Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boyfriend just moved in and brought along with him two male 2 year old RES turtles. The previous tank they had was way too small, so I set them up in an old 55 gallon fish tank. I’m using a Magnum 350 filter and the light bulbs that were used to light the fish tank. Do I need to buy new or different bulbs? Since the switch to a bigger tank however one of the turtles has greatly reduced the amount of time spent basking. Instead he chooses to stay in the water between the wall and the filter tube. He’s been doing this for about 3 weeks. A couple of days ago I noticed a white filmy coating on his arms and legs. Could this be a fungus or just natural shedding (he has started to grow a lot lately)? Also this same turtle makes a weezing noise when handled. He eats all the time, often taking food from the other turtle if given the chance, and is very active.

What temp is his basking area? He needs to get out of the water and allow himself some drying time. You may need to get a bigger basking light to provide more heat to entice him to climb up and bask.

The UV light should be a reptile bulb like reptisun 5.0. If the water temp is as warm as the basking temp then your turtle is likely to stay in the water more often than not. Try to get the basking spot to 90-95 degees using a heat lamp and bulb(For a 55 gal i would reccomend a 40-50 watt bulb). As for the weezing, I dont think it is weezing, i think he is hissing, if he is doing this only when being handled it is because he is startled and may not be used to being handled.

Thank you for the replies. I did buy new bulbs for the tank and make sure the basking area was warmer than the water. Turtle still not basking, so for the last coupl eof days I've been taking him out for 30 mintues a day and forcing him to bask. It seemed to help with the fuzzy skin.