I got bit...

I finally got bit by squirt the other day.. on the pinkie! I took him out of the tank, and was looking for a bin to put him in, and while i wasn't paying attention, my pinkie must've drifted in his face, and WHAM!

He didn't break the skin, it was more like a hard pinch. But it was weird, he kind of "pulsed" while he was locked down on my finger, like he'd lessen the pressure, then bite down hard again.

I officially can say I have been bit now!

Leaving for a few days.

Going on a road trip on Wednesday, Gonna leave squirt alone for 4 days! First time he will be completely alone for any length of time since i got him in december.

I am feeling confident, it's only 4 days. I have a digital timer for the lights, Automatic feeder, reiliable heater, just replaced the heat bulb because it blew out, So far all is looking good.

I'm just trying to better figure out how to make the automatic feeder feed a smaller amount. I am going to have to restrict the opening with tape because it currently spits out about 7 pellets per rotation, and I usually only feed 5-6 pellets. so i don't want him being overfed.

To Python or Not to Python

That is the question.

I have considered getting one of these for a while, but still not sure about it. part of me says I don't need it, the gadget dork in me says I need it.

I have been getting along just fine by using my XL tank vaccum, with extended tubing, and then bringing the hose in the house to quickly fill the tank back up.

But we'll see how it goes, still not completely sure I need one.

Great way to clean sand while in the tank

I found a Zoo Med sand scooper works great for cleaning up turtle poop and general debris in sand while in the tank. It's a cheap investment to make cleaning your sand very easy. And you won't have to take any water out via siphon just to clean the sand!
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13992

Electric Yellow Cichlid

Considering getting one of these. I will put it in with squirt, and see how it goes.

There have been many turtle keepers on various forums that have had success with keeping electrics in with their turtles, so I figure I'll give it a shot. They are fast and and have the same temp. requirements as a turtle.

The main reason I want one is because they look good, I mean they would really liven up my tank.

I think ill only get one for now, since they are 10 bucks a fish, and if squirt decides he is going to eat it, id rather have 10 not 20 bucks in his stomach haha.
Heres a good article on them
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/electricyellow.php

Rasberries

I gave squirt a rasberry today, I tried to hand feed it to him, but he was a bit too scared to take it since he's used to just taking reptomin from my hands. But then I let it sink, and he kinda fluttered at it, stared at it, general curiosness, blah blah. But then he didn't eat it!

Oh well! 

Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Diet

I finally found a website that sells it. And it was a good deal too, only $8.59 for a pound, and $13.98 shipped. It was cheaper than from Mazuri directly, which they wanted $11.98 or something for one pound before shipping. 

Now whats so great about Mazuri you say? I like the fact that mazuri has a very good reputation, as well as the fact that they use high grade ingredients. 

I will still feed reptomin, however I want to make Mazuri the staple pellet, with reptomin being the secondary. 

But anyway, I'm a little disappointed with the shipping, I ordered on friday, I got order confirmation saying it was sent, on monday. Now on friday I still have not recieved my pellets. You'd think that it would take less than 5days to ship a package just over 300 miles in the same state. 

Cleaned out tank...almost

I did a large cleaning of the tank the other day. I cleaned the canister filter, wiped the tubes of the filter, cleaned half of the sand, did a 50% water change, cleaned the plants of algae, and cut out the screen for his UVB light. 

It took me a while, but it was a relief when it was finished. 

better container for reptomin

Well I was getting a container to keep my CGD in for my geckos, and I thought why not get one for reptomin. 

It's a snapware container, which is water and air tight. 

attack of the algae!

Holy crap. I left for a few days and was lazy and didn't do the weekly maintenance, the tank had some algae going on before but now, 4 days later, wow. The stuff is all over the place. On the front, at the sandline, on the back, and other areas. 

So looks like tomorrow I'm going to have to go full on and do like a 50% water change, clean out my filter and the tubes from algae, wipe the sides, and scrub off the dock. 

The things we do for these damn turtles....sheesh. Lol.

Hand feeding.

Well today I actually tried handfeeding Squirt. 

He did really well, at first he was a bit skittish, but after a few inspections he came right up and took the pellet from my hand. I fed him his daily 4 pellets by hand today. It was pretty cool, I can definitely see how it could be called "bonding" time with your turtle. 

I was a little skittish of even feeding him the pellet, for fear of him missing and nabbing my hand. But people had said if they nip you hand while feeding it isn't as hard as a aggressive bite. So I just went for it. 

So all in all it worked great, but I don't know how often I'll do it because it is somewhat time consuming compared to just tossing in 4 pellets and watching them disappear in 10 seconds or less.