Red Eared Sliders tank help

[NutMeg050790]

I think I posted on here a while ago when I first got my little Red Eared Sliders. My parents got them as hatchlings off canal street, and they still had their egg teeth. One originally wasnt eating.

Well now, they are a little bigger. Both are eating, but the one that wasnt before, seems to have trouble eating. He goes for the food, but always seems to miss it.

Anyways, Im moving them into my 30 gallon tank soon, and Ive been trying to find a hood for my tank with a heater and a light. I have found this...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...&N=2006+113030

Is that okay for them?

[furryscaly]

That's a pretty fancy hood, and really, its not even as good as a basic screen lid. There's hardly any ventillation with that hood. A screen lid is best, but the screen must have gaps wider than 1/8th inches. You also don't want basking lights over the whole tank, just over the basking area. A self-ballasted mercury vapor bulb would be best, as it produces both the essential UVB rays, and also heat, so you don't need 2 bulbs. Plus fluorescent UVB lights need to be closer than 10 inches from the turtle to work. I cann't tell in the picture, but the hood you're looking at cannot have anything between the lights and the tank. If there's glass, plexiglass, or plastic between the lights and the tank, that hood is completely worthless for reptiles. UVB cannot pass through those substances.

[Ravnos]

I'm with furry, an open topped tank, or a basic screen lid is much easier to deal with and gets better ventilation than that hood would. That hood does not look like it would be very useful in a moist environment, I'd be afraid it'd just rust out or worse, short out if it got splashed. Mercury vapor bulbs are nice, because they give off a lot more UV than the traditional fluorescents, but they also get very hot and don't take well to being splashed either so they need to be placed very carefully. Turtle tanks can sometimes be frustrating to set up.