Hello everybody!!!
I'm new to turtle talk and this is my first time really posting in a forum as well, but I'm not especially new to owning red eared sliders. I am 24 years old and I own two red eared sliders that live in a 35 gallon (tall not wide) tank.
My two res' names are Chibi and Squirt. In July 2012, I saved Chibi from outside a $99 cent store in one of those cricket keeper sized containers with a quarter of an inch of water and a small bag of reptile pellets. [For confusion sake I'll call Chibi a "she" and Squirt a "He". I'm not sure their sexes yet.] She was only an inch 'n a half in diameter when I got her. I instantly put her in a 10 gallon tank an set it up nicely with a basking light, and area, clean filtered water and a fresh start on a better life.
A few months of research showed me what I was doing wrong in the beginning and I quickly corrected it. (I was using the wrong lights causing Chibi not to bask) As I was learning, I noticed Chibi wasn't acting right. She seemed depressed. Yes that sounds strange, but hear me out. She would stay at the bottom of the tank, not really moving. I would put fish into the tank and she would not chase them or try to eat them right away. So my wife came up with the idea of finding a friend for her. So the search was on and as you can tell we found one!
After about 3 trips to craigslist listings houses we finally found Squirt. He was given to me with no container at all, just him and another cricket sized container that held larger sized pleco. We immediately went home and put him into, at the time, Chibi's 20 gallon tank. Right away Chibi lit up. She starting basking properly, chasing fish, acting more turtle like. Mind you Squirt is more timid and shy, while Chibi is more forthcoming and brave, but all in all they get along great. So I saved two red eared sliders from the streets and gave them a very happy home. I think I have introduced me and my little babies and will post pictures in the Picture area.
Thank you for reading my story and I'm looking forward to meeting and talking with people getting their opinions and criticisms.
