Habitat - Indoor

Maybe, most of them love to bask and tend to have routines. What's the water temperature? Is it much different from the basking?

It appears my water heater may not be keeping up with the larger quantity of water. The water seems to be at around 70 f, and the platform is around the same (not under the heat lamp). I'll be looking into water heaters this weekend.

But he seems to come down in the mornings to swim around when he wants food, at which point I fish him out and feed him in a separate container.

70F is not too bad for an adult RES, though I like to have it a bit warmer. What kind of thermometer are you using for the water? Those digital probe ones are very inaccurate, so I would not use it as your main one.

How much water is in the tank?

Thank you again for the quick replies. I'm using a very simple one, not a digital one, just one that I stick on the glass, under the water when I need to check. The tank is 48inx18inx18in, and it's absolutely full, so that would be about 68 gallons it seems.

Yeah, that sounds right. So you'll need around a 200-300 Watt heater. I like to recommend either the Eheim Jagers or Aqueon Pros.

Thanks a lot for the recommendation. Looks like I'll be buying a whole bunch of new things to keep up with the larger quantify of water and tank set up (water heater, heat lamp, filter...). With the temperatures as they are (about 70 in the water and on the platform - not under the lamp), how urgent would you say it is to get the water heater / the heat lamp?

Some even let it get colder (mid 60's), though low 70's is what I like to use. I would try to address the basking lamp first since your turtle will want to thermoregulate.

Seems like the heaters I had have started working, and it's back in the low-mid 70s. I will be getting a better lamp in the next day or two.

I'm sort of moving away from the initial subject for this thread, but I noticed what appear to be skin problems. I've never noticed anything similar before. It's in front of both of his hind legs. On one side, it seems like a red mark, and a small lesion on the other side. I have no idea what it could be from, and I'm wondering if you've seen anything similar. I've attached pictures.

If I'm going against forum rules by asking about this in this thread, let me know!

I'm certain I've seen something similar posted here before (maybe under the topic or bruising), but I can't recall the situation. I would keep a very close eye on it as a dark or deep red is not normal.

I realize I never came back here, but it ended up being a skin infection brought on by the new environment / stress. Some antibiotics and he was all better and seems to love the setup now!

Thanks again for all the advice!

Great to hear he's better and thanks for the update.

Habitat - Indoor :: Glasscages condo - outfitting the new tank

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