Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Very bad news...again. My second baby red-eared slider, Tes, has died today. I fed the little formula that I made for her every day and she would eat but i guess that just wasn't good enough. I found that taking care of two baby res can be quite difficult so I have decided that I am just going to buy an older 4in. red-eared slider that is already eating, etc. I did, though, hear many horror stories from the place I adopted them AfTeR I adopted them. Before I purchase my other one, I am going to completely empty the cage and clean all the gravel and remove it but I am going to make a sort of basking area with it somehow..It's hard to explain but I will show you some pictures after i re-design my tank. I am goig to buy some bigger stones for the bottom because I still have the pants and all and they need to be held down by something. I am a bit confused on the whole 'nitrogen cycle' process. I have read many posts on it in this forum and others but I can't quite get it down. Can someone please explain it to me? Is is absolutely necessary? I'm hoping it's not. Also, I have little Ph/Chlorine/other stuff sticks that I can stick into the water to find out about that but it's for my hotub. Do you think I could use it for the aqaurium? I am just curious about that. And now that I will be puchasing a larger and older res I nned to know more of the feeding basics, etc. Does this sound okay to you?--
FeedinG:"every other day"
*collard/mustard greens
*kale
*apple
*bananas
*carrot slices
*tomato slices
*strawberries
*cucumbers
*grapes
(^^anymore?^^)
FeedinG:"every two to three days"
*can-O-worms
*can-O-crickets
*earthworms
FeedinG:"every week or two"
*cooked chicken
*supplement powder(once or twice a week)
~Also I am going to buy an aquatic snail for feeding purposes and filtration~

Does the above arrangement for feeding sound okay or do I need some adjustments..?

Also, would having the lighting set from 7am-7pm be an appropriate time?

Is a 50-gallon tank a good size for a 4inch red-eared slider? I had my two quarter-sized red-eared sliders in there before and I knew that would be okay until they grew older but is it okay for an older turtle?

ANy other suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I forgot to leave out the pellets. I have repto-min """baby""" pellets that I bought for my baby res...Can I still feed the 'baby' pellets to the new red-eared slider that I'll be getting or no?? It would be definetly good if I could!

I would not put a larger turtle in with the baby. Also, you
cannot just buy a turtle and put it with your existing
collection. The new turtle must be quarantined for at least
6 weeks.

I would keep them separate until the baby almost reaches
the same size as the larger one.

Linda

Please consider adopting a slider from a reputable rescue or humane society rather than purchasing a slider. There are many, many available for adoption. Where did you adopt your first two from? I you didn't have to fill out an application or go through an interview, then it probably was a sale, not an adoption. Some websites sell baby turtles but call it adoption.

Petfinder, Pets 911, and Melissa Kaplan's website are all places to start, if you'd like to adopt a turtle of any size.

Katrina

Both my babies died. So thanks I will look into adopting a slider then but I still need some info for the whole nitrogen cycle situation and ammonia, etc. Is it necessary?!

There is no reason you can't use the baby Reptomin. It's the same stuff as the regular only smaller pieces. Regarding the nitrogen cycle, basically waste produces amonia which turns into nitrites which turn into nitrates. You want 0 amonial and nitrites and some nitrates. The food you listed sounds good. Fruits should be about 10% and a younger turtle will be more carniverous then an older one.

Thanks for the replies guys but is going through the nitrogen/ammonia cycle necessary for the turtles health..?

Yes it is, in a sense. The nitrogen cycle is what keeps the ammonia levels and the nitrite levels down in your tank, if these levels get too high it will kill your turtle. If you want to learn about the nitrogen cycle get a good book on fish tanks and you will find tons of stuff about it in there. As far as how you play a part in the nitrogen cycle you just need to never do 100% water change. When you first put your turtle into the water the tank will get cloudy, after awhile (a few days to a couple weeks) the tank will clear up again. This cloudiness is the nitrogen cycle getting started. After the initial cloudiness you just need to remember to only do small (no more than 1/3) water changes frequently, and not large water changes occasionally. Doing a large water change will restart your nitrogen cycle and could cause the ammonia levels in your tank to become dangerously high.

As far as the small gravel, unless you are somehow creating a basking spot for your turtle with it in a way that he will never be able to come into contact with it, then dont do it. Adult turtles have large mouths and it will be an expensive vet bill/surgery to correct the problem when he eats it. You can buy a Zoo-Med turtle dock for a basking platform, this suction cups to the side of the tank and provides not only a basking site but also frees up more space in your tank because there is nothing piled up under it. This means more swimming space for your turtle.

As far as the size of the tank, a 50 gallon tank will be the ok for a 4inch turtle as long as you fill it up as high as possible with water. You need 10gallons of water for each inch of turtle, so you will want all but 10gallons of your tank to be filled. This tank will also not last very long, maybe a year, as your turtle is definately not going to be done growing. If you get a male, they stay a little smaller (between 8-10inches) but you are still looking at a permanant home of about a 100gallon tank. For a female its better to do even bigger.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

It is better to have a cycled tank and do partial water changes and your filter cleanings than constantly doing 100% water changes and dealing with ammonia build up. It may not hurt the turtle not to but it is much healthier to have the animal in a balanced environment. This will explain the cycle to you.

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/bcycling.htm

I suggest you do it. It is much easier to maintain the animal and enjoy the animal this way and it won't be constantly swimming around in an ammonia bath until you clean the tank and start from scratch.

Steve