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Post Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 10:54 am   Hello

Hello. I adopted my RES through marriage. My husband was given one about 5 years ago as a gift. I named her Phil when we got together and we thought she was a he. We've since learned he is in fact a she. She's about 6-7 inches long. A week ago she moved into a 240 gallon tank that has about 100 gallons of water in it. I'm here now to learn more about our turtle and get suggestions for continued care as she grows
Turtlemom224
 
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Post Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 3:32 pm   Re: Hello

Welcome to the forum! 240 gallons, sounds like an awesome tank! Have any pictures of it and Phil?
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:36 pm   Re: Hello

Sure. I'll need to do it from my computer as the site isn't liking my phone attempts but I will post soon
Turtlemom224
 
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Post Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:13 pm   Re: Hello

Ok can someone smarter than me tell me how to make a picture that is small enough to attach? Or tell me another way to add a picture?
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Post Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:25 pm   Re: Hello

I figured it out!
This is Phil and her new tank. She is about 6 inches long (maybe slightly more. I haven't actually measured her) The tank dimensions are 72" L, 24" wide, 31" tall. There is about 100 gallons of water in the tank. There are 2 incandescent bulbs and 2 UV bulbs on top. We are using the Fluval F6 filter. The smaller platform used to be all the way to the left to give her a shallower area to hang out. However, Phil has decided she likes it here better and likes to hide under it. She moves it herself and the space is bigger than her so I'm not worried about entrapment at this time. She also raises the ramp of the bigger one to scratch her back on the end of it. It's pretty minimal right now, but we're looking into plants and fish. Also considering replacing the low platform with a mangrove root. We tried simple toys for enrichment, she couldn't care less. She does chase us back and forth and will climb the ramp to say hello (don't think she is begging as she will do this even when food is already in the tank and she has stopped eating).
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Phil's tank

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Phil

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Phil
Turtlemom224
 
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Post Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 9:31 pm   Re: Hello

Wow, that tank is huge! Phil most love it :) You'd want to have both the incandescent and UVB over the basking area. You can probably get some LED strip lights to add some ambient light.
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 10:58 pm   Re: Hello

You should have seen us moving it in the house. That tank alone will make me not move out of this house for quite some time.
Does the uv need to be directly over the basking area? If you can see the lights on top from right to left they are heat, uv, uv, heat.
I'm also open to and seeking suggestions and inspiration for improving the decor of her tank especially where I can find things for a large tank and possibly a future large turtle.
Turtlemom224
 
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Post Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:36 am   Re: Hello

UV from the bulb is pretty weak, it won't penetrate the water. So it's most useful when the turtle is out of the water and basking under it. You might want to consider a single MVB over the basking area. A tank background would pretty nice and I would go with sand rather than all that river rock. Any sort of wood looks great, check out mopani. Cork bark is also great for basking areas. If you don't like the white of the PVC and egg crate, they do have different colors but those are usually custom order.
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steve
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