Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm embarassed to say I was grossly underinformed when I bought the RES for my daughter. Now I'm scrambling to find adequate housing for him/her as I was lead to believe he/she could live in a Rubbermaid tote! I bought a submersible filter and a heat lamp to try to get by until I get the proper set up.

My questions are: Do I get an aquarium with a hood? I don't have any experience with large aquariums but how many gallons will keep him/her happy? I would rather get a large enough one right off the bat. Also, he/she does not come out of the water to the basking area. Even if I put him/her up on it, he/she goes right back into the water immediately. Won't this cause some kind of shell-rotting problem? The gal at the pet store sold me a red bulb for the basking light telling me it wouldn't interfer with the day/night cycle. Do you think maybe the RES dislikes the red light? (I know now after some reading I need to get a UVB light). Finally, I have had the turtle for a week with no water heater. I'm concerned about the length of time he/she can be in room temp water.

Sorry for having so many questions but I don't want the little guy/gal to die! I love the way it pokes its head out of the water to look at me when I'm in my daughter's room! Its so cute!

Congrat's on your RES. We have had ours 2 RES over 2 years now and my how whey have grown. My husband brought them home for the kids. We thought we could keep them in a 20 gallon tank with a sponge filter. Wrong! I had to clean the tank every other day. We ended with a 75 gallon tank and a good filter. The filter is the key to your sanity when it comes to keeping them clean. RES are dirty, but there are filters that keep up with them. They need UV rays from proper lighting. They also do need to get out of the water and bask. We have a UV basking light, which is expensive, but serves two purposes. Otherwise you would need a hood on the tank to hold a florencent UV light and a basking light. Be careful the basking light does not get too close to the tank or turtles. It melted part of our tank. They do make basking light stands. I find buying supplies on-line is often cheaper than the pet stores. Many pet stores often just don't have a lot of the good turtles supplies. Proper food variety is also important. Good luck with your RES.

I have an aquarium with a screen top, it lets me choose what lights I want and where I want them. I would go no smaller than a 55 gallon tank to start, it should last you several years anyway. Canister filters are good investments because they keep the tank really clean for a long time and they dont take up any swimming space. You can either get a basking bulb and a UVB florescent tube or a mercury vapor bulb that produces both heat and UVB. If you get a UVB florescent you can just use a normal household bulb for heating. I have never had a heater on my tank, my lights keep the water in the 70's which is plenty warm for turtles that aren't hatchlings. If you don't have a very big tank your water is probably warm enough to. I turn all my lights off at night.

Turtles don't like to bask in front of people, your guy may bask when you aren't watching. He may also need some time to settle in before he is comfortable enough to climb out of the water.
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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 1999
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

I think you are right about him basking when we are not around. I noticed his basking platform was wet this morning so he must do it when are all sleeping or gone!

(My questions are: Do I get an aquarium with a hood? I don't have any experience with large aquariums but how many gallons will keep him/her happy? I would rather get a large enough one right off the bat. Also, he/she does not come out of the water to the basking area. Even if I put him/her up on it, he/she goes right back into the water immediately. Won't this cause some kind of shell-rotting problem? The gal at the pet store sold me a red bulb for the basking light telling me it wouldn't interfer with the day/night cycle. Do you think maybe the RES dislikes the red light? (I know now after some reading I need to get a UVB light). Finally, I have had the turtle for a week with no water heater. I'm concerned about the length of time he/she can be in room temp water)

I am very sorry you had such a bad pet store experience.

I would say no dont get an aquarium with a hood. An aquarium with a screen top is much better as you can put the lights wherever you want.

You didn't say how big your turtle is but since you bought it at a pet store i will assume it is at least 4-5inches. In this case i would go with a 50breeder or larger aquarium. I like the breeders the best because they are wide and allow for the turtle to turn around, even when he gets bigger (and he will). 75gallomn tanks work really well also, and will be a great permanant home.

As far as basking, i agree with the above, once your turtle has had a change to calm down and adjust to him new surroundings you may see him basking mroe often. But i am sure he basks when you are not around

As far as lighting goes: you want a basking spot (out of the water) to be between 85-90degrees, use a dome lamp with a bulb of appropriate wattage on top of the screen. It doesnt matter what color is it, red or otherwise. Also include a UVD bulb, remember that for UVB to be effective the turtle has to be able to get pretty close to it, at least within 10-12inches.

Room temperature water is ok unless it gets REALLY cold in your house.

Make sure you give your turtle a well rounded diet of turtle pellets, veggies (collards, mustard greens etc..etc) and insects. Also you can buy frozen beefheart and brine shrimp and silversides at the pet store, these work nicely as treats. And just in case the petstore mis-informed you on this too...your turtle does not need goldfish. Goldfish are dirty feeders and really shouldn't be fed to anything, he can get all his needed protien from insects (crickets, earthworms, super worms..etc) and from frozen chunk fish food.

Good luck!!
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