fillled with a mixture of sand, potting soil(no additives) and peat moss. Just put her in a couple of times a day and give her privacy when she acts frantic. Some turtles just lay the eggs in the water or basking area. You can get them and throw them away if she didn't already eat them. Many people on other forums are posting great success with the cheap knock off filters found on ebay. One I remember hearing about is Odessa. I'll post a pic of my habitat later today.

Here is Rocky's Tank. It's a 55 gallon filled to the top, with a Rena XP3 and an ATBA

Here is his home made ATBA Edit: Sorry don't know why it's sideways

Looks very good! Are you only using part of the XP outlet tube?

Do i need to be concerned about her back end area between her leg and tail being hard? I read that if they have eggs you should be able to feel them, but she just feels hard.

I have been checking craigs list. Its where i got the tank. Filters dont seem to be sold often. Found a fluval xp5 today though...listed for 145 which i know is a good price but i am asking for 100$. So keep your fingers crossed for that and wilma may have a great tank by thanksgiving!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Do you have her at home or in school?

Steve, I took the spray bar off. It wasn't directing the flow where I wanted. The 55 gallon is too narrow to have it across the side wall. Not this year but hopefully next I'll be able to get a 75 gallon. Unfortunately unless I win the lotto that will be Rocky's last upgrade. With my luck he is a she. I can only hope he's a smaller she. I'm no longer a home owner, I rent so I'm limited on tank size. Thankfully she's only 4.8 inches right now.

shes at school. At first she was really skittish and seemed to be nervous when the kids were getting noisy. Shed jump off the rock as soon as it got too loud. But now she seems to be getting used to us. She even comes to the glass when we look at her. We are becoming close friends.

Awww man! My water heater came today...totally shattered. Hopefully the seller on ebay will work with me. Totally bummed!

That is a bummer. The seller should work with you. If not you an dispute charges with pay pal and with your credit card company. I think most sellers on ebay use pay pal though. I forgot to answer your question about eggs. To feel for eggs I believe you do it in the front. Steve has a you tube video link he'll hopefully post for you. It'll show you how. Where does it feel hard? On her skin around the leg or her tail? Do you see anything other than normal skin? Your students must love you. You sound like an awesome teacher. To many times on forums we here about teachers keeping turtles as pets in unacceptable housing. The students must love watching her. Once they learn that you are a food god they will beg like puppies when you come near. Have you read the feeding and nutrition sheet? Oh and almost forgot think twice about putting live fish in there unless you want your students to see the circle of life.

She just feels hard in her back end area. Ive never had a turtle before... I just thought it should be squishy. But ill see if i can find the video.

I emailed the seller, we will see what they say.

As far as the classroom goes, i teach a self contained middle school class. I raised ducklings, eggs to 8weeks so the turtle is really a lot less work. I am a fan of having critters in the room. My students love the turtle. One of my little guys was gone sick for two days and came back and the first thing he did was come back and go straight to the tank..."hi wilma! I missed you! I feel much better now, thanks for asking". So cute!
Funny you should mention the live fish, i actually plan on using it as a lesson about the food chain and circle of life.

Well that lesson plan can work both ways. See the large goldfish in my tank? She was bought as a little feeder fish last October. She's grown a couple of inches since then. Her tail gets nipped every once in a while but it grows back. I put 3 platies in there from my planted tank and he ate all 3 in an hour. You can get ghost shrimp at the pet store. In the Petsmart by me they are 33 cents each. My turtle won't let them live either. If your turtle lets them live they'll just clean the tank. No special care needed. Just get a new heater first. Wish i had a middle school teacher like you. My son's in middle school and has a nutty science teacher and history teacher. The kids are always talking about those teachers. They actually talk about what they learned in class. Very refreshing. You should start a whole eco system. Once you get your turtle fully set up, you'll have the expensive part of that project done. Tank cycling is interesting.

LOL! Well this 75 gallon tank that takes up an entire counter/ closet (we are preparing for the filter and other garb) is more than my room can handle right now! I appreciate the vote of confidence as this entire endeavour was not exactly planned...remember I was told she had everything she needed (20 gallon tank and slanted rock.) It has been fun learning about them though. I never knew turtles were so involved. I'm hoping that once you get the initial set up that the excitement dies down a little for the next 30 years. I have so many plans for her tank right now. I can't wait to get it done to get feed back from you guys.

Oh, and I found the video that steve posted about the eggs...havent watched it yet, but I found it. Thanks for your help. I'll keep you guys updated as we get what we need for wilma.

Habitat - Indoor :: New to the site and turtles...a little/lot of help...?

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