Habitat - Indoor :: Tubby's new digs (pics) & some questions too (warning: l

[kidzncatz]

We just got Tubby's new tank up & running- which was no small feet because my husband decided to build a shelf/stand to house him & the new ginormous tank. So after much hammering until all hours of the morning I awoke to this...





I know the pics are really bright due to the crazy blue wall but I think they'll give you an idea of what his new home is like. Now for my questions....

I have never used any gravel or anything (of course) but have seen folks putting the larger river stones in. While they look lovely, I'm just thinking they'd be one more thing to clean (one more place for poo to hide in, etc...) so other than for the looks, do they serve a purpose? Does my tubby turtle CARE that there's nothing on the bottom but his reflection (which he continually spars with, by the way.)?

Along the same vein, I've seen tanks with plants in them (real & fake)- is my turtle missing out by not having them? Again, I've always looked at them as one more thing to clean (and when he was in his smaller tank, it was just something to take up more room.) But now that he's in a larger space I'm wondering if I should add things? I want to provide the best habitat I possibly can for him so I was really curious about your opinions on this stuff.

Also, one more question.... I've read about not having glass or screen between the lights. On his old tank we cut the screen cover to fit where the lights went. On this larger tank there are little plastic & glass panels the lights (not the basking light) set on. We don't have them in right now but I am concerned with the lights falling into the tank (with the help of a cat or two.) I'm thinking we could "pop out" the glass on the panels & have the lights sit on the plastic part, but didn't want to make my husband embark on the glass removal until I checked here. Thoughts?

Last, but not least, I have a question about SEX.... (or rather, the gender, of my turtle.) Here are a couple of pictures of him (we've always referred to him as him - I tried to get some of the feet & claws but can take some others if needed. The shell is just over 5 inches long & we've had him/her for over 2 yrs. We rescued him/her when he/she was just a tiny little bugger.





Any thoughts? It doesn't really matter of course but I am curious as to how big my friend here is going to get.

If you've read this far... THANK YOU & I appreciate any input you may have. This website has been a Godsend

[kidzncatz]

And it's not showing up but my "warning" in the title of my post was simply for a really long post!

[CountryGirl68]

I have never used any gravel or anything (of course) but have seen folks putting the larger river stones in ... do they serve a purpose?

They don't serve any specific purpose except many turtles like to push them around. I have about 10 of them in my 75g tank and it doesn't make it any more difficult to clean since they are spead out (until Tanner rearranges them).

Along the same vein, I've seen tanks with plants in them (real & fake)- is my turtle missing out by not having them?

The plants give the turtle a place to rest on in between swimming. One or two will be enough - you don't have to add many. Just as long as they are tall enough so he can rest to catch a breath. Some turtles like sleeping or hiding behind the plant.

I'm thinking we could "pop out" the glass on the panels & have the lights sit on the plastic part, but didn't want to make my husband embark on the glass removal until I checked here. Thoughts?

You can put a wire mesh to cover the top of the tank; as long as the holes are 1/2 it will allow UV rays to pass through and ease your fears about a bulb falling into the tank.

Last, but not least, I have a question about SEX.... (or rather, the gender, of my turtle.)

Looks like a female to me - the short nails.

[Spookster]

Since your husband sounds like he likes to build things he could build an above tank basking area in which case you would not have to worry about the basking light falling into the water.

I put about 2 dozen river rocks in our tank for the turtle to play with. They don't really cause any problems with trapping turtle waste/debris.

[Muirner]

can i ask what your doing for a basking light? You should have something to keep the basking rock at about 90*

[kidzncatz]

First of all, thank you for your replies

My husband is at Petsmart as speak, looking for some large plants & some river rocks.

With regards to the basking area, if you look in the first picture there is a basking light clamped to the side of the tank over a large plexiglass basking platform. Is that sufficient? His old set up had a basking light as part of the aquarium hood but we opted to go with the clamp light for this new one.

Thanks again for all of the input. I really appreciate it!

[kidzncatz]

Oh, and there are two of the UV lights (the long "tubular" lights- not for basking) in the hood as well.

[steve]

You can find river rocks in many places besides a petstore, which normally charge more than other stores. You can stick with a plain bare tank, that's really up to you.

[kidzncatz]

Wrt the rocks, I told him if they were too pricey just skip it for now. He had to go to Petsmart to get some supplies for the rest of our "zoo" so he could check them out. He did find some large rock type thing with fake plants that screw into it so I am anxious to check it out.

Thanks for the reply.

[scripta_elegans]

I think a couple plants and a few river rocks would be nice for Tubby, but she sounds as if she is enjoying playing with her reflection too. I would like to add that Tubby looks like a healthy girl to add another vote for gender. If Tubby is a female, she may reach 12 inches in the future. Industrial girl, by user name, has a girl named Sheba who is about 11 inches to give you an idea of the size. Love the blue in the room btw.

[SpotsMama]

Yep, I vote for female too. You're the proud mom of a girl!

Having a female turtle means dealing with eggs. Even if there's no male present, she's going to lay eggs. You might check out information on egg layiing and habitat in General Information on this site, then do a search on eggs and see what you should expect.

I too vote for having a few rocks or plants in the tank. The turtles like to push things around and it will add interest to your tank too.

[marisa]

Adding some decorations (plants, rocks) would make it look nicer and provide some additional stimulation. I think there's a point where you can go overboard and just put too much in, which would add to your cleaning load, but your turtle doesn't need a lot of rocks or plants---just a few rocks to push around and a few plants to laze in/on. But it's up to you.

The nails on one hand look rather short, on the other fairly long. Can you post a pic of the tail?

[kidzncatz]

Marissa- here are some other pics where you might get a better view of the claws & tail...

[marisa]

Yes, a girl (a very pretty girl).

[kidzncatz]

Hmmmm.... a girl, eh? I'm thinking she needs a more ladylike name (It's always been "Tubs" and "Tubby") but I can't see changing it now.

She *is* pretty, isn't she? I think back to her less than ideal start & feel so happy that she is doing so well. Thanks again for all of the input. I am very appreciated of all of the knowlege shared here.

Take care