General Care Discussion :: New Owner a little confused

[ccampbell410]

Hello everyone, I just inherited a Red-Ear Slider ( 6 months old) from someone and I am a little confused on the care, i've heard numerous things. I have a snake and we have to use a nighttime lamp and a sunglo lamp for him. With the turtle we already have a 20-Gallon aquarium for her right now, we have a water filter and turtle dock and some gravel on the bottom. We have a couple plants in there she likes to hide under as well. Im just confused with the lighting. Can i use a SunGlo light (75Watt) during the day and a NightGlo light (75Watt) at night-time? We also have a redheat 75watt basking lamp . . . is this okay to use as well? If it is should i have this lamp on instead of one of the other two or with the other two? Also i heard some people use heating pads under the aquarium . . I have a couple of them alying around the house but i have never heard good things about them so im a little hesistant to put it on the aquarium for her . . . so if someone could just fill me in tht would be great . . .ccampbell410@hotmail.com would be the best way to get ahold of me but ill check this frequently . .. thankyou!


Sincerely.
An RES Owner looking to provide the best care for her turtle jsut a little confused as to how

[missibsu]

The under tank heating pads don't do a lot of good and are not a good source of heat for your turtle tank.

Your lighting should follow a normal day/night schedule. Most people try to follow the pattern of the sun, leaving the lights on a little later in the summer.

You will need a light that provides UVB and a light that provides heat...a regular house hold bulb. There are some lights that provide both, but they are more expensive, require a ceramic base, and at least 75 gallons of water.


Hope that helps...I responded here so that others had the benefit of reading the responses.

edit - I forgot to mention that you are going to want to take the gravel out. Your turtle could eat it and become impacted. It also causes extra waste build up and a smelly tank.

[reptilegrrl]

Those nightglow lamps are a waste of money. Your turtle needs a good UVA/UVB lamp during the daytime, as well as a basking heat lamp during the day. Neither your snake, nor the turtle need a nightglow lamp. They may both benefit from a ceramic heat emitter at night, though, depending on the temps in your house.

Missi is right- get that gravel out of there! Also, please read through the care sheets on this site. They have great information!

[Spookster]

You can also get a timer for the lights so that you don't have to manually turn them on and off each day.

[reptilegrrl]

That is a great idea, Spookster! I use a timer for my indoor reptiles. It really makes life easier for me and for them