Adopted turtles... don't know what they are, can anybody help?

[anatess]

We adopted 2 turtles from a friend in dire straits. I don't know much about turtles so if you can tell me what these turtles are, I can figure out what I'm supposed to do for them. They don't like posing for pictures, so I only caught half of the turtle. Thanks!



The whole set-up:


There's a basking lamp and a compact flourescent lamp on the hood of the tank. It's on a timer so it only turns on from 7am to 7pm.

I appreciate any help I can get.

[Beardedragon]

Well, they are definitely not an Amphibian!

I'm honestly not sure what they are, I would need better pictures. But you need to get rid of the compact bulb, because it will end up killing him. And depending on what they are, I think you are going to need a much bigger tank. The rule for most turtles is for every inch long they are, you need ten gallons of water. For two turtles that means you need a huge tank.

[MarkieJ]

They look like map turtles.

But you need to get rid of the compact bulb, because it will end up killing him. And depending on what they are, I think you are going to need a much bigger tank. The rule for most turtles is for every inch long they are, you need ten gallons of water. For two turtles that means you need a huge tank.

I have read some articles on compact fluorescents being potentially blinding, but have used them successfully for years with my bearded dragons, turtles, and tortoises. I do agree however on the size of the tank. Looks like they're in a 20 gallon long? An upgrade will be needed soon.

[Beardedragon]

They look like map turtles.



I have read some articles on compact fluorescents being potentially blinding, but have used them successfully for years with my bearded dragons, turtles, and tortoises. I do agree however on the size of the tank. Looks like they're in a 20 gallon long? An upgrade will be needed soon.

Ive successfully been adopting sick, compact exposed reptiles and bringing them back to health for years

[AkHerps]

That one in the first picture looks like a false map turtle or a common map turtle.

I've never used compact UVB bulbs because I've read a lot bad studies about them. Stick with the long tube kind. A lot of studied show animals only basking under them with their eyes closed, which potentially means something is bad about the bulbs.

[MarkS]

But you need to get rid of the compact bulb, because it will end up killing him.

That doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why would there be any difference at all between a compact fluorescent and a long tube fluorescent? They're the same thing except one is more compact.

[anatess]

Whoa. They came to me in the 10gal tank they've been living in. I moved them to the 20L thinking they need more room. I didn't realize they're going to be big. I have a 55 gal... I guess that won't be big enough either. Hmmm...

Yeah, what's up with the compact fluorescent...

[iCandiBallPythons]

From the pics my guess would be map turtle

[AkHerps]

The compact bulbs have been known to cause problems, many tests have been done to show that they produce too high intensity of a beam and can harm reptiles. While we think UVB is great, too much of it too directly, can be very harmful. They ARE different then the long tube flourescent bulbs.

[Beardedragon]

That doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why would there be any difference at all between a compact fluorescent and a long tube fluorescent? They're the same thing except one is more compact.

I am not actually sure what the difference is, maybe the Material? I just know the main difference is how much UV they put out and how fast it puts it out.

I wish I had saved an email be and a friend had a year or two back, he had a UV meter and tested all of his bulbs ( He was a bearded dragon breeder, and this helped him know when his MVB bulbs reached the end of their life so he did not have to stay to the normal one year and throw some out earlier than he needed to)

With every MVB bulb you get, you are supposed to let it have an hour burn out period when you first get it, because in the first out it pours out way to much UVB, and then starts giving out its normal amount. Essentially he said Compact bulbs keep pouring out UVB for the first month like that, some actually not even being able to produce hardly any UVB after that.

You would be heart broken to see a Lizard or a Turtle with PKC, their eyes are swollen, they are lethargic, and hardly eat. Very luckily the healing process starts as soon as the bulb is removed. One tortoise I had was 100% better after just a week with no medical attention, and he was a pretty severe case.

He was actually half way healed by the time I took this video, before he looked half dead.

YouTube - New tortoise