Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: I'm new too

[DetroitRebelle]

Hi, I'm new. I got two baby RES for Valentine's Day this year. They're growing so fast! Their names are Turk Turkleton and Lisa Turtle.

We are getting ready to relocate them to a bigger tank that is better for them and more attractive to us, so I came here for ideas and advice.


You can't really telll from this picture but they are still tiny, about 3 inches across. I love to watch them

[Nettle]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm not sure how much you already know, but here's a list of bare necessities:

Filter: Filters gallons/per/hour five times the amount of gallons of water in the tank (20 gallons of water; 100 gph)

Basking platform: The zoo-med turtle dock works the best, but they grow out of it pretty quick. Building an above tank basking area creates support and more swimming room.

Basking Light: For tanks under 50 gallons, you need two lights; a UVB and an incandescent. The UVB (such as the exo terra repti-glo 5.0 26w ($16)) imitates the sun which turns calcium into Vitamin D which fortifies bones and shell. The incandescent (regular house bulb) must keep the basking area at around 88-90 degrees F. For tanks larger than 50 gal, you can use an MVB bulb which is heat and UVB in one. They must be on for 12 hours a day to mimic sunrise and sunset.

Heater: Water temp must stay around 78 degrees for hatchlings and 75 deg. for adults (4+ inches).

Thermometers: One for water, one for basking area. Digital or strips work best.

GRAVEL IS BAD! Anything smaller than their head can and will be eaten. Gravel can get compacted and cause death (as has happened).

Nutrition is too big for me to explain, so here's a list from the main site:
http://redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

We'll be able to help a little more... helpfully if you can ask specific questions.

Good luck!

[DetroitRebelle]

Thanks! I just went through a lot of the forum and now I'm paranoid about pyramiding. Do their shells look okay? I feed them pellets, and maybe once a week they get dried shrimp. They also get moths when we can catch them (they've had maybe 2 each in 2 months).

[Bascomb]

Detroit-Reb -- You may want to but back a little on the feeding. I started everyother day at about their size. If you can stand the begging, give that a try. b.

[Nettle]

They've got a lot of scute retention, but if you correct their diet and provide good basking, then it should resolve itself.

They should get a headful of pellets every day (maybe every other day for a while). Good brands are Reptomin, Mazuri, and HBH.

Greens like red leaf, green leaf, turnip greens and dandelion leaves should be given every day the size of their shell.

Once a week, carrots (vitamin a) sweet potato or zucchini.

Once a month is treat time. They can get one feeder fish, one dried shrimp, or one cricket in replacement of their pellets.

They can also have fruits like apple skins, blueberries, mango, and grapes (once a month).

They should also have cuttlebone in their tank at all times. Cuttlebone can be found in the bird section of any grocery store for super cheap. It provides calcium which is essential for bone and shell strength.

This is just my menu for them, there are many others and it's free to tweaking.

[DetroitRebelle]

Thank you! Yes, I'm feeding them too much. I'll cut back. And I'll post pics of their new set up this weekend.

[Tenodera]

I don't think it's really scute retention until it's been retained for many many months... I might be wrong though. Anyways, yea, they do need some good ol' shedding.

and Nettle, your turtles are so lucky to have you. So much VARIETY. Don't let Miso see that list.

[Nettle]

:3 I know... I spoil them.

[DetroitRebelle]

Good news, they've started to shed. One more than the other (the bigger one, who actually eats less).