TetraFauna Aquatic Reptile Heater | Petco
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The EHEIM Jager Aquarium Heater is constructed from shock resistant and shatter proof glass for fresh or marine water. The glass is heavy for extra strength and the power cord has an industrial feel to it. The heater features thermo safety controls that will protect against running dry, and will turn itself off if the water level dips too low.
Photo provided by Flickr Dr. Turtle is a slow-release calcium block that conditions water while providing a calcium supplement to promote healthy shell growth for aquatic turtles. To use, simply place the Dr. Turtle Block in your turtles water supply.
Photo provided by Flickr
Photo provided by Flickr
Photo provided by Flickr
It is important to buy the right heater for your aquarium. There are two basic types - those designed to hang from the side with the top of the heater out of the water and those that can be totally submerged. With either type, it is important that the heater element end of the heater be completely surrounded by water - if not, the heat from the element will likely break the glass. Most turtle setups will not have the water up to the top of the aquarium since there will be basking areas, so the hanging types will not work properly. Even if the heater element is submerged, the thermostat portion (near the top of the glass tube) will not be surrounded by water and will not be able to regulate the water temperature. For turtles, the totally submerged types are recommended. They can be oriented horizontally and therefore completely surrounded by water even in tanks with only a few inches of water. To make it simple, get an adjustable, fully submersible heater that is the right wattage for the tank. Use a good thermometer to check the water temperature. A good rule of thumb is to use a heater with 4 to 5 Watts per gallon of aquarium size for small tanks and 3 to 4 Watts per gallon for larger tanks. Note that even if the aquarium is not filled, you should select a heater based on the aquarium size since most heat loss is through the top water surface. If you keep your house cool, you should size the heater using the higher wattage number.There are several brands of heaters available. The Ebo Jager heater is considered to be among the best. It is completely submersible, has an adjustable temperature setting knob (although it is difficult to adjust since it is surrounded by the water seal), and uses high quality, shock resistant glass. This last feature is very important - cheap heaters using thin glass tubes will not withstand the onslaught of a vigorous turtle. The Ebo Jager has its temperature setting indicated on the adjustment knob, but you should always check the temperature with a high quality aquarium thermometer, at least until you get the setting correct. Hagen has the Hagen Tronic series that also can be recommended. This series has an electronic temperature control which should be more reliable than the normal bi-metallic strip control mechanism. A filter is not absolutely required for a baby turtle but it is good to have. Not only will it keepthewatercleaner, it will reduce the film that will develop on the surface, and give the baby some currentagainstwhich to swim. I have used the Duetto 100 filter. It can lay on its side so it works in water asshallowas a few inches which is what hatchlings need. There are a few other submersible small filtersthat maywork as well. I covered the intake with panty hose so that the live blackworms did not all getquicklysucked into the filter before the turtle could feed. Also, hatchlings that are weak may get feetsucked into a filter so a mesh cover is a good idea at first to prevent that. Getting the air out ofthe filter in order to get itstartedis not that easy and takes practice. I hold it open on its side and twist it to get the air out, closeit,andplug it in and hope it starts. The Duetto has an adjustable output. So, when Snappy was veryyoung, I set it on the slowest setting so the water barely moved so Snappy did not get thrownaround the tank. By the time he was four-months-old, I had turned the setting all the way up. Snappy enjoyedswimminginto the current. It is important however that only a portion of the tank/box have moving waterso thereare still areas where the baby can rest without having to fight the moving water. Adding plasticplantshelps a lot with that. I used two meant for aquariums but had to take them out when Snappytriedto nibble on them. The hatchlings I have had seem to like to sit on top of the filter and heater sothey are partly in the water and partly out while relaxing.