Habitat - Indoor :: I'm new :)

[paigemccawley]

Okay so I have a 7 year old RES and I just bought him a zoo med reptisun 5.0 mini compact fluorescent lamp today and the floating turtle dock (small). he is housed in a 10 gallon aquarium with about 4 inches deep of water. The turtle dock is 6 inches away from the lamp. The recommendations on the box say for the UVB 6-9 inches away and for the heat bulb (idk what watt) 5-8 inches away. My questions are will he overheat, get burned, and how long should I provide him with each type of light? Thank you for your help and time

[paigemccawley]

He's been basking for the past two hours

[ljapa]

Assuming the dock is wide enough or varied in height enough, you will get a range of temperature/UVB. Your turtle should be able to self regulate.

It's great to hear that he's already basking. Often, when things change turtles seem to get overly cautious and won't bask for days. You're doing good.

Most put their lights on a timer with 12 to 14 hours of light. I would not worry about your turtle getting burned. He won't put up with that much heat. There is a slight chance of too much UVB, which will probably show as eye problems. However, if you are following the distance recommendations, you will be fine.

[paigemccawley]

Thank you.

[Kansasslider]

I just had to jump in here and say something. You have a 7 year old turtle in a 10 gallon tank with 4 inches of water! Wow! You need to get your turtle a bigger tank with a lot more water. Turtles swim. Is the water heated? How big is your turtle? How hot is it on the dock? Is the tank filtered ? You can buy a 40 gallon breeder tank at petco for $40 during their $1 a gallon sale.

[paigemccawley]

There isn't a petco around here and he doesn't like a lot of water he is not a very good swimmer as he has never had a lot of water and seems to have trouble getting to the top to breathe otherwise there would be alot more water. he is only about 3 in. because when i got him as a hatchling he was only the size of a quarter and most of his life he has been in those little plastic things that pet stores tell you are okay with no light. He recently got a zoomed reptisun 5.0 UVB mini compact fluorescent lamp and moved to the 10 gallon which was a major upgrade for him. He has been shedding his scutes and his shell looks much more healthy and he is eating well and basking well

[ljapa]

You may be surprised at him not being a good swimmer.

Obviously, if you have a 7 year old turtle who's in good health, you're not a bad keeper.

However, even at 3 inches, just 4 inches of water can be dangerous. If your turtle ends up upside down, there's not enough for it to right itself.

You don't have to go out and buy an expensive tank. Many have used large Rubbermaid containers. I'll bet you may have something in the house already.

Consider filling one with water of the appropriate temperature, adding some things your turtle can climb on to provide different water depths, and trying it out supervised. You may be surprised. If so, you can plan for filtration/heating.