Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hello everyone!

[Zady]

Hi turtle lovers, my name is Zady, I'm the mommy of a red ear slider and a yellow belly slider. I'm happy to be part of this community, I was willing to share my experiences and learn even more every day about this amazing and beautiful reptiles. I named my turtles Dorothy and Donna, although to be honest I'm not sure if they are female or male. I found Dorothy first walking on the street near a lake, I pick her and take it home, same day I went to PETSMART and buy her food, a friend gave me a 10 gallon Tank and I bought some gravel and stuff. A week after my husband & I decided to buy 2 more turtles so they can be together, just that the turtles we bought were yellow belly sliders. Sadly one of this turtles died a few days later, I think she was sick of the eyes, I couldn't save her, that made me feel terrible, and I couldn't. Her friend Donna got sick too, but I start re search at the Internet and I bought medicine for turtles eyes, medicine for the water and she got better

This is Dorothy!!

And Donna

[TurtlesOwner97]

Hi turtle lovers, my name is Zady, I'm the mommy of a red ear slider and a yellow belly slider. I'm happy to be part of this community, I was willing to share my experiences and learn even more every day about this amazing and beautiful reptiles. I named my turtles Dorothy and Donna, although to be honest I'm not sure if they are female or male. I found Dorothy first walking on the street near a lake, I pick her and take it home, same day I went to PETSMART and buy her food, a friend gave me a 10 gallon Tank and I bought some gravel and stuff. A week after my husband & I decided to buy 2 more turtles so they can be together, just that the turtles we bought were yellow belly sliders. Sadly one of this turtles died a few days later, I think she was sick of the eyes, I couldn't save her, that made me feel terrible, and I couldn't. Her friend Donna got sick too, but I start re search at the Internet and I bought medicine for turtles eyes, medicine for the water and she got better

1.jpg

2.jpg

Welcome to the forum, Zady! Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm glad that you took the effort to take care of them! Some tips for you; any gravel as substrate needs to be bigger than the turtle's head to avoid impaction. Second, I'm sure you are aware that they can grow very big, it is recommended to upgrade to the largest tank which you can accommodate when next time they outgrow the 10 gallon tank. That would save the unnecessary cost of upgrading everytime. The golden rule: 10 gallon per 1 inch of caraspace, this is the basic guideline to ensure that your turtles can live a comfortable life. Happy to hear Donna is getting better!

[steve]

Welcome to the forum Zady, glad to see you were able to register.

[Zady]

Welcome to the forum, Zady! Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm glad that you took the effort to take care of them! Some tips for you; any gravel as substrate needs to be bigger than the turtle's head to avoid impaction. Second, I'm sure you are aware that they can grow very big, it is recommended to upgrade to the largest tank which you can accommodate when next time they outgrow the 10 gallon tank. That would save the unnecessary cost of upgrading everytime. The golden rule: 10 gallon per 1 inch of caraspace, this is the basic guideline to ensure that your turtles can live a comfortable life. Happy to hear Donna is getting better!

Hi TurtlesOwner97 , nice meeting you. Thanks for your tips, and by the way, your indoor pond is awesome! I didn't know that small gravel can affect them, actually I have learned so much about turtles since I found Dorothy that started reading articles and researching. But haven't read about the gravel. Actually I removed the gravel last weekend, but I decided to. because I noticed the water was pretty more dirty due to the gravel cuz the food residues stayed among the gravel particles. So I'm happy I removed the gravel, I didn't know it can harm them . About the gallon, I'm waiting they grow a little more since right now I can't afford a bigger tank, neither a better filter. I have a Tetra Whisper Filter for up to 40 gallon, is a cheap filter, and no so good, but can't afford a better one now. The bad point is that I have to change the water all weekends, my husband and I rotate turns LOL, because the water is so dirty by the end of the week. I hope this week it last more since I removed the gravel. I also have a Light for warm, and a UVB one.

Wow I never thought turtles needed such an special care. I'm from Cuba, there people use to have it in a washbowl, and even people here at USA have them in those little Island, they don't know the care their turtles actually need.

[Zady]

Welcome to the forum Zady, glad to see you were able to register.

Thanks Steve, glad to see you too, great place you have build here! Is so good to have a place to learn and share your experiences, and provide our turtles as well a better care.

[TurtlesOwner97]

Welcome to the forum, Zady! Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm glad that you took the effort to take care of them! Some tips for you; any gravel as substrate needs to be bigger than the turtle's head to avoid impaction. Second, I'm sure you are aware that they can grow very big, it is recommended to upgrade to the largest tank which you can accommodate when next time they outgrow the 10 gallon tank. That would save the unnecessary cost of upgrading everytime. The golden rule: 10 gallon per 1 inch of caraspace, this is the basic guideline to ensure that your turtles can live a comfortable life. Happy to hear Donna is getting better!

Hi TurtlesOwner97 , nice meeting you. Thanks for your tips, and by the way, your indoor pond is awesome! I didn't know that small gravel can affect them, actually I have learned so much about turtles since I found Dorothy that started reading articles and researching. But haven't read about the gravel. Actually I removed the gravel last weekend, but I decided to. because I noticed the water was pretty more dirty due to the gravel cuz the food residues stayed among the gravel particles. So I'm happy I removed the gravel, I didn't know it can harm them . About the gallon, I'm waiting they grow a little more since right now I can't afford a bigger tank, neither a better filter. I have a Tetra Whisper Filter for up to 40 gallon, is a cheap filter, and no so good, but can't afford a better one now. The bad point is that I have to change the water all weekends, my husband and I rotate turns LOL, because the water is so dirty by the end of the week. I hope this week it last more since I removed the gravel. I also have a Light for warm, and a UVB one.

Wow I never thought turtles needed such an special care. I'm from Cuba, there people use to have it in a washbowl, and even people here at USA have them in those little Island, they don't know the care their turtles actually need.

Haha thanks! It's a pleasure to share tips so don't worry


To be honest, I was once a bad owner. Didn't provide any basic needs such as a 10 gallon tank, filtration, uv lights etc due to lack of knowledge. Kept them in a tiny container and they died in the end. But I learnt from my mistakes and corrected their habitat. This forum helped me a lot!