New turtle owner - Need help finding all the gear

[dantonyandtj]

I recently went into an exotics shop and this guy keeps black mumbas and all kinds of extreamly hard to keep snakes and reptiles.... I asumed this meant he knew/cared about the turtles he sold.

I was sorely mistaken. He sold me a travel viv (RRP£ for 15 quid as a suitable housing enviroment for my little critters (map and slider) a piece of driftwood told me pairs were nessisary and said they were easy to care for which I now know after extensive research is not true BUT I am not detered as I love turtles so I have found a 56L volume tank 2ft by 1ft by 1ft deep on a forum of a women moving house so Im getting a good deal, have ordered a double sized filter system for it (110l max filter), have the live feed down with grub worms and earth worms as treats pellets (although map refuses them so I have to feed him grubs) and I have them a basking light and small heating mat.

I have ordered calcium powder to shake bake the live food for a bit of extra calcium and I have researched for three days and have abut 5 pages of notes on both my turtles and from this I have found water temp of 21-23degrees c will keep them both happy, basking temp of 30-40DC and a UVB 10% with UVA full spectrum lamp is needed. I have gone for essencials quickly such as calcium tank heating map old desk lamp for basking etc and both turtles are incredibly happy, both bask and swim and Map doesnt even run away from me entereing the room or even going to say hello as long as the tank lid is on.

This said with all my research I cannot find any websites to order more than two or three items off and am not sure of which brands to go for....

thus far I have a decent tank coming, feed down, filter being delivered, tank cleaner for the tank im getting, cuttlefishbone and calcium powder to prevent deficiency, thermostat, old desk lamp for basking and the heat mat (might need to upgrade though

Can someone tell me of a place to buy (internet) A good stone substrate (quite large stones) a good UBV bulb and lamp for it to go into, a light timer to keep day night cycles and some water veggies for these guys, dechloride agent and anything else I may need or want.

I am working on a budget when buying my turtles this stuff but I refuse to hurt these creatures due to the neglect of a store owner offering terrible advice as fact. Map is 1-2 months old slider is about the same but a little younger than the map. Both are highly active and get on really well, bask, swim and eat live feed and the slider pellets although the map tried these and didnt like them. Might try another brand.

sorry I wrote an essay Im just really excited about these guys and really wanna do the best by them and am actually in the middle of an essay so Im stuck in essay mode =P I promise posts will be shorter in the future.

Dan

[dantonyandtj]

Oh im guessing the small 25cm by 15cm heatmat wont cut it for a 50 odd letre tank and my ddesk lamp for basking will need to be upgraded. I'd like something that wont shine in my eyes like my current one if possible thanks guys =]

[Graham]

I usually buy UVBs on eBay, from whoever has the best deal when I need them, you can usually pick up a 10% compact for around £10-12 inc post. You should finf Clamp Lamps on there too, to mount the UVB and the spotlamp.

The best place for spotlamps is a DIY store, where you can get a pack of 3 for around £1.50, and you can get a cheap timer there too, if you buy these items online you'll probably pay more in postage than the cost of the items!

A heatmat isn't really much good, an aquarium heater is much better and has it's own built-in stat (I assume the stat was for the mat? In which case you don't need that either).

A 50 litre tank is very small and you'll find that it needs upgrading within a few months, with that in mind you might want to get a bigger filter otherwise you'll just have to upgrade that too. It usually works out cheaper to get everything bigger than you need, otherwise you'll be constantly upgrading it which can be expensive.

Calcium powder isn't much use with turts as it washes off as soon as the food goes in the water, good quality pellets will contain all the calcium they need, and you can still give them cuttlebone to nibble if they want.

[AnythingWithAShell]

What Graham said

Congrats on your new additions, and well done for doing lots of research! You'll have to post some pics when you get everything set up.

As for a substrate, you can get bags of decorative pebbles in diy stores, or if you are by a beach, you can 'borrow' pebbles from there, so long as you give them a good scrub and boil before putting in. A bare bottom makes cleaning a lot easier though.

For timers, my local Poundland had mechanical ones in for £1 each (obviously!) so if you have a Poundland, have a look there.

You mention a tank lid, you should have this off. Lids aid high humidity, which can cause respiratory problems. This can be fatal, so always have a turtle tank open topped. If you have no lid, you will have no trouble using clamp lamps to attach basking lights and UVB.

[Graham]

I missed the bit about the lid, as Dawn says you need to remove this as it could be seriously bad for your turts.

[dantonyandtj]

I usually keep it off but my slider is a little houdiny and hes strong enough to pull the wood to the side and try and pull out of the tank. Im waiting on a new biger tank at 56 letres but I was looking at an 80. Only difference is the women only wants 15 quid for the 56 so its almost worth getting for the week or two it'll take me to find a good deal on the 80 letre i was looking at. I bought the filter to be 160 so i'll be able to cope with both.

I'll ebay now for the bulb. ANy particular brand I should go for and perticular style? The tank(80) i was looking at is an old glass fishtank and has a strip bulb holder would it be worth looking at strip bulb UVs or standard? I have a thermostat for the tank water but im struggling to find a way to measure the basking temp as i'd have to run a cable across the water and although waterproof itd distrub the little guys when swimming.

Also any brand or model of heater I should use for turtle to keep it safe in a 56 letre tank but also an 80? would 80 be large enough for the two for long or will it be redunant quickly like the 56?

I still cant believe the women being an exotics show owner knew so little about turtles and said that this tiny tank 20Ls will be good enough as long as I use a lamp. According to her knowledge the water would be 5 degrees to cold, basking about 8, diet terrible (i had to bug the owner for so long for pellets) and there wouldnt even be a filter so the'd always be in and out of the tank for cleaning. Considering she sells so many torts and turts you'd think she'd know. Im just glad I did manic research and was willing to put my hand in my pocket 100-200 odd quick for tanks filters and everything they'll need so I can fix her mistake.

I understand why so many turts get neglected now and I intend to volenteer at the reptile rehousing shelter over summer near where I live.

[dantonyandtj]

oh and how far down into the tank water should I put the thermostats?

I'll post turt pictures and of the tank and all the products I get eventually with temps and timer settings for any advice when i get the 56 letre tank then again when I find a decent bigger one.

[Graham]

TBH an 80 litre tank won't last very much longer, they grow fast and whilst a small tank will do to start with your next one up should be a lot bigger, unless you're happy to change tanks every few months!

I wouldn't even bother looking at anything less than about 180-200 litres for a second tank, that way you can forget about upgrades for another year or more.

Any brand of water heater will do, try to get one with a protective cover though, you don't need a thermostat with this as it has one built in.

You shouldn't need to monitor the basking temp constantly, just set it so it's correct and check it once in a while, variations with background temps won't matter.

I would use a compact UVB rather than a strip, it concentrates the light over the basking area where it does the most good, most of the output from tubes is wasted. Repti Glo are good ones.

[AnythingWithAShell]

Please do remove the lid though. High humidity is even more dangerous in young turtles.

If turt is an escape artist, you'll have to find a way of securing the tank better!

[kazzy]

we made a wooden frame with wire in it to put over the top of our basking area as clyde my ybs kept trying to escape , so we have all the benefit of the light getting thru to the turtles with the benefit of stopping the escapism lol