Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I haven't posted here in a pretty long time but I have decied to purchase 2 baby red-eared sliders. I have been researching on them for quite some time now. They are coming this Saturday(6/11)and they are only a little bit bigger than a quarter. I know the little ones are prone to carrying salmonella but I will take my risks and I know I have to wash my hands before and after, etc. Anyways, right now I have a 50 gallon tank with a UVB/UVA basking lamp, a 'fluval 2 plus' filter(submersible), an air pump, 2 basking platforms, a submersible heater, gravel, and I think thats it. I know many say not to get gravel because they may swallow it and its harder to clean but I think its worth the hastle because some of the gravel leads up to this basking area so I pretty much need it and I figure since they are so tiny now that they couldn't possibly even fit it in their mouths. I have a question, though, about they filter I received. It says it can filter up to 24 gallons of water but I have a 50 gallon tank. I think that the filter should be fine because I'm not filling it all the way to 50 gallons of water..if that sounds a bit confusing, sorry. Here is my filter: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTprd_id=845524441781312&FOLDERfolder_id=2534374302030113&ASSORTMENTast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1118346995526 .Also I have this heater, I do not think it is exactly this on but here it is: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTprd_id=845524441779663&FOLDERfolder_id=2534374302030114&ASSORTMENTast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1118347126155 .Does my filter and heater look good enough for my 50 gallon tank and two RES? I also have 2 little knick-knacks in the tank as decoration and 3 fake plants and an underwater cave sort of thing where they can go to hide away. I also forgot to mention that I have a thermometer. Does this sound about right: At the left end of my tank I have my filter and heater pretty close together and my thermometer. In the middle area I have the cave/plants/and other little things and at the right I have the two basking spots, and the UVB/UVA basking lamp. I don't think I missed anything but if you have any suggestions I would very much appreciate it! Also, of course I know that they can grow to be pretty large so in the future I will definitely purchase a larger tank/ filter/ heater, etc. Thats not a problem

Please, please, please take the gravel out. It's not worth the risk. You can use something else for them to get onto the basking platform. A Fluval 2 isn't going to be enough filtration. A cannister filter will work much better. Also, be careful that they won't be able to get trapped in the cave.

The bigger the better, always error on the greater size for any filter being placed in a turtle tank. Best bet would be a false bottom with a large canister filter to filter large particles and even some ammo chips to remove ammonia. Hope this helps!
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Miami Hurricanes #1
NATIONAL CHAMPS 83,87,89,91,01

That filter wont be big enough. Even if you are not filling the tank completely with water you should be iflling it as high as possible which would be about 40gallons.Plus, turtles make more waste than fish and the toxins in their tank can creep dangerously high. If you dont have one i would purchase a good quality (sera is a GREAT brand) test kit to test for Ammonia and Nitrate at the very least.

I also agree with the poster above, take out the gravel. It also makes the tank much more of a pain to clean, not to mention the health issues. You may think your turts are too small to injest the gravel but they are voracious little eaters and if they are to injest some its an expensive surgery, if you can catch it in time. If you need basking spots i would get some zoo-med turtle docks, or construct your own floating basking spots. You can also buy bricks and pile them up securely.

Other than that, you did not mention what you were planning on feeding your turtles, how is that going? Are they eating well?

As long as you are aware that you will need a tank of 100gallons of water or more when they get older, depending on sex, which is seems that you do, you seem to be out to a great start!
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
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4.1 Cats

Thank you guys for all the replies! i appreciate it and I will work on removing the gravel and purchasing a better filter.

As far as feeding goes, I will feed them: Zoo-Med baby aquatic turtle pellets, Zoo-Med's crickets(dried up), Can-O-Worms, a powder supplement, and of course the various fruits and veggies.

I do have one more question, though,--I set my heater dial to 88°(as high as it can go) and it said allow 12 hours for it to reach the proper temperature that I set. So after 12 hours or longer I checked on it with the thermometer and it was 81°. After a couple of days it has only gone up to 82° and I am getting kind of worried. Has this happened to any of you before? I even checked to see if the thermometer was working correctly by placing it under tap water and it works fine. In my opinion, even when it got to 88° from the sink when I checked it with the thermometer it still seemed kind of cool..I don't know though. I think I'm just paranoid. But please help me with this 'heater havoc.' Thanks!