Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Introducing myself and Bellini.

[Jeremy1026]

Hello, my name is Jeremy and I recently adopted a small RES. The turtle was given to MATTS from a woman who was recently divorced, the turtles were her husbands and when he left he didn't take the turtles with him, since she didn't know how to care for them she placed them with a rescue group. I adopted the turtle, named Benji at the time, on 9/18/10. After getting him home and acquainted to his new tank I asked him if he would be ok with a name change to Bellini, since it was close to his old name he agreed.

Bellini is now living in a 55 gallon tank, with a Cascade 300 Filter, a 75W heat bulb, and dual UVB lights. He has a basking area that measures 12" x 12" with a ramp that is about 8" wide by 14" long that extends about 3" down into the water. In his first day with us he ate a small piece of romaine lettuce in his tank, and about two dozen turtle pellets in a separate feeding container. He is not shy at all, while being transferred to his feeing container he doesn't retract into his shell at all, he also barely kicks during the move. The woman we adopted him from was amazed that he was eating in a separate container so quickly.

I have a bunch of pictures of him and his tank, but will only post a few now.

His tank and my home made stand for it.


The lighting hidden under the hood.


Switches controlling the lights.


Snacking on the lettuce.


This is the first time I caught him basking, fled to the water as soon as he saw me.


First feeding. He took to the separate container no problem.


He is already about 10x more comfortable with me in the room. I was able to snap a much closer shot of him basking today.

[rsour24]

you are probably have the best turtle habbitat starting out as a new person to the forum since i have been here. one thing i rly like about your tank is that the custom hood u made looks like it can easily be transformed into an ATBA when the space will be needed

[Jeremy1026]

you are probably have the best turtle habbitat starting out as a new person to the forum since i have been here. one thing i rly like about your tank is that the custom hood u made looks like it can easily be transformed into an ATBA when the space will be needed

In theory, I won't have to upgrade my tank for this turtle at all. As I mentioned Bellini is a rescue. MATTS said that they think him and his tankmate were malnourished with their previous owner and their growth was stunted because of it. So they don't anticipate him growing much more, if at all. He is just over 4" now, leaving him an inch or two of growth before he'd need a bigger tank.

[Turtle Mummy 101]

Welcome Jeremy! Beautiful turtle and tank. I agree with resour24 about the hood. Great job

[steve]

Hi Jeremy and Bellini! Thanks for the great introduction, I think that setup looks great! Bellini might be she, making the name change more appropriate

[rsour24]

In theory, I won't have to upgrade my tank for this turtle at all. As I mentioned Bellini is a rescue. MATTS said that they think him and his tankmate were malnourished with their previous owner and their growth was stunted because of it. So they don't anticipate him growing much more, if at all. He is just over 4" now, leaving him an inch or two of growth before he'd need a bigger tank.[/quote]

thats what im saying, if u built and ATBA you could use all 55 gallons of water and would not need to upgrade

[steve]

Rsour, that's pretty close to a full ATBA. A full one requires a bit more work and might be an option down the line.

[Jaysea]

Looks so comfy in that last pic basking, nice turtle

[Jeremy1026]

you are probably have the best turtle habbitat starting out as a new person to the forum since i have been here. one thing i rly like about your tank is that the custom hood u made looks like it can easily be transformed into an ATBA when the space will be needed

The whole thing is custom built. A lot of consideration was put into it before construction started, to make sure that it will best suit the turtles needs over the years.

Hi Jeremy and Bellini! Thanks for the great introduction, I think that setup looks great! Bellini might be she, making the name change more appropriate

The woman with MATTS said that. She said that the gender of Bellini is still in the air, she thinks that Bellini is a male with stunted growth. She started going on about different things that prove that, but I was just super excited to get a turtle I really wasn't too worried about gender. If Bellini turns out to be a girl we will do everything to make her comfortable come egg laying time. Either way, we will love Bellini.

Looks so comfy in that last pic basking, nice turtle

He loves sitting up there. Always with his back right leg extended just about as far as he can get it out. Almost like he is trying to get a tan on it.

[Jaysea]

He loves sitting up there. Always with his back right leg extended just about as far as he can get it out. Almost like he is trying to get a tan on it.

mine does that, but he does a full "superman" pose with all 4 legs stretched out. like hes doing in my avatar cracks me up lol.