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Post by ndbridge1404 on Jan 4, 2011 19:42:13 GMT
Hello
Im new here came accoss the centre website after searching the net for varied turtle food for my 3 turtles, I noticed that there was a number to phone if you need advice so i called and after bugging poor wayne for 20 mins with turtle care questions he kindly told me about this site.
I fell in love with turtles 2 years ago when I bought a baby slider, and now have 3 in total, two musk turtles about 2" long and one missippi map male (or atleast i think he is as has long claws) who is 6" and named Steggy.
I havent had much luck with turtles so far as I have lost 2 turtles, the slider was beautiful and very loved he got really big but came home one day and the heater in the tank had malfunctioned and overhated so he was gone, it was a new heater and worked well for 6 months so have no idea why it suddently went wrong the manufacturers took it for testing but to no surprise have not contacted me since.
I bought the missippi map with a friend who was a slider, they were both babies and the same seize when i got them but as soon as the map got a bit bigger than the slider he turned on him and bit his eyes then the slider didnt make it so now im keeping my fingers crossed and reading all I can about the turtles to avoid any misfortunes happening to the three I have now.
I have tons of questions about their care and would love to talk to anyone who is able to help.
thanks
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Post by Turtle Rescue UK on Jan 4, 2011 20:04:19 GMT
Hi
Welcome to Turtle Rescues Forum, I'm Dan the admin/web person so if you have any troubles please just say, and i will try to help you in the best way i can.
Sorry to here about your loss. Our thoughts are with you.
Dan + family
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Post by wayne020668 on Jan 4, 2011 20:04:53 GMT
hi thank you for your e-mail as we spoke on the phone and like i said all questions are welcome here, we only try to answer on our experience of over 20yrs and everyone here on our site talks straight forward plain English so if you have questions please feel free to ask as many as you want, we're honest enough to tell you if we have experienced it or other members can help you... it was nice to talk to you earlier...
regards Wayne global moderator...
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Post by ndbridge1404 on Jan 5, 2011 9:54:26 GMT
Hi thanks Dan and Wayne
Dan I love your tank set up im definitley considering getting the sand instead of the gravel, i also like the look of the python system but i dont think the tap fitting will be compatible with my tap any ideas how to get round that one as i have a sort of shower head tap head in my kitchen.
I have looked at the site and i think its great, have bought the delux food and looking forward to giving it to my turtles.
I would like to upload steggys picture but cant find a way to add it to my profile how can i do that please?
questions wise im going to buy the turtle care guide but in the meantime I have a few things i would like to find out about please.
1) to the terrapins have to hybernate?? what happens if they dont? mine are indoors in a tank, I dont feel comfortable putting them outside to bask as have many cats in the area as well as foxes so worries they would get hurt especially as i dont have a pond.
2) I read on a few posts that the terrapins get let out to have a walk around the house would absolutely love to do that but what should i do to keep them safe i have hard wood floors downstairs and carpets upstaits where should i let them walk?
3) My map turtle is agressive, we love him to bits but he will try to bite and hiss if we pick him up to clean his tank how can we make him less agressive??
4) How do you guys manage to keep your tanks so clean?? i have limescale lines at the edge of the water where the water levels go up and down as it evaporates and gets refilled, i dotn have space for a huge filter so he has a medium filter in his tank that i clean weekly any suggestions?
5) right now steggy has a heater in his tank set at 24 degrees, he also has a uv light for basking is this enough as i saw some of your tanks have more than one lamp?
6) I saw that you suggest using a blue anti bacteria product in the tank, do you need this only when your turtle is sick or should it be used all the time?
7) Is the Harwich rescue centre open to the public I would love to bring my family to the centre to see all the turtles in the summer.
Sorry about all the questions im just so happy to find people who can give me some information on how to best care for these beautiful creatures, up until now i have tryed asking the pet shop where i got the tutles from and they dont know anything so i have been really frustrated and worried until now.
Thanks again for the help
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Post by wayne020668 on Jan 5, 2011 20:00:28 GMT
hi right to answer all your questions in turn do they need to hibernate... no they don't these animals only hibernate in the wild when the water temps drop below the 15c mark whilst getting slow and not eating from the 20c mark simply keeping a thermostat in your tank set at around the 23c mark will keep them awake all year round. where can they walk... well just about any where as long as its safe i.e no cables or stairs etc.. we do this because it makes them work by lifting their weight and using there muscles because in the water they have no weight so with out it they can become fat. how to stop an aggressive turtle... we see this a lot here and we find if you handle it more he / she will calm down once they know you mean it no harm picking it up 5 Min's here and 5 Min's there is better than for 10 Min's in one go as much as poss.. how do we keep our tanks clean... well using a good external filter will help wonders, as it cleans for longer and keeps the water moving all round the tank i would be happy to help you with this if you let me know the exact size of your tank, or spending a little time on your tank regularly will work wonders.. using more than one lamp... many people do use more than one lamp but you can get away with just one as long as its a u.v heat lamp and placed directly over the basking area.. using METHYLENE BLUE... we use this every-time we work on the tank after cleaning or adding things like new plants / wood etc, this stops most bad bacteria from forming so keeping them a lot safer.. PLEASE ONLY OPEN IT OVER YOUR TANK AS IT WILL STAIN YOUR FLOORING IF SPILT add a few drops at a time till your water changes to a pale blue color this will turn back to water color after a few days.. is the harwich centre open... well we welcome anyone here but we are home based centres as all funding comes straight from our own pockets and the sale of our foods and donations to keep both these centres open so we're not a massive turtle set up.. we started the rescue centre to help less fortunate turtles / terrapins that have been dumped or simply need our help when owners cant cope any more nurse them to health and find them new loving homes.. having said this we have had 403 pass through us last year alone but summer is a great time here with the large pond so full of life & happiness so yeh that's not a problem please contact me nearer the time...
hope all this helps you,
regards Wayne...
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Post by Turtle Rescue UK on Jan 8, 2011 19:18:28 GMT
Hi
Yes i personally think that the sand is better than the gravel, i use Exp Terra Riverbed Sand specially designed for turtle/terrapins. You have to wash the sand through a few times before hand.
If you would like a display picture underneath your name on the forum, please email me at turtlerescue@live.co.uk with the following information... Forum Display Name, Picture, A caption for your picture, And any other text you would like to add.
I do also have the problem with the lime scale, before i filmed my tank setup i cleaned it off. i just use a normal brush to clean it every other day as it only takes a few minutes. i can stop it if i open my tank lid at night.
If you are still interested in the python setup please send me a picture of your tap head to turtlerescue@live.co.uk, i will see if it fits or not.
Hope this all helps...
Dan
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Post by ndbridge1404 on Jan 15, 2011 20:26:01 GMT
Hello
I received the turtle food that i bought from the rescue centre and all my turtles love it, Steggy especially has been really keen and has now completely dug up all round his tank in order to find the pellets that drop, its alot of fun to watch its like he is digging for treasure and he is the most active i have ever seen him so would really reccomend the mix. I got the Deluxe mix.
thanks Dan for the tips about the sand i am emailing stggys pic to you now.
Wayne thanks for the reply to all my questions, i havent yet let steggy out for a walk but will try soon.
I am redecorating in the spring so will look to get steggy a bigger tank, so will upgrade to an external pump then, will also upgrade to the sand and will look into more features for him to hide in.
thanks again for all the help and the food.
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Post by Turtle Rescue UK on Jan 15, 2011 20:38:44 GMT
Hi Noor
Please find that your avatar has been updated.
Dan
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Post by ndbridge1404 on Jan 15, 2011 20:41:14 GMT
thanks
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Post by myrtle999 on Jan 28, 2011 2:10:50 GMT
Hello there I have just been reading about your turtles. I rescued Myrtle last March and she was very aggressive initially but I think that was down to the poor set-up she had been housed in. I also use the Exo Terra riverbed sand as I wanted a set up most like to how Myrtle would have lived in the wild, and I was concerned about the amount of gravel that got swallowed when she ate, and worried about if she got a blockage or something. Myrtle absolutely loves her sand and digging in it, and at night goes into the same corner, has a good dig and then settles down to sleep which is what she is doing now! With the gravel her tank was a nightmare to clean and very time consuming, but with the sand any waste sits on the top and is easy to remove with a sieve which I do on a daily basis after Myrtle has been fed. I find doing this and on wed and sun I take out 3 buckets of tank water and replace with clean and find that this keeps the tank really clean and I replace media in filter monthly or as required. Although it was scarey at 1st because Myrtle measures 6" wide x 8" long I started picking her up on a daily basis just for a few moments and keeping my fingers out of reach of her mouth and you would be amazed if you saw her now as she now loves her head being gently stroked, she is lazy and ideally would let you stand and hand feed her but soon put a stop to that! and she happily walks about 2 or 3 times a week and when I pick her up I can feel how much stronger she is now her leg muscles are built up. Bearing in mind that when I acquired her she was being picked up with metal tongs and regularly drew blood I think it is fair to say that she was prettty bad tempered, but I think that there is nearly always a reason for that and I am sure that if Myrtle can become the softie that she is that yours can as well. All the best.
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Post by ndbridge1404 on Mar 21, 2011 23:01:28 GMT
Thanks myrtle 999
Sorry its taken so long to reply but things have been hectic here with house renovations, Steggy has got a brand new tank arriving soon, got him a 5ft tank with a superfilter and the sand instead of the gravel, at the momen i have a medium internal filter and its really not up to the job his water goes from bright to yellow in a matter of days after a thorough water change and tank clean and with 4 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and 3 turtles i dont have the time to do a full tank clean every 3 days, so spent a good amount of money on a brand new tank with all the goodies to make everyone happy (me and staggy most of all), I have never had an exteral filter so i am praying is better than the internal one. I have let steggy out once so far in the dog crate as its closed up so i can keep a good eye on him he liked it but im looking forward to getting into a more regular routine with him.
He definitley recognised me above anyone else sometimes when my husband feeds him he will ignore him yet if i walk past he does the splashing dance as he know i will give him treats. he does let me stoke his head but no one else. He still hisses at me and I hold him in a way that he cant hurt me ( you hold him mainly from the back end of his shell).
He has developed some dark patches on the bottom of his shell it looks like a colour pattern rather than anything to worry about, i looked at what shell rot looks like and its nothing like what he has so keeping an eye on him at the moment just in case its something that shouldnt be there, as he is a map turtle his colourings are not common so cant find many picutres of map bellies to comapre him to. The musk turtles have grown now and i have noticed that i have a boy and a girl (dramatically different tail seizes) so dont know if i need to do anything about that, they too have had a tank upgrade they went form a 1ft tank (they are 3inches long now) to a 3ft tank, they love it and are getting on much better as if they dont like eachother they have enough room to get away from eachother. Still cant find suitable names for them so any suggestions welcome. They are shy but responde to me shaking the food pack at the tank and come up to feed. Hope Myrtle is behaving, she shounds like she has a lovely temprement and lots of personality.
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Post by wayne020668 on Mar 21, 2011 23:25:05 GMT
hi i would just like to say welcome to our little family here at turtle rescue, firstly your markings are not too much to worry about in maps as these can be late devolopers in shell marking, also all the same i would ask that you try to stratch gently at the markings with a fingernail, if there is no change or anything coming off then i would not worry... i say this because most fungal infections will scrap off a little with a scrapping.... i would however use the methylene blue as this will kill 98% off nasty bacterial that any tank & filter may have, if you have never used this before please contact or ring me prioer to use.. also the external filter will save you so much time in all the cleaning and tank maintenance, if you scrimp and scrap on anything then the filter is not one of these... i would recommend the EHIEM 2026 OR EHIEM 2028 both of which can be bought from E-bay for around the £30 to £40 mark with postage second hand... again if you need help with this please contact me...
regards wayne.
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Post by ndbridge1404 on Mar 24, 2011 10:15:23 GMT
thanks Wayne, I plan to get steggy out later and see if i can examin his shell properely, he has been eating well and still active, I will get methylene blue when the new tank arrives, The tankis brand new and arrives with an advanced filter, its an aqua one tank with advance 1250 filter, it is a tall tank so allows for space for the water to be half to 3/4 filled leaving pleanty of basking space, it has thick glass so its sturdy. I looked around for the best tank and this is the one that fits his needs at the moment. I have read good reviews about the filter but only time will tell if it can keep up with steg. The little turtles (musks) have been upgraded as they really are messy turtles, they now have an internal filter as well as a gravel filter and this seems to work well so far as they water is in good condition even after 7 days (a miracle for them). I am really looking forward to getting stegs new tank its on order and I am waiting for it to arrive as he looks cramped in his old tank and his filter is really not up to the job, plus he is near a window so he can benefit from natural sunlight however this causes alot of green alghe in the tank so his new tank will be in a different location. thanks for all the advice as usual. Hope all the forum turtles are well.
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Post by ndbridge1404 on Mar 29, 2011 18:26:28 GMT
Good news Steg does not have shell rot , i scaraped him and nothing came off so its just his colouring. its odd as his underbelly has black markings but as there is nothing coming off when i rub the area i guess thats good news. His tank is here now havent set it up yet as decorating first and once its in place i dont want to have to move it out the way. I tryed to buy meitheine blue but the shop owner told me not to as it kills good bactertia that helps keepmature the filter and keep the tank clean. So he suggested another product that helps only kill bad bacteria what do you guys think?
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Post by wayne020668 on Mar 29, 2011 19:05:23 GMT
yes it does in a tank full of fish.... methylene blue was designed for fish but will kill all bad bacteria and fungal growths around 98% in around and on turtles, we only use this at both our centers and if used properly will offer your tank a healthy living space virtually free from the above.. good bacteria in filters wont apply to most set ups with turtles due to these animals being messy eaters as the filters should be cleaned very regularly killing all the good ones when this is done... the aim here is to get rid of all dirty water and uneaten foods & waste as quickly as possible while offering a bacteria free clean tank....
regards Wayne.
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