Good day all! I have a 7 year old res. He has been with us since he was about 6 months old. He is 6.5 inches long and 5.5 inches wide. He used to be in a 75 gallon, (4 feet long by 1.5 feet wide), and 2 weeks ago we put him into a 150 gallon, (5 feet long by 2 feet wide.) He went from roughly 35 gallons to 100 gallins, so now he has about 3 times the water to swim in. He has a sweet platform attached to 1/4 of the tank, and a ramp that is attached to the side and platform, he also has a fluval fx5 filter. His water temp ranges from 77 to 79. He has a 100 watt mercury vapor light that is 13 inches over head- the basking temp is about 98 degrees. He eats pellets, rosy reds, anacharis, brine shrimp and krill. Marty's tank used to be against the wall, (with the back side and the basking area against the wall.) Due to the size of his new tank, we had to move him to another location in the living room. He is closer to the couch and kitchen now. The problem is that he is super excited in his new tank and he is constantly swimming like he is trying to escape. It is exhausting to watch. I never see him bask (only home on the weekends though), but he loves to go on the ramp to the platform and jump off. He loves to slide down the platform like a child down a staircase. He is eating, but has decreased his food intake by maybe, 30%. Now, you may be like, aquatic turtles swim, that's what they do. Well, I know that silly! It's just he won,t chill (until the house is completely dark- then he will rest on his rampa). He used to swim, relax, float on the bottom, play with the filter, bask. Now, he swims, swims, swims! I had to put him outside yesterday for an hour to get some some sun and heat. Nothing has changed in the way of husbandry. Just the size and location of his tank. It's been 2 weeks and 1 day in the new crib. Anybody else ever have a turtle become a complete spaz after obtaining a new tank? If so, when did they calm down
the location might be the problem, he might see through the glass in a new area and feel like he should be trying to push out further. Try putting a towel around the walls of the tank for a few days and see if he doesn't calm down. They are kind of slow learners...
Hello! It's great to hear about someone who puts so much care into their turtle's husbandry. Your setup sounds great. The only change I would suggest is permanently covering at least the entire back and sides of the tank as well as the front bottom half (up to the water line). You can try putting towels over the sides for a few days as Enharmonic said, but your turtle may likely return to his frantic behavior once you remove the towels. As Enharmonic said, the change in location probably included a subtle change in external lighting, which has allowed your turtle to see outside of the tank. Turtles don't really understand the concept of "clear walls." If they can see through them, they assume they can get through them as well. You can use something as simple as paper or aquarium backing to cover the sides and front up to the water line, or you can even build a nice wooden frame of your own. It's up to you. Well, I've got to run, but hopefully you can whip something out and get your turtle to calm down. Good luck.
Hi, I am so jealous of your 150 gallon tank! It must look amazing! Sounds like you have a great set up. He may just be getting used to the new tank and the new scenery. When I did a tank upgrade with my turtle and bought him new decorations, he did the same thing. After a week or two he started to calm down. Although, I didn't move the new tank into a different room, it stayed in the same spot, so I don't know about that part. Good luck whatever you decide to do.
Well, I covered the side of the tank where he basks from the bottom to the top. Now the back of the tank and his basking side is covered with aquarium paper. It took him about 4 hours to calm down then he climbed the ramp and finally basked! I figured that he had too much stimuli, but the "pushing" theory fit. It was like he forgot that there was glass there and he thought that he could just walk out into the kitchen. Thank you everyone for quick help! I found these boards years ago and have gotten great advice regarding both my reptiles. I noticed not much action in the turtle boards.
Glad to hear he has chilled out and is finally basking like normal! You're right, the turtle forums aren't terribly active, probably because of turtle specific websites like redearslider.com stealing all the glory. Dang attention hogging websites. =P I kid, I kid.
