Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just rescued two juvenile female sliders and put them into my 200 gallon pond that has two juvenile female sliders in it already (my hope is that they will get along for a few years at least until they are all fully grown, if not longer).

Their shells are badly pyramided, with that "too small for the body" look---domed and they look like they are bulging out of them. Otherwise, they seem OK---eyes are clear, shells are firm and green, skin is good, and they are active (they have already checked out the pond and basked today).

I intend to give them plenty of sunshine and artificial UV and basking light, go easy on the protein and heavy on the veggies and reptomin, which has lots of vitamins. The pond is big enough for them to get in good swimming activity. Any other suggestions? Calcium or other vitamin suplements? Any other treatments or dietary stuff?

is your pond outside? if so you don't need artificial light.

It's in a sunroom with a moveable skylight, which stays open most of the summer, but closed most of the winter. But because I am surrounded by tall buildings on two sides, they block out the sun especially during the winter. So, I augment natural sunlight with a couple of full-spectrum basking spots. I am located in So CA.

oh, that makes sence. for basking bulbs there is one in the dr. foster and smith catalog and online, it is a powerful basking bulb and gives all the UVB/UVA they need. i use them for a lot of my herps and they work extremely well. they are 50$, but florescents are 30 and basking bulbs are 5, and they need to be replaces more often and arn't nearly as efficient. good luck!