Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter recieved 5 RES as a gift. I need some help on getting them set up, becuase as we know as a Mom, I now have 5 more babies! Right now, I have them in a 10 gallon aquarium half filled with water. I have a Zoo-med floating turtle ramp in there and I'm feeding them the Zoo-med hatchling turtle food. I do have a basking light shining down on their ramp so they can have the basking time. Other than that... I'm at a loss. I know I need a filter for them to try and save having to change the water on an extremely frequent basis. I have read the forums and I'm only chaging about a third of the tank at a time because of the nitrous cycle. Please help so I can get them and their tank set up as good as possible and keep their tank as least smelly as good as possible! Thanks for all of your help in advance!

Mom in need of help!

One of the most important things is the water temperature. It needs to be around 80°. UVB light is also very important but you can take them outside for that. A kiddie pool makes a good outdoor pond but do make sure they don't get too hot.

It won't take long for them to outgrow that 10 gallon tank. A good inexpensive way to upgrade is to use a Rubbermaid type storage container. Keep in mind that a RES can get to be the size of a dinner plate.

A few good sites for information:
www.chelonia.org/Articles/trachemyscare.htm
www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

PHL gave some very good advice. Heater to keep water at 78-80, and make sure they're getting UVB rays from sunlight or fluorescent lighting (if you want the expense of another bulb).
In terms of filtration, it can start cheap and get expensive quickly. I belive Zoo Med is making internal and external filters now for "turtle tanks." The external is a Fluval filter, which I have had problems with. Seals were hard to close, hardware was difficult to work with, etc. But that was just my personal experience, others may have had more success.
Whisper probably makes the cheapest internal filter on the market. It's not a Cadillac by any means, but it provides chemical and mechanical filtration, so it gets the job done.
Hope this helps.

The advice helps... Thank you both! I my husband is into the reptiles, so we did have a uvb bulb that is on there now. I just wasn't quite sure with evertyhing else. Gravel is a no brainer to me right now. I can just imagine how hard that would be to keep clean. I know I definatly need a filter and that will definatly be my next purchase. I really want to try and keep them inside and avoid for as long as possible for an oustide kiddie pool. My daughter does enjoy them. Do I need to add any types of plants or will that come later? I know I've read some things about that on the forums and didn't know if that's something I should do or not. Thanks to both of you for your help!

DO NOT USE GRAVEL! For some reason turtles tend to ingest it and it can cause a fatal impaction. There's nothign wrong with a bare bottomed tank and it's easier to clean.

You can use aquatic plants that are sold at the fish stores. Of course the turtles might make a nice salad of them but that's a good thing. Anacharis is sold in bunches and many turtles love it. Do keep in mind that juveniles are more carniverous then adults but you want to introduce a variety of food, including veggies at an early age to avoid finicky eaters later.

I forgot about your filter question. I've found that a canister filter works best as turtles are very messy. I've got a Fluval 304 and it works nicely but I do have some issues with it. I know somebody else who had one and things broke on it left and right.

Also, get a brine shrimp net from the fish store to scoop out any poop and leftover food.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If you think of any other questions, ask away.

I'll be more specific with my Fluval problems. I had a 404 and had one heck of a time keeping a good seal between the motor housing (top part) and the canister (bottom part). It would get these tiny leaks that were hard to detect, but afer a day or two of a small leak, there would be a gallon of water on the floor.
Finally, the last straw was when the hardware for the intake hose burst and it sent about 20 gallons of water on my bedroom floor. I chucked it that day and swore never to use an external canister again.
However, as I mentioned earlier, this was my experience. Other folks may not have had such problems.

>I've got a Fluval 304 and it works nicely but I do have some >issues with it. I know somebody else who had one and things >broke on it left and right.

LOL I just happened to see this. That was me, I had a Fluval 304, best filter I'd ever had in my life until piece by piece it fell apart. I bought replacement parts, they broke too.
Odd thing about that because I still have a Fluval 204, the old style which I bought in 1995, that one STILL works but it's just too small for my tank. I keep it around for filter emergencies.
Today I have a Magnum 350 so far so good, knock on wood!

I have a ZooMed 501 made for turtles but don't get that one for 5 RES, it's way too small. It works fine for my mud turtle's shallow tank but would never work for my 55 gallon tank & would never work for 5 RES.
I've heard good things about the Filstar canister but have never tried that one. A Fluval canister filter is fabulous when it stays together. The Magnum is wonderful & then there really just are not that many canisters to choose from, not many on the market.
Good luck choosing filtration.
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PHRatz

Based on my experience from working with saltwater tanks (6 years), I'd have to say the best canister filter is the Ehiem. But now you're talking bank; those things are expensive.

>>I'd have to say the best canister filter is the Ehiem. But now you're talking bank; those things are expensive.

YES that's the one I couldn't remember the name of. I looked at that one when I was shopping & wow they are high dollar.
I wound up ordering the Magnum from www.thatpetplace.com because it was on sale at the time but even at thatpetplace's regular price it was still 60 dollars cheaper than the same filter at my local pet store.
If my Magnmum will last at least 5 years, I'll be happy. :-x
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PHRatz

That Magnun is a darn fine filter. I bet you'll be happy with that thing. Good buy.

You guys all ROCK! Thank you so much for all of the advice! Maybe I can get these guys under control! Thanks again!

Mafie

>>You guys all ROCK! Thank you so much for all of the advice! Maybe I can get these guys under control! Thanks again!
>>
>>Mafie

You can! You will! Once you do, you'll really enjoy having them. I've found over the years that once I have the right equipment that makes MY life easier, then I really enjoy having the shelled pets. They're fun when you can spend time with them instead of hassling with equipment.
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PHRatz

I've learned a lot of stuff about keeping herps/fish the hard way over the years. One of the main things is that cutting corners isn't the right way to go. If you spend a little more money with the initial set-up, and do it right, it can save you a ton of money and headaches in the long run. Usually, because when you have to go back and fix a problem, you end up buying whatever it was you needed in the first place!!! lol

Glad that Magnum's working for ya'. If I ever change my mind on the external filtration, I'll look into one of those.

Here's one of my buddies.

>> One of the main things is that cutting corners isn't the right way to go. If you spend a little more money with the initial set-up, and do it right, it can save you a ton of money and headaches in the long run. Usually, because when you have to go back and fix a problem, you end up buying whatever it was you needed in the first place!!! lol
>>

That is exactly right! I've come to learn that too & once I have the set up correct in the first place it's a whole lot less work for me.
Great photo of your little buddy, thanks for sharing that.
When we adopted this needy pyramided one, we went right for the big house for her, the Kane heat mat, everything we needed for her without cutting any corners. Thank goodness we did it that way because she grew a whole lot more than we expected her to in 3 years.
She's not RES but here's a pic of my BIG buddy,

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PHRatz

Very cool. Don't know much about torts. I'm guessing that's a spur-thigh?
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2.1.0 water dragons, 2.2 crested geckos, 0.0.3 turtles, 1.0.0 5-line skink, 2.0.0 anoles, 0.0.1 giant millipede, 1.0.0 uromastyx, 1.0.0 armadillo lizard, 1.0.0 veiled chameleon, 1.1.0 bearded dragons, 1.0.0 pictus gecko, 1.1.0 CA banded gecko, 1.0.0 Hondo, 1.1.0 corns, 1.0.0 dog, 1.1.0 cats, 0.1.0 wife, 2 SW tanks - 20H, 55

>>Very cool. Don't know much about torts. I'm guessing that's a spur-thigh?

Thanks! We love her. We didn't know much about torts either the day we took her in. We were going to keep her only until a home could be found.. but as it turned out she found one that same day, ours lol.
She's an African spurred aka Geochelone sulcata.

My little aquatic turtles look like toys next to her. lol
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PHRatz

>>That Magnun is a darn fine filter. I bet you'll be happy with that thing. Good buy.

Thankies!
I sure hope so, I've only had it for 2 months or so I believe, so far I am amazed at how easy it is to take apart & rinse out. It's time for a full carbon change now.. doing that today, I'll see how that goes.
I'm guessing it's be as easy as everything else about it.
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PHRatz