Turtle questions

[darts]

Hi all. Hoping someone can help with a couple of questions i have. I've been keeping aquariums for about 30 years. I've been wanting to get a turtle for a while now and have finally decided to take the plunge and have decided to get a Macleay River Turtle. I have 4ft planted tank running at the moment and a 6x2x2 which is sitting empty. I will be setting up the 6ft in the next couple of weeks and transferring the fish, driftwood and plants over. I am in the process of moving house and, sadly, keeping both tanks is not an option. Substrate will be a fine river sand and calgrit mix with some thin val, elodea and various java ferns making up the planted part. Hardscape will be driftwood only. I will also be adding the recommended amount of salt. The only things i haven't bought yet are the UV light and heat lamp.
My first question is in regards to UV light and heating. I am looking at buying the Reptisun T5 UV Light setup but am wondering whether the UV light needs to cover the whole surface of the tank or just the basking area. Also would UV 5.0 be enough or should i get the 10.0. The tank lids will be replaced with wire mesh (The galvanised ones with squares that are 5cm by 5cm). For heating i was going to buy one of those domes and stick a floodlight bulb from Bunnings in it. Would this combo work or would something like a mercury vapor bulb be better?
My next question is in regards to water depth for a baby turtle. My plants are established and quite tall. They as well as some of the driftwood reach the surface of my current setup (45cm water depth). Given that there will be plenty of foothold at the surface would this be too deep for a baby turtle? If so what would the ideal water depth be? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I am looking at buying the Reptisun T5 UV Light setup but am wondering whether the UV light needs to cover the whole surface of the tank or just the basking area. Also would UV 5.0 be enough or should i get the 10.0. The tank lids will be replaced with wire mesh (The galvanised ones with squares that are 5cm by 5cm). For heating i was going to buy one of those domes and stick a floodlight bulb from Bunnings in it. Would this combo work or would something like a mercury vapor bulb be better?

It's up to you, the more UV exposure the better, however, UVB doesn't penetrate water so your turtle will only benefit from it whilst its head is breaking the surface to breathe. When I first started out I used to have each entire tank covered with UVB 10.0 fluoros but these days I only use Mercury Vapour lamps over the dry dock areas. When using UVB fluoros you definitely want to be using the 10% (10.0) for aquatic turtles.

A mercury vapour lamp provides both UVB and heat so a separate heating lamp isn't necessary. If you are going to use a heat lamp, I recommend the Exo-Terra swamp glo lamp simply because they're specially designed for aquarium use. If your turtle splashes cold water onto a hot Bunnings lamp it will shatter into a thousand pieces and you don't want that.


45cm depth will be completely fine if like you say, there's plenty of aquatic plant material that reaches all the way to the surface. I've kept 8 week old Macleays in 45cm + no problems at all. If you think your turtle is too small or struggling you can always start off shallower and raise it gradually over a period of weeks once the turtle builds up its strength and confidence.

 

[darts]

Thanks for the reply. I think i will go the mercury vapor route. I’ve read some of your other posts and you mention switching on the heat lamps for a couple hours in the morning and then again for a couple in the afternoon. Would that still be the case? Also would a 100 watt lamp do the job or would i need something more powerful? Thanks again.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Yes the heating/basking lamps are on a separate timer to the general lighting. Every individual setup is different and can be affected by several factors. Ideally you want a basking spot around 36°C so it's a matter of trial and error. You'll need a few bulbs on hand anyway as the seasons change, higher wattage in winter, lower in summer.

 

[darts]

That’s perfect. Thanks for that. I will grab a couple of different watt exo terra bulbs to start with and go from there

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I use both a mercury vapour lamp and a heat lamp over my basking areas... because the mercury vapour lamps have to be set quite high to avoid over exposure of intense UVB, the heat they generate can be largely lost so a heat lamp helps keep the basking spot temp in the desired range of mid 30's.

Macleay River turtle basking.

 

[darts]

That is good to know. I will grab the heat bulb you recommended as well the mercury vapor bulb. Can i ask how high you have set yours and what sort of wire clamp lamp you are using?

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Lamp cage
https://www.amazingamazon.com.au/zoomed-wire-clamp-lamp.html

Lamp stand
https://www.amazingamazon.com.au/zoo-med-reptile-lamp-stand.html

Mine's about 55cm above the dock.

 

[darts]

Awesome. Thanks for all your help!!

 

[outback]

I use both a mercury vapour lamp and a heat lamp over my basking areas... because the mercury vapour lamps have to be set quite high to avoid over exposure of intense UVB, the heat they generate can be largely lost so a heat lamp helps keep the basking spot temp in the desired range of mid 30's.
View attachment 329683
Macleay River turtle basking.
View attachment 329685

I'm surprised how far away your UVA/UVB bulb is from your aquarium Flaviemys, have you ever done a solar meter reading on the basking spot?

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I'm surprised how far away your UVA/UVB bulb is from your aquarium Flaviemys, have you ever done a solar meter reading on the basking spot?

It's an MVB mate, not supposed to be any closer otherwise it'll cause photokerato conjunctivitis.