CONFUSED about lighting for my water turtle tank?

Question

Here's what I have right now:

2 red eared sliders (one the size of a full hand, one the size of a silver dollar & she doesn't grow) in a rectangular 20 gallon tank. Completely open at the top with a dock & spotlight lamp with basking bulb.

I need something larger. Here's my question. Does the top HAVE to be open with a spotlight? Can I buy a tank that has the dome top with the tube lighting? Is that sufficient light or do they need something stronger?

Answer 1

Lighting is very very important for growth. Just like you turtles need vitamin D and we get that from the sun. Turtles will bask all day if not interruted. Well maybe for a dip to cool down and catch abite to eat.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

Tank light is never sufficient. It will stunt the growth cause its not sun light of sunlite in a bulb. 'Been there done that'  with my girls. My slider girls are 36 yrs old.

I got  them on my 18th b-day!  They are still here and never been sick.

A 40/60 watt UVA bulb  is really good for him. If you have tube lighting get a UVA tube light. If you can find a domed  top sure why not.

Put it 10 to 12" above his tank from where is body will be. Leave on for 8 to 10 hrs. Then they will sink to the bottom of whatever they are in after that eat and sleep,

The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle.

55 plus and up in a tank.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA 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.

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

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

They can have garden worm, meal worms, crickets, flies anything that moves!

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, Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables that Vitamin A’.

They need their meat and veggies and sunlight/ UVA light to grow and be gealthy.

I wish you luck.

Answer 2

Ohh!i think i know why! is the small turtle a different species? That might be it! Also the two that are growing are probably females, and the smaller is a male!- Anyways though you really do need at least 50 gallons, sorry but you really need to find something that big, i suggest for the mean time, a rubbermaid container? Also the tube lighting that comes with a tank is only for fish, not intended for reptiles at all. Please read this, it will tell you what you need to know for keeping a turtle.

************ 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 she eats all of it, then get another. Once all of these things are done your turtle will be pretty happy!

Answer 3

Sliders can be come very large. Thr reason they are not growing is because of the tank size.

If you can't afford a 40+ gallon tank for them a large plastic storage tub does just fine.

The top can be covered, but they do need a basking area.

Most will say they need a heating lamp, my turtles have lived very good lives with just a UVA/UVB tube light. Room temp water (76-78 degrees)

Be sur to get the UVA/UVB light, it gives them the Vitamin D they need, basically it replaces what the sun does for them.

Answer 4

That should be fine

Answer 5

The basking lamp should be fine for them, but if you want the more finished look, a dome top does look nice :)