Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Golden Thread Turtle

Drop a post to say hi. Please ask care questions in the forums below.

Post Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 2:10 pm   Golden Thread Turtle

I can't upload photos, they are too large and I don't know how to resize them. any help would be cool since I'm new here and don't know how to resize photo's any way.

First baby aquatic turtle.
Name: Agent Scully
I'm not sure how quickly my gold thread turtle should be growing. Not sure if male or female.
Size: a bit bigger than a .50 cent coin. Not much change since purchasing.
Habitat: 55 gal top fin breeder tank (half full) lava rock, flat slab rock, river rocks, live plants, asst platty.
Equipment: cascade 1000, 250 watt heater, 1250 circulation pump, 75 watt heat lamp( set at 82*F) x2 reptisun 10.0 UVB, x2 white LED strips.
Food: ( every day so far, take out the left over) red leaf lettuce, baby spinach, Arugula, (every other day, no left overs) Zoo Med turtle pellets.

I pick it up once a day just to say hi and let it know I'm not going to hurt it. I have brushed it's shell gently with a extra soft baby toothbrush. I don't turn it on it's back since I've heard it's bad for them.
Please let me know if I should be doing more or less for Agent Scully.

Thank you for the help!

-Vincent
User avatar
turtlehermit
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Oct 13, 2015
Location: Anaheim, California
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 4:39 pm   Re: Golden Thread Turtle

I googled how to resize photos. Here are some sorry for the quality on some of them.
Attachments
IMG_1093.jpg
IMG_1100.jpg
IMG_1098.jpg
IMG_1099.jpg
IMG_1101.jpg
IMG_1094.jpg
IMG_1094.jpg (20.49 KiB) Viewed 7644 times
IMG_1078.jpg
IMG_1078.jpg (95.4 KiB) Viewed 7644 times
Thank you for your time!
~TurtleHermit
User avatar
turtlehermit
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Oct 13, 2015
Location: Anaheim, California
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:07 pm   Re: Golden Thread Turtle

Hi turtlehermit! Awesome looking GT. Slowly and steady is key to turtle growth. Are you just eyeballing her size or measuring? How long have you had it? How much in pellets is she getting? Is she actually eating?

It looks and sounds like you're doing a great job so far. I would only worry about all the tight and small places you have for her. While hiding spots are good for them, you do need to make sure that they're not too small. They like to turn around a lot so some smaller areas could be dangerous especially when they're doing a lot of growing.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:33 pm   Re: Golden Thread Turtle

Hi Steve, Thank you for the response! I've had her for a week now I have not measured her officially just eyeballing her size with a .50 cent coin. She eats about 10-15 of those tiny turtle pellets each time and greens are always about a quarter to half eaten since she is about the size of a baby spinach leaf, I put a new leaf in every day and take remnants of the old out. I will keep an eye out for the small areas and try and fill them in with the smaller river rocks. I appreciate the feedback! Should I be feeding more or is this good?
Attachments
IMG_1077 (2).jpg
Thank you for your time!
~TurtleHermit
User avatar
turtlehermit
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Oct 13, 2015
Location: Anaheim, California
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:38 am   Re: Golden Thread Turtle

Do you feed her in the tank? 10-15 might be too much daily, but I'm not aware of the pellet size. Also pick up a better brand than Zoo Med. Try red leaf/green leaf lettuce as it's a little better for them.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:56 am   Re: Golden Thread Turtle

Yes, I am feeding her in the tank, I have constructed a square attached to suction cups that holds the floating food in one spot in the corner of the tank. The pellets are every other day, they are the hatchling pellets. Should I feed in a different tank? And why? since I don't know. I'll do more red leaf lettuce, what if she doesn't want it and stops eating?
Also I have noticed that when we are home she is in the water lurking in the floating christmas moss we hardly see her basking but could be when we are not home. Could the water be too warm? I'm in Southern California and its quite hot here right now so the water gets warmer during the day as the heat rises, I speculate. Should I turn the heater down from 80/82 to like 76/78 so she gets out to get warm or will that mess with her metabolism?
Thank you for your time!
~TurtleHermit
User avatar
turtlehermit
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Oct 13, 2015
Location: Anaheim, California
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:16 am   Re: Golden Thread Turtle

Some use a separate feeding container to help with the water quality. It's not necessary and I wouldn't do it with hatchlings. If she refuses lettuce but is eating other things, then just keep doing it. Don't give in to them begging and being picky. She might be a little shy around people, but I would try to make certain she is basking when no ones around. You can probably bump the water temp down a little, it should be OK.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male


Return to Hi! Introduce yourselves here.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests