Habitat - Indoor :: water quality and basking questions

[pumpkinsherbet]

i'm typing this on my phone so if it gets weird i'm sorry.

--for anyone unfamiliar with the back story, john is sick with a bacterial infection so he is in quarantine. at dr.'s orders he is in shallow water which will be gradually raised, and the big tank got a full water change. Aeryn is being watched, but seems okay so far. i just want to make sure everything is good. specific questions will be marked with a *

Aeryn -water temp 78 -ambient 75 -basking 90-96
-pH 7.6 -ammonia 0.25 *since it's new water it has to repeat the cycle, when should i retest?

John -water 84 *dr. said temps too high will be detrimental. if i turn down the heating pad it is at 80 which is better? he recommended 82
-ambient 76 -basking 80-85 *should i try taking the lamp shade off? he also gets sunlight for 30 minutes a day
-pH 7.6 -ammonia 0 *changed water this

[pumpkinsherbet]

Sorry, My Phone cut me off

*changed john's water this morning. does that mean he did not pee? should i be wary of this?

---about the basking spot, Aeryn does not seem interested. does anyone have any suggestions on how i can make it more enticing? ---thank you! sorry it's so weird, my boyfriend is using the network for his job right now

[scripta_elegans]

John's basking temp should probably be at 90-95. My vet recommended boosting the basking temp at the same time as the water. I would say 82 is about perfect for the water for John, so perhaps try cycling the heating pad? When you add more water the temp should drop a bit, so it will probably be @ 82. 78 for Aeryn is fine. I would watch her closely for any signs of illness, just to be on the safe side. As far as the temp for Aeryn's basking platform goes, try 88, then 89, etc. She might be basking when you aren't around too. Is it a new platform?

[pumpkinsherbet]

yeah it's new, i just got the ramp in. i've seen her swim up and put one foot on the ramp, then just swim off. she didn't know i was watching this.

should i try a second lamp w/ an incandescent bulb to raise basking temps?

[scripta_elegans]

I'd say John's should be @ 92 at least, so if you need to add a lamp to get it there, go for it. My turtles took about a week to show me they were basking after I put a new platform in last time. It's @ 90, which they seem to like. oNe prefers 92, and the other 88, so it's a happy medium.

[pumpkinsherbet]

*sigh* Here I Had Hoped i was over the temperature problems and here they are rearing their ugly heads at the WORST time! I'm going to try taking the lamp shade off and move the light a bit closer. i'm raising water level 1/4" at a time.

[iac637]

My vet said Monday for hatchlings he likes the water to be about 85 all of the time it prevents them from getting infections as easily so I had to up my tempature. I think it all has to to with who you talk to though.

If you are worried about basking you can always take them out and force them to bask for about an hour at a time. I was worried about that as well so I asked my vet he said that was fine and good to do if you were worried about basking.

[pumpkinsherbet]

okay yay i managed to get his basking temp up to 90, it will go up as raise water levels right?

i did fail to take into account that it would be heating up the water too, and the water temp went up to 90! fortunately i got it back down to 84 quickly.

[scripta_elegans]

The basking temp should go up as the platform gets closer to the lamp. If it's heating the water up further, perhaps you could just turn the heating pad on at night after the lamp is off? Temp regulation can be a real pain in smaller tanks. I kept a few 12 oz water bottles full and frozen all the time last summer because the tank would go from 78-86 in a few hours after the lights came on.