How to avoid tortugas rellenas?
April 1, 2010 8:42 AM Subscribe
How can I avoid tortugas rellenas? Which lights does a Box turtle/tortise need, and for how long? Yes, I know turtles and tortises are different but I don't know which one this creature is!
I am box turtle/tortise-sitting and the owner is in Costa Rica, incommunicado. I go to the house once a day; How long do I leave the heat lamp on for, if at all? There's a florescent light, a heat light and a red UV light. The owner said if I were to leave any lamp on, it should be the heat lamp. I left it on for 24 hours the other day and the tortise was in the opposite corner of the tank in its water dish... I think it was roasting! The florescent light is on 24/7.
The turtle/tortise has a terrarium with peaty stuff on the bottom, a sunning rock, a cuttle bone and some water. Should I leave the heat lamp on for a little while when I'm there? Put it on every other day?! Thanks... I just don't want a dead turtle/tortise!
I am box turtle/tortise-sitting and the owner is in Costa Rica, incommunicado. I go to the house once a day; How long do I leave the heat lamp on for, if at all? There's a florescent light, a heat light and a red UV light. The owner said if I were to leave any lamp on, it should be the heat lamp. I left it on for 24 hours the other day and the tortise was in the opposite corner of the tank in its water dish... I think it was roasting! The florescent light is on 24/7.
The turtle/tortise has a terrarium with peaty stuff on the bottom, a sunning rock, a cuttle bone and some water. Should I leave the heat lamp on for a little while when I'm there? Put it on every other day?! Thanks... I just don't want a dead turtle/tortise!
Someone left you in charge of this animal without full instructions?!
Does it have room to get away from the lamps? If so I'd leave them on 24/7. Reptiles regulate their body temp by relocation. If it needs to warm up and you have the lamps turned off, that could be deadly.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:03 AM on April 1, 2010
Does it have room to get away from the lamps? If so I'd leave them on 24/7. Reptiles regulate their body temp by relocation. If it needs to warm up and you have the lamps turned off, that could be deadly.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:03 AM on April 1, 2010
Response by poster: The instructions I got were to give it Romaine lettuce and change its water. The more I read about turtle/tortise care the more I think this one is not taken care of well even by its' owners. They don't let it outside ever AFAIK. Maybe I will leave the heat lamp on 24/7 but in a corner...
posted by ShadePlant at 9:12 AM on April 1, 2010
posted by ShadePlant at 9:12 AM on April 1, 2010
We have a box turtle. We never use a heat lamp. We have a flourscent lamp that has a special bulb to give him the UV that he needs.
If your flourscent lamp has an ordinary buld it's just so you can see to clean it's tank.
I'd run the UV for ~8 hours a day and leave the heat lamp off, a little chilly won't hurt it.
memail me if you need more help.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:31 AM on April 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
If your flourscent lamp has an ordinary buld it's just so you can see to clean it's tank.
I'd run the UV for ~8 hours a day and leave the heat lamp off, a little chilly won't hurt it.
memail me if you need more help.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:31 AM on April 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Those dietary instructions are terrible, and they will seriously harm and then kill that turtle dead if they don't start feeding the poor thing a better diet that romaine freaking lettuce. (Don't go to that page if you don't want to see a bunch of abused, deformed turtles.)
At that link, under "Feeding American Box and Wood Turtles":
At that link, under "Feeding American Box and Wood Turtles":
These North American semi-terrestrial turtles are also omnivorous in their feeding habits. In the wild, they consume slugs, snails, earthworms and similar small prey as well as fallen fruits, mushrooms and some green leaf material. Juvenile box turtles are often almost exclusively carnivorous, their diet broadening out to include more vegetable matter with increasing age.posted by Coatlicue at 9:35 AM on April 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
· Slugs, snails
· Earthworms, waxworm larvae, mealworms, night crawlers
· Beetles
· Fruit (most turtles prefer “mushy” over-ripe fruits rather than fresh)
· Green leaf vegetables
· Mushrooms
· Small quantity (low fat) dog food, thawed pinkie mice (for T. ornata)
Upon hearing about the romaine diet and the lack of any out-of-box exercise, I change my answer. Liberate the turtle and run!
posted by norm at 9:55 AM on April 1, 2010
posted by norm at 9:55 AM on April 1, 2010
Response by poster: Ahhh! *Is not trying to do turtle social work but is beginning to wonder if the turtle is ok even when owner comes back*
posted by ShadePlant at 10:23 AM on April 1, 2010
posted by ShadePlant at 10:23 AM on April 1, 2010
Since you only stop by once a day, would it possible for you to set up an automatic timer? How long is the owner out of town?
My mother loves turtles (they are her "babies" -- yes, that's what she calls them), so I have spent my life with them (aquatic and box) -- we never had a tortoise (although she sometimes thinks about getting one), so I'm going to assume a bias towards an average box turtle.
If I remember correctly (I haven't lived with my parents in awhile, and the last time I visited was a year ago), she uses a special bulb for both light and for heat, especially in winter. It was on a timer so it would shut off in the evening and turn on the morning. I'm not sure if she still does that as she's now let the turtles have the run of the living room (blocked off by a baby gate), and they're often tucked into some corner or curled up in an old throw rug -- or sometimes sunning themselves under a heat lamp she has hanging outside the aquariums. In fact, I think she is now using one of the box turtle tank as an aquatic tank for a smaller aquatic turtle she got a few years ago (the larger one gets the run of the living room, too, until my mom catches her and puts her back in the big tank to be rehydrated and to eat some pellets).
But my first reaction to the turtle being in the water was, "oh, he's pooping." Or hanging out. One of our turtles sometimes would fall asleep in her water dish (yeah, we didn't have decked-out aquariums -- they have plastic dishes and old towels and cardboard hideaways -- or at least they did, until my mom discovered they hate being put back in the aquariums once they've tasted the freedom of running free in the living room).
I don't know that this is something to be overly concerned about -- turtles are fairly low-key pets, and I know that if my parents are going to be gone for a weekend or a few days, my mom makes sure to feed her babies (as in, set out some food), refresh the water, and then leaves them until she gets back. Anything a week or longer they'll set up a turtle-sitter (with highly detailed instructions, though).
And to add to the slight derail:
Our turtles love canned dog food, defrosted and slightly warmed in the microwave mixed veggies (corn and lima beans, yum!), frozen strawberries that have thawed to room temperature, grasshoppers (freshly captured from the backyard), and earth worms (my mom frequently goes to a local bait shop to find thick juicy earthworms, as for awhile that was about the only thing one of her turtles would eat except for the strawberries which are like turtle candy. I've learned to never wonder what is in the small styrofoam box in the fridge. Glah). They hate lettuce. When I was a kid, it was a sad discovery that they wouldn't eat lettuce, because I'd been trained to think that was what every turtle ate.
Oh, and turtles are much faster than you would think, and find the craziest places to hide, so I'd recommend not letting him out of the tank. (Yes, I realize the other posters are probably joking, but until you've spent a few hours on a turtle hunt, on your knees, searching every little crevice and dark corner, you really don't appreciate how crafty these supposedly slow creatures can be).
posted by paisley sheep at 11:05 AM on April 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
My mother loves turtles (they are her "babies" -- yes, that's what she calls them), so I have spent my life with them (aquatic and box) -- we never had a tortoise (although she sometimes thinks about getting one), so I'm going to assume a bias towards an average box turtle.
If I remember correctly (I haven't lived with my parents in awhile, and the last time I visited was a year ago), she uses a special bulb for both light and for heat, especially in winter. It was on a timer so it would shut off in the evening and turn on the morning. I'm not sure if she still does that as she's now let the turtles have the run of the living room (blocked off by a baby gate), and they're often tucked into some corner or curled up in an old throw rug -- or sometimes sunning themselves under a heat lamp she has hanging outside the aquariums. In fact, I think she is now using one of the box turtle tank as an aquatic tank for a smaller aquatic turtle she got a few years ago (the larger one gets the run of the living room, too, until my mom catches her and puts her back in the big tank to be rehydrated and to eat some pellets).
But my first reaction to the turtle being in the water was, "oh, he's pooping." Or hanging out. One of our turtles sometimes would fall asleep in her water dish (yeah, we didn't have decked-out aquariums -- they have plastic dishes and old towels and cardboard hideaways -- or at least they did, until my mom discovered they hate being put back in the aquariums once they've tasted the freedom of running free in the living room).
I don't know that this is something to be overly concerned about -- turtles are fairly low-key pets, and I know that if my parents are going to be gone for a weekend or a few days, my mom makes sure to feed her babies (as in, set out some food), refresh the water, and then leaves them until she gets back. Anything a week or longer they'll set up a turtle-sitter (with highly detailed instructions, though).
And to add to the slight derail:
Our turtles love canned dog food, defrosted and slightly warmed in the microwave mixed veggies (corn and lima beans, yum!), frozen strawberries that have thawed to room temperature, grasshoppers (freshly captured from the backyard), and earth worms (my mom frequently goes to a local bait shop to find thick juicy earthworms, as for awhile that was about the only thing one of her turtles would eat except for the strawberries which are like turtle candy. I've learned to never wonder what is in the small styrofoam box in the fridge. Glah). They hate lettuce. When I was a kid, it was a sad discovery that they wouldn't eat lettuce, because I'd been trained to think that was what every turtle ate.
Oh, and turtles are much faster than you would think, and find the craziest places to hide, so I'd recommend not letting him out of the tank. (Yes, I realize the other posters are probably joking, but until you've spent a few hours on a turtle hunt, on your knees, searching every little crevice and dark corner, you really don't appreciate how crafty these supposedly slow creatures can be).
posted by paisley sheep at 11:05 AM on April 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm glad there are some turtle people here. My earlier comment about leaving the light on is just from my experience with reptiles in general (snakes and geckos at the moment). You do not leave those guys without a source of basking/belly heat as a general rule.
Hopefully the little guy is okay, and go, go, Mefi Animal Care Squad! (MACS for short, fittingly enough)
posted by WinnipegDragon at 11:25 AM on April 1, 2010
Hopefully the little guy is okay, and go, go, Mefi Animal Care Squad! (MACS for short, fittingly enough)
posted by WinnipegDragon at 11:25 AM on April 1, 2010
Response by poster: Here is my turtle case plan: Add some strawberries to her diet, put the heat lamp in a far corner 24/7 and put it in a basket outside for a little bit today with supervision. (Owner said turtle can be in said basket for exercise sometimes.... It's primarily in the glass aquarium though). Oh, and the owner said the old food could be flushed down the toilet... Yeah right! But that's for the flooded toilet thread. Thanks mefi!
posted by ShadePlant at 1:25 PM on April 1, 2010
posted by ShadePlant at 1:25 PM on April 1, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by norm at 8:54 AM on April 1, 2010