All Turtles Message Board

acarper1 · Guest Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 2

We had a baby RES this summer that we purchased online and he died after 2 weeks. A fellow homeschooler had ordered 11 of them and including mine, 8 of them died so I'm fairly certain they were sick when we got them. We acquired a baby map (I think) last week and I want to do all I can to keep him healthy. First, I think he's a map. He has a light yellow belly with lines on it. His shell is a dark green and kind of pointed in the middle and he is green and yellow striped. Ok, secondly, when I got him, the lady who had him had been keeping him in a small rubbermaid container with about an inch of water and a rock. I put him in our tank at home with a basking dock, UVB bulb, heat bulb, etc and he almost drowned the first day. At first he seemed to like the water, but I really think he was struggling. So, I took out a bunch of the water and now there are like 2 - 2 1/2 " of water. He basks pretty well, eats every other day or so even though I try to feed him daily. He always seems to be trying to escape.. trying to climb the sides. Is that normal? I don't remember my RES doing that. Also, today when I cleaned his tank his water was getting a little warm from the heat bulb, but I don't know how to fix that considering if I put more water in he may drown... Does his set up sound ok? Any suggestions? Thanks!

ryanandsuzyro · Level 3 Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 207

Sounds like a pretty good set-up. Try increasing the water just a little bit at a time, maybe an inch a week if that, as he gets comfortable with his surroundings. They are born to swim, though they don't need to be too challenged at first. Can you give the heat lamp more distance from the water surface? Or if you can, does that take it too far away?

Or try a lower wattage of heat bulb. What do you have in there now? You don't want the basking temperature too low, but it could do the trick.

acarper1 · Guest Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 2

Ty, well, I have the heat bulb in a strip on top of the aquarium... but the top is covered with mesh screen so there shouldn't be too much heat buildup and the light is probably 12 inches or more from the water surface, but the basking dock is low too because it's a floating one and has to be low due to the water level, etc. The water temp is 80 now.. is that too warm? From what I've read it says 75-80 degrees, but should I try to cool it down a little? Thanks for your help!