Who has red eared sliders?

[techgirl]

Well hit me with what you got!! I'm getting a free 55 gallon from a friend who just lost her 18 yr RES. I'm now debating on one. Planning in another 3-5 months. She's giving me all the stuff she had for it. I would love to see setups and tell me how you maintain them. I have been reading up on them, but would love to hear from people who actually have them and have a routine.

 

[The Sunset Gang]

Well, myself and my brother have two of them. But... they are just babies and are still in a critter keepers. We feed them everyday and he cleans out the cage every other day. When the two of them get bigger, we plan on getting a tank for them, but they are usually really small when you first get them.

 

[Ccrashca069]

Water turtles are cool. I have painted turtles. 2 western painted and 2 Southern painted turtles. I also have 1 Maylaysian Box turtle. I have had Red eared sliders. I seen so many rescues of them. We ship them to a guy in New York that rehabs them for about 1 year before releasing them in ponds and things that are their natural enviroment.

Set-ups are pretty easy but can be alot of work. A filter is a must. I use a submergable tank heater that is shatter proff and keep the temp set around 80. I have a hot side with a 50-75 watt UVB basking light, a UV florescent, and a pile of rocks on both sides of the tank. I will post pics later tonight or tomarrow.

 

[ReptileMan27]

I had a RES for many years. I currently have a African side neck. The care is fairly simple. The most important thing, especially with a 55 gallon tank is a good strong filter. Turtles are messy and you dont want to be changing the water all the time so invest in a good filter for sure. Canister filters work good..

 

[Ccrashca069]

yeah very true Jason. I am just using a Fuval 4 plus right now. What would you suggest?

 

[techgirl]

My friend said that with the filter she had, she rarely did water changes. Maybe every few months. Said the water was crystal clear all the time. I am also looking into mud turtles, chicken turtles and spotted turtles. I like the idea that they won't be too big and the 55 gallon would give them plenty of room. Now with the RES, she pretty much had it full of water and some platforms for basking. Does that sound good? Like I said, if you have pics, I would love to see them.

 

[mynewturtle]

Chicken turtles are a harder species to care for in my experiences temperatures ect. I have around 4 ponds in my back yard, I'm in Canada so all of my guys are in hibernation. If you have an extermely good filter I supose you could only change the filter once a week. I always change water 1-2 a week.

I really like maps. Texas maps, Missisipi, ect all so fun. I would not get spotted turtles for your first turtle. Spotted turtles too are a harder species. There diet is odd too much protien pyrmding, not enough protien turtle may stop eating. That's what mine did, I had to sell them off witch I awfuly regret. Sidenecks are a not bad starter turtle. Sometimes there nippy but it would take a few months of handling to make that stop.

In a few weeks(hopefully a max of 3!!!) I'll post pictures of mine, its still snowy here but defenitly melting. I only own 10 turtles right now, the others are in Quebec enjoying there first breeding season.
I currently own:

0.0.1 Maylasia Box turtle(Very cool turtle meet there requriments and there awesome)

1.0.0 Alligator Snapping turtle(Huge, Grumpy, Agressive... just what I like. Get napped by an adult your in for some stitches)

1.3 Texas Maps(love patterning, very easy species to maintain. Defentily a good first timer)

1.1.1 In order; Western Painted, Eastern, RES(Very good starter turtles for all people colourfull, active,fun, everything you can want. You can mix these species as long as there is no bullying.)

1.0 GRUMPY big sideneck this guy won't let me hold him or nothing just a big grump that wants food.

 

[malt_geckos]

We used to have two RES when I was younger. They got so big, we kept them in a childs play pool with a pump and lots of rocks and fun stuff to play on. They were pretty fun but as a child I lost interest in them and they went to a guy that had a huge pond for his RES and he raised and bred them....

Wish I had them now. Turtles are really neat and fun to watch. Especially the semi-aquatic ones.

 

[techgirl]

I got my tank!!

It's filthy but it's here. She also gave me a fluval 4Plus filter. She's cleaning the hoods to give me later. I also found my Aquatech filter from when I had my freshwater 55 gallon. Figuring I can use both the help keep the water clean. Planning on cleaning up the tank and getting the filter media for both the filters and getting some docks and new UV lights. I also found my heaters for both my 55 gallon and my 30 gallon. I was debating on getting large river rocks or leaving the bottom bare. I have a 100 watt basking light. Planning on getting some cork bark for floating logs. What do you all thing?

 

[Ccrashca069]

The river rocks would be good. Thats the filter I have. I am cleaning my tank every 5-10 days. As far as the basking light goes I use the 50 and 75 watt lights. 75 in the winter and 50 during the sumar but use what works best where you live. For the heating I have a 150 watt submergable shatterproff heater that I set at 80 and it does an awesome job. When I just used the glass heaters, they used to always break them about every 2-3 months.

 

[MonteQ's]

Here's my tank. It is a 55. She started sinking her float, so I had to drain some of the water to make her house the land mass. Temporarily. Everyone's given you great information. If you can, give them a nice place to hide. They'll love it. If you go with rocks for your substrate, try to stay larger, they will eat them.

For a 55 maps would be a great choice, and they're gorgeous and stay pretty small. The RES get really big!! I clean my tank 1-2 x a week and change the filter weekly. Feed every other day, or when she's begging. ;o)

Best float I've found. Most of the suction cup ones wear out pretty quickly.

 

[techgirl]

Well I got the tank cleaned. Took a while scrubbing with hot water and soap and then rinsing it out well. I also found my old driftwood that could be used for a basking spot and a old polyresin tree decoration that used to be used for my beardies basking spot. I couldn't find my filter media for the aqua-tech, so I'm going to use the bio-wheel 200 filter I have. I just need to get some PVC pipe to cover the thermostat so they can't break it. I also ordered some new UV lights and a turtle dock. Just need to pick up some rocks for substrate and then fill it up with water so it can run and see how it does before a turtle goes in. I'm planning on the next Hamburg show on April 26th to be the date we get a turtle. I know I said a few months from now, but didn't realize how much stuff I already had. I'm hoping the 2 filters will keep the water clean and I won't have to do too many water changes, I can see every 2 weeks as being ok, but every week might be a bit much. I don't know. Will keep everyone posted.

 

[MonteQ's]

I'd love to see pics when you get everything set up!! Sounds like your pretty well set.

As far as cleaning goes, it's not bad at all. If you can find one of the syphons that attach to a faucet, it saves a bunch of time and spills. I always had trouble timing the bucket switch ;o)

 

[techgirl]

here's a starter pic

I filled the tank with water. Got 25 gallons in it, figured that would be good for a baby. Should work nicely for the fluval 4plus. Of course my other filters won't work. But I should be fine with the fluval. In about a week, I'll get my lights and filter media for the fluval. Any suggestions for what products are good to buy? I see all this stuff for Biotize and turtle clean etc, etc. What do you use?

 

[MonteQ's]

From what I can see in the pics, it looks pretty nice so far!! I remember you saying you ordered a Turtle Dock. That should be good for a basking area. You'll want to place your lights over it. I've used a bunch of different types over the years. No personal favorite. I'm sure they'll love hiding under that large piece of wood. Just make sure they can't get stuck behind it anywhere.

As far as water conditioners, I honestly rarely use them. It depends on the type of turtle and where they are from. Some have different needs. Mine is from around here, so the water doesn't differ too much. It would be a good idea to test your water once you narrow down your selection.

Here's a good resource about the various products for lighting and water conditioning. He also talks about the diet and common health issues. There's also a pretty large selection of care sheets.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/

I actually found a new food I'd like to try. I've been using Repto-min for years, but he recommended something else I've never seen. I'm sure my girl would love a change.

 

[techgirl]

thanks for the info. I decided to put the heater and lights in today(the lights are some old UV 5.0 bulbs I had that were going to be recycled). This way I can figure out the heat for the water. I have a 200 watt submersible that is shatterproof and have it set for 78 degrees(figured would be good for a baby). I got a 75 watt basking light. I picked up some Zoo Med gorwing water turtle food. hope it works. When I get my filter media this week, that will go in next. Wish me luck.

 

[Ccrashca069]

Turtle docks work pretty good. Mine broke 2 differant brands of them so in the end I gave up and used big rocks. I don't use that Dr Turtle or any of those other water treatment things. For food I have used Repti-Min and some Rep-Cal Aquatic Turtle food. Sometimes I feed them feeder fish when I clean the tank and put them in a kiddie pool or bath tub. If you put the feeder fish in the tank, you will find alot of feeder fish parts everywhere and it makes a big mess.

 

[MonteQ's]

John,

I had the same problem as she got larger. She'd just break them or sink all the land. The float above she started flipping. I finally had to take it out cause I was scared she'd knock the hood and light in. Or break the glass. I wish they'd come out with something for bigger turtles.

She's even shifted the rocks a couple of times. It's surprising how strong they get!!

 

[Ccrashca069]

I will have to go through all my pics today and post some pics of my water tanks. I think I am only putting about 20 gallons of water in the tank. I am thinking of switching to an outside the tank canister filter but not sure which one yet. I know fluval. I am open to any sugestion of canister filter and modle.

 

[Ccrashca069]

Here is my Tank

Ok First pic is an overall look of it. The tank has been in my family since 1980.

Now the Hot Side

Now the cool side