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sktadood13
06-22-2008, 04:05 AM
im trying to build a viv for a small turtle...i need help with dividing the land from the water.....i was wondering if i should find somthing water proof and then hot glue gun around the edges to make it water tight? any suggestions?
houie925
06-22-2008, 11:33 PM
what kind of turtle?
sktadood13
06-23-2008, 01:48 AM
ummm i have no idea....dont have it yet.but my godmother is going to the beach and they sell the little turtles at the stores(wings, or w/e) and she is gonna get me one....i had one once but it was killed in a moving accident.:ssad:
Fishguy2727
06-23-2008, 11:08 PM
Those are almost always redear sliders. The females can hit 12" or more, the males are closer to 8" or so tops. I would not divide the tank like that. I would just use either a Turtle Dock (made by Zoo Med) or a piece of driftwood. They only need enough land to dry off and bask on.

Your filtration will have to be heavy duty and you will need to be doing HUGE weekly water changes.

The diet should be based on high quality pellets (Zoo Med, Hagen NutraFin Max Turtle Gammarus Pellets, and even high quality fish foods). Live foods work just like in a fish tank, they introduce pathogens, are nutritionally incomplete and unbalanced, and increase aggression.

The tank needs to be 10-20 to start with. Ideally it is at least 1.5-2 times as wide as the turtle is long. Full grown a female will need at least a 75. They can hit 4" their first year.

Water depth should be as deep as possible without making it possible for the turtle to climb out of the top of the tank (they usually use the basking area to do this).

Lighting needs to be full spectrum UVB. This means either a 10.0 UVB fluorescent bulb or one of the hybrid mercury vapor bulbs. It also needs heat. This can also be done with the mercury vapor bulb or with more classic sources of heat for reptiles. Of those the ceramic heat emitters are best because they don't burn out. The best lighting though would be the mercury vapor bulbs, even though they are initially more expensive they will balance out in the end and are better for the turtle.