About lighting for my turtle?

Question

I bought a 10 gallon starter tank for my baby turtle and it came with this lid that has a built in light. I wanted to know if I need to go buy the basking lamp still or not. The lid is very un-flat so i'm not sure where i'd put the basking lamp. But if the light on the lid isn't good enough then i'll need too. Someone please help! I'm new!

Answer 1

Just 10g? Hard to get a basking light 4 that tank. Pretty small. I'd get a UV natural sunlight florescent light. 20g long is better cause you have room to have the basking light at one end (dry land) & the water end is cooler! A 10g with most basking light's will just heat the whole tank up sometimes too much!

Answer 2

Every 6 months you should get a new light for your turtle. The reason why is because the chemicals in the lights wont properly work by that team and dye out. If you only have a pet turtle in the tank then you can go to a fish store and get the reptile cover, and put the UVB light right over the basking area.

Here is more information on lighting your tank.

"How To Care For Turtle: Turtle Tank Lighting System"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjQ6AzcVN...

If any questions....

[e-mail]

Sincerely,

Jason

Answer 3

Yea you need a rep light:

some more helpful hints..The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle. Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liners from most nurseries and worked great.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always. These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about  3” across.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear in a few days! When I got these two 36 yrs ago all we had in back then  were goldfish to feed , so after 36 yrs and still going strong. They can eat goldfish!

This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

I spend about 175.00 a month on fish ,goldfish and minnows. An Extra  75.00 on leafy greens and dried cubed tubiflex worms.

They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes,  foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass.

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worms, meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, dragon flies and  anything that moves, but only as a treat.

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose.

**Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

Contact the “www.anapsid.org/societies, for a turtle vet /  rescue in your city and state.

I wish you luck.

http://flickr.com/photos/29035692@N03/se...

Answer 4

yes a uv bulb will still need to be provided.  you may be able to out the uv bulb in the lids socket.  

extra info-

make sure that the tank is more then half way filled with water with a basking area in one corner. also be sure that the water is kept around 80 degrees (you will need a water heater)  if the water is too cold they will stop eating and get sick.