Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought my daughter some map turtles she is 12 and we LOVE them, but I have never been to certain about thier care.

We have 2 turtles in a 10 gallon tank. They are only about 2 inches long. The tank is a litle less than 1/2 full of water. We have a UV lamp and a heat lamp, and we also have a dock for them to bask on. We have a Duetto Submersible filter. I notice the themometer on the side of the tank in the evening when we turn off the light reads somtimes 80 to 82 degrees. Isn't this too hot. Could this be why they do not bask very much.

We were alsotold to turn the heat light and the UV light off at night. Is this right too? The tank drops down to 72 degrees overnight and then heats back up during the day.

We are also having trouble with Algea. We feed them Zoo Med's Hatching Aquatic Turtle Food. Is this right? The bottles say to feed them 1 level teaspoon per turtle but we were told by the Pet store to feed them much less than that. Which one is right?
We do a 30-50% water change every week and have been scrubbing off the algea on the glass. What is causing this? Is it to hot? Are we leaving the lights on too long?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Dropping the temps is a good idea, I keep mine in the mid 70's. The lights should be turned off at night. Turtles should be fed a small amount every other day or so, no more than would fit in their head. At least that is what we do for RES, I am not sure if map turtles are different. A bigger tank would be a good idea, the rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle. You have 4 inches of turtle so you need 40 gallons of water, and since you can't fill the tank to the top you should probably get a 75 gallon tank or so. At least that would last you for awhile.
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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

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sig file edited 1/29/05 [phw]