Baby aquatic turtle habitat help.?

Question

I know I need maybe a plant, a full spectrum light....but otherwise, how does my habitat look?

http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/ll368/traverslemonde/100_0200.jpg

http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/ll368/traverslemonde/100_0196.jpg

He doesn't want anything to do with the ramp to get to his basking spot. Is it because it's a new habitat? Any tips for an aquatic turtle? Thanks.

And I will upgrade his/her tank when it gets bigger! This is just a starter. I will eventually make a pond for it.

Answer 1

it is ok, but i would make some changes....

1. instead of the basking ramp YOU have, you should instead get a zoomed floating turtle dock, so then you could raise the water level at least halfway, but more is always better, just make sure he cant escape!

2. you dont really need gravel, and gravel can be hard to clean.

3. upgrade to a bigger tank when he outgrows a ten gallon when he is about 2 inches.

************ This is a setup for a red eared slider the most common type of turtle, they get up to 12 inches, but you will see them as babies at a store commonly, so know that they will grow very big**************

You will need to get a 50 gallon starter tank and upgrade to a 75 gallon later on when your turtle is over 6 inches...If you can not get that big of a tank right now then for now you can use a huge rubbermaid container filled up with clean warm water 5/6 of the way. The water should be 75-82F, that can be achieved by buying a water heater at the petstore, along with a water filter. Water filters that are best are canister filters, like the Rena xp3 filter which costs $200, but filters very well. Do buy a filter please, even a cheap one at $25, is better then none at all, since turtles are extremely messy and p**p-ful (haha). The bottom of the tank should be bare, no gravel because they could choke on that mistaking it for food. On top of the water you need 3 things, 1. a basking dock ( buy a large size zoomed basking dock). 2. you 100% need to buy a basking lamp+bulb, you buy them separatly, then s***w the bulb in ( 50 watts) and shine it on the basking dock over a mesh hood( cut a hole out of it and place the light there!). 3. This is very important, you need a uvb light. It is a long thin light, you need to get the actual lamp+ the long skinny bulb. Reptosun 5.0 is the best bulb( together costs $55). Shine that onto the basking dock as well. Turtles need these together because they use the uva for heat, so they stay warm ( the basking site should be 90-95F, not colder) and they need the uvb rays to metabolize calcium and vitamin d3 for a stronger shell ( like you need it for your bones!) The diet for the turtle should be reptomin pellets ( and other nutricuos pellets!) crickets, mealworms, bloodworms, shrimp, and krill. All of this is found dead at the petstore!;) They also need vegetation, get kale, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, and collard greens. Drop all of the food in the tank once a day, and remove any leftover bits after a few hours. By the way ALL of the protien food ( dead food, that was alive once) should be dusted with a calcium supplement ( powder) and you need to get a cuttlebone found in the bird aisle of the petstore and drop it in the water for him to knaw on, keep it there for a while (month) until he eats all of it, then get another. Once all of these things are done your turtle will be pretty happy!

Answer 2

perfect!good job! =D

Answer 3

Very pretty but not efficient. The stones serve no useful purpose except to look pretty and they make it more difficult to keep the tank clean. I'd remove them and raise the water level. A plant will get trampled, broken and, if you are lucky, eaten.

As far as the ramp goes, your turtle may just not be used to it yet.

Answer 4

The water level looks pretty low, and I don't see what you're using for filtration or heating, though I do see cords in left corner...

As long as you're providing a correct basking temperature and water temperature (though I would deepen the water by a couple inches at least), it looks okay.

http://www.redearslider.com/index_habita...

I was looking at the first pic which shows his head, and just to the right of that, there appears to be a small round white stone which is small enough to fit in his mouth?  If so, I'd suggest removing it.  Try to make sure all stones are too large to be accidentally mistaken for food and swallowed.

Other than that, I'd suggest putting a bird cuttle bone into the water to provide needed calcium.

Try to be sure that he gets the variety in his diet he needs (babies need about 80% of the diet meat, and 20% of the diet plant and vegetable items:

http://reslider.free.fr/backup/feeding.h...

Most of all, enjoy your pet.

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 5

That looks perfect.  For plants, I'd get anarcaris, he'll even eat it.

Stay away from plastic as he may try to munch on it, which would be bad for him.

And aside from needing a UV light which you already know, looks absolutely fine.  

Feed him every other day for now until he gets larger.  Should grow up to be a great turtle :)

Other than that, they're very easy to take care of.