Hi, All I am a new owner in KS of two baby RES turtles. Both are very small approx. 2 to 2 1/2 inches. I have done quite a bit of research and hope I am on the right track. I purchased from some man on the side of the road without knowing anything about them. I was given turtle sticks, a plastic container, told to feed them 1/2 a stick once a week, and that they could live in the tank ( ie. plastic container) indefinitely. I know see that this guy was a joke should have been obvious but they were so cute
So to the point I have set up a tank 10 gallon, with a filter, and heat which I monitor at 77 degrees in the water, they have a basking area with heat at 90 degrees . I am going to order a UVB/UVA/heating lamp it is a dual lamp with a 50 W Turtle Tuff Halogen Lamp and a 13 W Reptisun 5.0 UVB Mini Compact Fluorescent. I will take off the current heating light I have to replace with the new fixture. MY QUESTION: is this good to much, not enough? On to feeding I feed them every day one is a healthy eater the other not so much. I feed them the turtle stick that I was given SANYU turtle sticks and FLUKERS freeze dried mealworms I have offered celery, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce but they are not at all interested. I feed them away from the home in the original plastic container and I have purchased another for individual feeding and to be able to monitor them I only given what can be eaten in 10 min. vs. the usual 15 because of the heavy eater. The healthy eater has expanded or puffed up. In between the shell patterns there are the thin lines king of like you would find in tiles and grout. These lines are doubled in size and seem colorless. So I don't know is it over feeding, also I have rocks on the bottom, could he have eaten some and what do I do planning on removing rocks today, is it lack of UVB lights. He (do not really know if it is a boy but this one has a shorter tail then the other) seems normal otherwise swims, basks, has a hard shell and eats. Thanks for any advise and help.
So to the point I have set up a tank 10 gallon, with a filter, and heat which I monitor at 77 degrees in the water, they have a basking area with heat at 90 degrees . I am going to order a UVB/UVA/heating lamp it is a dual lamp with a 50 W Turtle Tuff Halogen Lamp and a 13 W Reptisun 5.0 UVB Mini Compact Fluorescent. I will take off the current heating light I have to replace with the new fixture. MY QUESTION: is this good to much, not enough? On to feeding I feed them every day one is a healthy eater the other not so much. I feed them the turtle stick that I was given SANYU turtle sticks and FLUKERS freeze dried mealworms I have offered celery, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce but they are not at all interested. I feed them away from the home in the original plastic container and I have purchased another for individual feeding and to be able to monitor them I only given what can be eaten in 10 min. vs. the usual 15 because of the heavy eater. The healthy eater has expanded or puffed up. In between the shell patterns there are the thin lines king of like you would find in tiles and grout. These lines are doubled in size and seem colorless. So I don't know is it over feeding, also I have rocks on the bottom, could he have eaten some and what do I do planning on removing rocks today, is it lack of UVB lights. He (do not really know if it is a boy but this one has a shorter tail then the other) seems normal otherwise swims, basks, has a hard shell and eats. Thanks for any advise and help.
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