Energy saving bulbs are no use for a heat source as they run quite cool, you need an ordinary incandescent reflector spotlamp like this one Philips Reflector R63 ES 60W - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys, you may find that a 40W one is better though if the 60W is too hot.
The best way to mount it is with a Zoo Med 5.5" Clamp Lamp Spot Bulb Holders, Reflectors & Guards which you can clamp onto the side of the tank or a convenient shelf etc...

To Graham,

Can you tell from those pictures if they are male or female?

Can same sex performs ritual mating dance? I've seen it done by my green one on the brown one.

Many thanks,

From those photos I'd say they are probably both females, but they are still quite young and some species don't develop obvious physical sexual characteristics for a few years, when they are very young they all look like females.

And yes, with young turts in particular both males and females will display towards others of the opposite or same sex, they're kind of practicing for when they get older.

Sometimes though the display can be used to intimidate another turt as a means of establishing dominance, and sometimes this can lead to actual physical aggression so keep an eye out for that.

There are two types of mating display, "fanning" which is probably what you are seeing, where both males and females wiggle their front claws in front of the others face, and sometimes actually stroke their face.

Then there's "flagging" which only males do, where they extend their penis, if you see this there can be no doubt about the sex of your turt!

Thank you for the information.

I hope they are not females cuz...they will out grow the tank. It's a 3 foot tank which I bought very recently!

Common sense tells me that the more food I feed them the faster and bigger they will grow, and vice versa. If I feed them less in quantity and less frequently will this reduce their size in adulthood? If so, is this healthy for them?

I take them out in seperate bowl to feed them and don't normally return them back to the main tank until at least 24 hours later...this is to allow them to defecate in the bowl...thus leaving the main tank as clean as possible.

I notice that the warmer the water the sooner they will defecate. But still this can be up tp a couple of hours! Is there a way of knowing the average time from feeding and defecation? Or is there no way of knowing this.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news (again!), but if the tank is only 3' they'll outgrow it whether they are male or female, and just as quickly!

In fact if you turned out to have two males they might outgrow it even quicker than females, as two males in a small tank are very likely to fight and would need separating, meaning you'd need two complete setups rather than one!

What are the other dimensions of your tank, depth and width?

oh no...never mind. Ive just spent about 160 pounds for everything.

36"x15x12

The pets shop tempted me to but a smaller tank. I went for a size higher to 3 foot.

Surely if they are feed bare minimum they are not going to grow as big.

I believe my terrapins are around 5-6 years old. They are both appox. 3inches at present.

Do you not regard them as small in relative terms?

At pets shop, I have seen 1 year old map turtle who are at least 5-6 inches SCL. Plus they look much bigger if they are 1 year old. Then again, I don't beleive they are always right.

Your thoughts are welcome.

What makes you think they are 5-6 years old? If they are only 3" I'd be surprised if they are much more than a year old, maybe 18 months max, at 5-6 years they'd be at least twice that size maybe more, especially for the cooter.

I have a Florida Red Belly (which is a cooter) and she is around 6", and is no more than 4 years old.

Of course they'll grow slower if you feed them less, but you can't plan to stunt their growth by underfeeding without expecting health issues, this would be the same with any animal.

Your current tank is already too small so it's a good job you didn't get an even smaller one as the shop suggested! If you filled it right to the very top it would hold just 120 litres of water, enough for a single 3" turt. They need a minimum 40 litres per inch for the largest one, and an additional 20 litres per inch for the second one, so they should have at least 180 litres of water now.

Within two years they'll need twice that volume of water, and if they both grew to full size they'd need around 750 litres minimum.

Hi and to the forum....

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FOR SALE OR SWAP

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I bought these from a pets shop just over 5 years ago. They were little babies when I first had them...size of a 10 pence coin.

I only feed them those supplement sticks from pets shop.

OMG...180 litres of water!

Pets shop told me you don't want too much water because it may drown them.

Re size...does this mean my terrapins will not grow too big?

I mean my terrapins look healthy...they are quite active in water...no signs of any visble illness or anything...

on that basis I believe they are in good health.

How come most pets shop house them in small tank relative to their size? I see a map (just like mine) but probably 6inces is housed in shallow water with other large turtles within a confined space.

They also said adult turtles don't need heating...provided it is normal room temp.