Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Cluless RES Nana!!

[slidersnana]

Hi!! I am a new grandma of 3 RES My daughter thought she was going about adopting this new pet well informed. We found out this weekend we wasn't even close to knowing what we were doing. MY oldest grandson is only 6 and a huge animal lover he has 6 fish all named, a dog named scooby, and he had two birds that belonged to a family member who could no longer keep them. Landon was allergic to the birds he found them a good home and for being such a trooper earned his self a trip to the pet store. He adopted a beautiful red eared slider, whom he named Buzz, ( Buzz Light year). when my other grandson Braden saw the Buzz he went wild crying when Landon took him home. Braden is only 2 but because of what the lady at the pet store told us, we returned and got him one also at that time Landon got a second one to go with Buzz, he named him Woody, yes Toy story names . Now what we were told: That they would live up to 300 years, would become very large but not for many many many years. very easy to take care of and were vegetarians. Today my daughter was at the local flea-market and a woman was selling RES when my daughter talked to her she was shown one that was about 7" long and told that it was only eight months old, I decided to research who was telling the truth. Thank You For Turtle Talk We will be buying a lager aquarium and heat lamp tomorrow, . now knowing it is a omnivore it explains y they ate the 2 fish we had in there home with them! Thanks again I will be asking lots of questions I am sure.

[cutepanda86]

Welcome!! I just joined myself. Sounds like you have a busy little aquarium.

[slidersnana]

Thank You!!

[penelope]

Welcome! and ask away!
It sounds like you inherited quite a bit!
Yes. These little RES require more maintenance than dogs or cats. With three, I would think you can make raising them a second occupation - Ha Ha!
Glad you are here and we love to answer questions!
Check out all the different forums and read the main site - there is so much to learn
Again, Nana - WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

[michaelg]

I love my RES, but I sure hope they don't live to 300 years! I think 20 - 30 years is common for RES. RES do grow quickly when they are young and then slow down their growth as they get old.

Welcome to the forum.

-Michael

[steve]

Welcome to the site! Wow, some crazy info you've heard. It's not impossible to have a RES grow that fast in 8 months but it would have serious health issues.

[Marshmillo]

Res live about 20 years in the wild and 40 in captivity. U should be strict about washing ur hands and ur grandsons' after touching the turtle or anything that has salmonella on it (ei, objects that have touched ur turtle). A 7" res would be more than 8 months for certain. 4" to 5" turtles are about five years old if they haven't been overfed. The growth slows down as the turtle ages. U need to feed them 25 percent commercial pellets from brand names like re to in or zoomed, more meat but a small % of veggies for younger turtles. Older ones need more veggies since they no longer need to grow as much. U'll need the biggest and longest tank u can afford with 10 gallons per 1" of turtle. Area is needed more than height. U also need a UVB lamp. Change the bulb every 6 months. The light will work but the actual UVB won't, so it'll be useless. Strong filter is a necessity and don't put multiple turtles together cuz they'll get aggressive at one point, which might not be when ur at home, and it could turn outnbloody.