My first turtles!

[dirtyblacksocks]

Picked up my first turtles from the shop yesterday - they were in the back so long growing out that I just didn't feel right about it, and now they have a good home in our living room

Baby concentric terrapins - I'm finding a lot of conflicting information on their care through Google, so if anyone wants to throw in some advice it's appreciated.

I'm also wondering if anyone has a recommendation on filtration for this tub - I was thinking of using an Eheim thermofilter canister so they don't burn themselves on my heater, as well as being able to run carbon to eliminate any odors.

Thanks!

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Wow, sweet little DBT! Are you keeping it in FW or BW? If it's FW make sure it super clean or they can develop skin fungus very easily. Go with any type of canister filter and make sure it's rated for double the amount of water you have in that tub.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Fresh water, it's what they were hatched in. I've got a constant supply of triple sulfa going to the water to help prevent any infections until they get a little bigger. The larger of the two has a small scar on his shell from who knows what - so I'm worried about that as well.

I'm going to cover up all the lava rock with sand so that they don't hurt their shells as well when they're trying to bask.

Aside from the ReptoMin multi-food I'm feeding these guys, does anyone have some recommendations?

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Crickets, thawed shrimp, fish filets, earth worms, shrimp pellets, FD shrimp, bloodworms are all good foods to ad to the diet.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Any opinions on plumbing a sump into the tub rather than running a canister filter? Pro's, con's?

 

[Vicious_Fish]

If you can build a sump that'd be great. They're much easier to maintain and keep clean than a canister.

 

[cobra blitz]

Nice looking dbt's. Those look to be Northern dbt's. I can't tell if you they are the concentric variation by the pics. Either way care is the same. Are these babies from last year? I think I was there when the store picked them up.

If you think the northern concentrics are nice, take a look at the Carolina concentrics, those guys have some insane bold colors.

Did you get the bulkhead drain with stand pipe with the waterland tub? You can set a up a sump pretty easy on the tub.

I'd switch the rocks out on the land area. I'd put sand and some large flat stones for basking.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Yeah they're too small for the rocks. I had some driftwood in the actual water end and one of them got stuck and almost drowned! I pulled him up and he was limp, like he was dead - but started breathing again when I put him on the land. Scared me half to death.

I'm going to cover the lava rock in really fine sand and put some better basking spots up there, pull all driftwood and just leave the water end bare bottom with some cork bark for them to float on.

Bulkheads are going to get drilled into the water end with an output and input for the sump - right now I have a pond filter in the tank that's only a sponge, but it's already starting to get a slight odor and I want somthing I can run carbon through.

I might put some live plants in the tank as well, anubias under the water and terrestrial plants in the lava rock/sand planted in pots. Don't know yet.