Post by wpglaeser on Jan 4, 2002 17:25:10 GMT -5
I just bought a female RES from Petco last night. At least I'm pretty sure it's a "she". Her claws are VERY short (nothing like the LONG ones I saw on other turtles in the tank at Petco) and her tail doesn't look very huge. I couldn't tell by the plastron. I'm not sure if it's concave or closer to flat. She's about 5 inches long, so I'm guessing she's around 2-3 years old? Is that a good guess?
I've quarantined her for the first couple of days in a medium-sized Rubbermaid storage bin and about 4 inches or so of water. I know she's spooked from the move and the kids hovering over her, but she seems to be doing pretty well. She was very active at Petco, so that's why we picked her. She looks pretty healthy. I put a few of the turtle food pellets in with her and she ate like half of one last night. When it was time to sleep she kept trying to get under a crevice in the flat rocks I piled up at one end. She was able to get her head and front portion of her shell in there and was like that when I got up this morning. I removed about half the water and replaced it with some warm water and moved her away from the crevice. I was afraid she'd topple the rocks and get stuck and drown. I closed up the crevice with some small river rock and put a board over half the tub to let her feel like she had a place to hide.
Well, it was nice to see her eat this morning. I put in a few pellets, a small sprig of lettuce, a thin slice of carrot, and some canned chicken. She seemed to love the chicken. She got her beak on it and ripped it by pushing with her front feet/claws. She didn't seem to be interested in the rest, yet.
One question. She hasn't venture on her own up the rocks to the basking light. She'll stay in the water near it and lift her head towards it. Will she have to be "unspooked" to climb out onto the basking rock? Also, I've read they don't like the rocks to move and the ones in this tub are flat and light, so maybe that's part of it, but I'm not sure, since she's not really tested climbing on them. I've put her on them and she's stayed for about 30 seconds to a minute before diving in the water again. When do I need to worry about her not basking? Or will instinct just drive her to do it?
She seems to be taking regular breaths at the surface, so I think she'll come around once she's used to us. The kids think she's great. Her name is Squirtle. I know it's common, but the kids like Pokemon a lot!
I'm setting up a 40 gallon (36x18x16) aquarium with a substrate of 1-1.5 inch river rock so she can't ingest any gravel/sand and so I can dislodge the waste and siphon/filter it out easier. I also got a wire basket, cut off one of the long sides, and put the big basking rock on top to give her a place to hide/sleep. I'm going to add some more large flat rocks on the bottom to give her another place to stand and reach up for air. I bought a combo filter/heater. The filter is 125 gph and recommended for 16-30 gallons. I figure I'll only have about 20-25 gallons max of water in the tank. The heating portion of the filter is 100 Watts. Sound ok? I also got a thermometer and, of course, the 100W basking light. The tank should be ready for her by Sunday. Do I need a separate Flourescent light? The basking light says it also gives UVB, but no mention of UVA. Plus, I think it might be smart to get a separate one so she gets those rays without basking.
Do most people feed their RES's in their tank or a separate one (like the Rubbermaid she's in now)? The chicken is pretty messy even in that Rubbermaid.
This is my/our first water turtle ever. If things go well, we might get a second RES or a painted turtle to share the tank.
Any comments/advice? Thanks!!!
Walt
Chandler, AZ
I've quarantined her for the first couple of days in a medium-sized Rubbermaid storage bin and about 4 inches or so of water. I know she's spooked from the move and the kids hovering over her, but she seems to be doing pretty well. She was very active at Petco, so that's why we picked her. She looks pretty healthy. I put a few of the turtle food pellets in with her and she ate like half of one last night. When it was time to sleep she kept trying to get under a crevice in the flat rocks I piled up at one end. She was able to get her head and front portion of her shell in there and was like that when I got up this morning. I removed about half the water and replaced it with some warm water and moved her away from the crevice. I was afraid she'd topple the rocks and get stuck and drown. I closed up the crevice with some small river rock and put a board over half the tub to let her feel like she had a place to hide.
Well, it was nice to see her eat this morning. I put in a few pellets, a small sprig of lettuce, a thin slice of carrot, and some canned chicken. She seemed to love the chicken. She got her beak on it and ripped it by pushing with her front feet/claws. She didn't seem to be interested in the rest, yet.
One question. She hasn't venture on her own up the rocks to the basking light. She'll stay in the water near it and lift her head towards it. Will she have to be "unspooked" to climb out onto the basking rock? Also, I've read they don't like the rocks to move and the ones in this tub are flat and light, so maybe that's part of it, but I'm not sure, since she's not really tested climbing on them. I've put her on them and she's stayed for about 30 seconds to a minute before diving in the water again. When do I need to worry about her not basking? Or will instinct just drive her to do it?
She seems to be taking regular breaths at the surface, so I think she'll come around once she's used to us. The kids think she's great. Her name is Squirtle. I know it's common, but the kids like Pokemon a lot!
I'm setting up a 40 gallon (36x18x16) aquarium with a substrate of 1-1.5 inch river rock so she can't ingest any gravel/sand and so I can dislodge the waste and siphon/filter it out easier. I also got a wire basket, cut off one of the long sides, and put the big basking rock on top to give her a place to hide/sleep. I'm going to add some more large flat rocks on the bottom to give her another place to stand and reach up for air. I bought a combo filter/heater. The filter is 125 gph and recommended for 16-30 gallons. I figure I'll only have about 20-25 gallons max of water in the tank. The heating portion of the filter is 100 Watts. Sound ok? I also got a thermometer and, of course, the 100W basking light. The tank should be ready for her by Sunday. Do I need a separate Flourescent light? The basking light says it also gives UVB, but no mention of UVA. Plus, I think it might be smart to get a separate one so she gets those rays without basking.
Do most people feed their RES's in their tank or a separate one (like the Rubbermaid she's in now)? The chicken is pretty messy even in that Rubbermaid.
This is my/our first water turtle ever. If things go well, we might get a second RES or a painted turtle to share the tank.
Any comments/advice? Thanks!!!
Walt
Chandler, AZ