baby murry short neck turtles

[repty]

hi all .
i got 2 baby msnt about 3 1/5 weeks ago .
could any one tell me is it normal for them not to come out of the water
onto the turtle dock ?
or should i empty some of the water and make it half water and
half land ? ( 3 ft tank )
or will they come out by them self,s over time ?
any info would be great
thank you ricky .

 

[waruikazi]

Is it possible they are coming out without you noticing them? like at night or something?

 

[repty]

hi waruikazi .
they are not comming out at all ?
there is only a five hour gap 1am to 5.30/6 am .
im all so going to set my video camra up for that time .
any outher idea,s would be great .

 

[waruikazi]

They must be coming out when you can't see them that is all i can tihink of.

 

[MrBredli]

What temp is the water?

 

[repty]

hi
water temp is 23 to 25 deg at all times .

 

[MrBredli]

Do you have a basking lamp above the turtle dock?

 

[Dicco]

They're baby turtles, small and frightened of everything, sometimes it will take a bit of time for them to start basking, this isn't that unusual for hatchlings to my knowlege, and then even longer before they are comfortable doing it infront of a big scary person.

As long as they are able to get out and dry out and have access to UV and a heat spot and are getting a good varied diet(lots of calcium for their shells is good) then you should not worry, all is ok. It's also reccomended to take your turtles outside for access to natural unfiltered sunlight, this is very benificial to their health, even if they're already egtting artificial UV. Try keep the water arounf 26 degrees.

 

[Dicco]

Oh, I must add, never leave an animal unattended in the sun as they can overheat, and in some cases die, shade should be available.

 

[repty]

i have uv flueresent light above dock that is on for 10hr,s a day .
should i get a heat lamp as well ?
i give them a very good diet as well as calsiom block in water .
diet :blood worms , brine shrimp , turtle tucker , worms , gupies and
(turtle pellets but have,nt used them yet ) .
and i take them out into the sun 15 to 20 min 3 times a week .
and should i put water temp up that little bit ?
wish i had my snakes back so much easyer to look after .
thanks ricky

 

[Dicco]

Hey mate, all sounds good except they'll need a heat lamp, so they can warm right up and digest their food well, and it'd be good to raise the water temp a bit too, but aside fromt that, sounds like your doing fine

 

[Jonathon]

You will need a heat lamp it doesn't need to me a high wattage light, just enough to raise the basking spot to a few degrees higher than the water temp. I've had my turtle for 2 years now and i've only ever seen it basking 3 times although I bet my bottom dollar that it basks quiet often although whenever it hears me opening the door it will quickly pop into the water. Once you get your turtles set-up they are easy as to take care of, just chuck in some food and clean out the tank every so often. Also what type of substrate do you have in the tank? I used to use gravel although it collected rubbish (poo, food, dead plant matter) like you wouldn't believe. If your going to use a substrate I say use those large flat river rocks. They're a heck of alot easier to clean.

 

[repty]

hi .
i have river gravel about the size off a large marble but flater .
i will get a heat lamp tommorow .
will a 60w repty glow be ok ?
and ive put temp up .
thank you all .
better to be safe then sorry .
thanks heaps ricky

 

[freerider]

Hi Ricky
I have been keeping/Breeding turts for a long time now, I have found the best subsrtate for them is washed river sand, they tend to like to burrow themselves into the sand, the large river rocks tend to let the waste settle between them and not get picked up by the filter where as it sits ontop of the sand, as for them never basking dont sweat it, young turts sometimes float in the upper,warmer level of the water, if your UV/Heat is close enough (20cm minimum) it will be fine (UV still penitrates through water!!)
Make sure land is available and they will use it when ready
cheers

 

[Jonathon]

Yeah also try to get some plants which will float the the top of the water. When my turt was very small he loved sitting on in and floating around the tank, he also slept in it at night.