I know nothing about turtles but my wife got one for me and i need info pretty quick i have a 20 long for now thats housed some convict fry so its cycled ( dont even know if cycling is needed ) so what do i need in terms of substrate,filters , (I have a hob ac 250 on it right now) , and heating read a lil and know they need heat and what they eat but im not really a turtle guy but if i have it i wanna give it a good life thanks 4 the help
Need some info on RES
- Thread starter albyoscar
- Start date
for a filter i would go with a zoomed 501 < i have it works great i.m.o. and its rated to 30 gallons >
i would say its good to have cycled water ( i took water from my 55g. i wouldnt risk uncycled )
substrate i'd leave bare, maby paint the bottom of the tank? i have 3 sides of my tank panted black and also the bottom. ( bare is easier to clean rather then everything getting stuck in the gravel )
if you were to get a heat lamp, basking area and water heater ( screen top depending on if u have cats or children )
i would say its good to have cycled water ( i took water from my 55g. i wouldnt risk uncycled )
substrate i'd leave bare, maby paint the bottom of the tank? i have 3 sides of my tank panted black and also the bottom. ( bare is easier to clean rather then everything getting stuck in the gravel )
if you were to get a heat lamp, basking area and water heater ( screen top depending on if u have cats or children )
They can live up to 50 years, sometimes more.
They need ALOT of space, I recommend a a 125 gallon(everything less just seams to small, I also know other people will disagree wit me)
They need unfiltered UV rays along with heat.
Just make sure the water is clean. Chlorine will not affect you turtle the way it does fish and it is perfectly safe to poor some water in, just try and have the tempurature the same.
Underwater filters work wonders. Fluval has a nice line up.
If you want to have a substrate at the bottom, try to have it so the turtle canot injest it. Large sooth river stones are expensive and hard to clean but look very nice.
Feed it a large aray of food. Crickets, mealworms, earthworms, minnows(NOT GOLD FISH), other bugs, crustaceans and other natural items that it would normaly find in the wild.
Did I miss anything?
Z
They need ALOT of space, I recommend a a 125 gallon(everything less just seams to small, I also know other people will disagree wit me)
They need unfiltered UV rays along with heat.
Just make sure the water is clean. Chlorine will not affect you turtle the way it does fish and it is perfectly safe to poor some water in, just try and have the tempurature the same.
Underwater filters work wonders. Fluval has a nice line up.
If you want to have a substrate at the bottom, try to have it so the turtle canot injest it. Large sooth river stones are expensive and hard to clean but look very nice.
Feed it a large aray of food. Crickets, mealworms, earthworms, minnows(NOT GOLD FISH), other bugs, crustaceans and other natural items that it would normaly find in the wild.
Did I miss anything?
Z
Thank you all for the info i found a few sites that have been helpful too I think I got it all under control and we are good to go. If you happen to think of anything else please let me know
Z Trip;1195381; said:
Good advice! I agree on the 125 gallon aquarium. The rule of thumb is 10 gallons for every 1" of shell length. If you have a female, they can get 12" fairly easily. That is a very big, active turtle. You will need the space. Males are smaller at around 9".
Don't worry about cycled water at all, unless you have fish with the turtle. Lots of people do large water changes weekly (50% or more) and nobody that I have heard of ever has had a problem with the chlorine.
The only thing I would say different is the substrate. I have small 4-6mm (from a local stream) river rock in my current musk turtle setup and have had similar setups for years and I have never had a turtle have any trouble with eating it. Either they did eat it and had no problems or they just didn't eat it (I never saw them).
This website has everything you could possibly want to know about keeping RES's: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm.
Good luck!
ahhh well if it's healthy, it should be able to pass a doorknob with rusty nails taped to it. At least that's what I've heard....
lovespunaround;1195663; said:
Now I've heard that somewhere I just can't pin point where....hmmm....
I know I'm sounding like a broken record everyone, but if you can build a pond for it, thats the best home for it in the future. They are very active turtles and the more space you give them, the happier and healthier they are.
where i went to get my turtles, they had them in a swimming pool, half land half water. it was pretty amazing! i.m.o anyways
Research prior to acquisition is always preferable, but he's got the turtle now and he's doing the right thing by trying to learn how best to care for it. I don't think it's right for us to start giving him a hard time. I mean as far as I know, he doesn't have a reputation around here as a repeat offender, so let's let him off the hook on this one.