Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hello from Northern CA

[pbangelo]

I have a 1200 gallon outdoor pond with goldfish, koi and plants and a waterfall. My husband ALMOST ran over a RES on the road near our house, and brought him home to our pond. I would like to keep him and provide him with a good home. Is it possible for him to live a good life with us? The pond is quite spacious, and I have provided 2 big basking rocks. There are many plants for him to munch on. Have we done a horrible thing to place him in this environment? Please let me know what you think out there.

[missibsu]

First off welcome!

Second of all...most people on here do not approve of taking a wild RES out of the wild and keeping it in captivity. However, there are exceptions to that, one being if the RES was in danger. Being an aquatic turtle that loves to bask, that is the only reason I see it to be in the middle of the road. Is there a water source near by? Are RES native to the area in which you live? That is another reason that people take them out of the wild, because they are not native to the area, and it is obvious that someone has released one into the wild. (nice run-on sentence, sorry)

That aside, your pond is spacious enough for the turtle alone, I don't know about with all of the other aquatic life. The rule of thumb for RES is ten gallons per inch of shell. You more than meet that.

Your RES has the potential to eat the other animals in your pond, they will eat about anything. The goldfish are not really healthy for them either.

If you intend to keep the turt, which is ultimately your choice, do some reading on basic care on the main site. There is also a wealth of information in the outdoor habitat section. Oh, and beware of any preditors that you might have in the area. Raccoons are particularly bad.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

[pbangelo]

I have a friend who is a vet, and she tells me that RES are not native in our area, so that someone probably dumped him. His shell is about 9" long, so he is fairly old, right? He has not shown any interest in the fish, which swim all around him. I'm concerned because I have not seen him get out of the water in the 10 days we've had him. From what I've read, they need to get out and dry off. But he hides most of the day, just pokes his head up from time to time, but scoots away if he sees any motion. He may be getting up on the basking rocks at night, but I don't know. Also I haven't seen him eat. But there are plants available, and I've put some pieces of carrot in there. I want to do right by him!

[missibsu]

It takes RES a few days to adjust. Keep offering the plants. Have you tried any pellets? There are aquatic turtle pellets available at most pet stores. For an adult turtle, the amount that would fit in his head every other day. If he still isn't interested in eating, you could try to soak the pellets in tuna juice first. Sometimes things that move, like a worm, are more interesting to them.

At nine inches, you will be able to tell if it is a male of female. You refered to him as a he, so I am assuming that you already know.

Do you know what your water temp in the pond is? What has the day time air temp been? For people who keep their turts indoors, water temp around 75-78, and basking temp 10 degrees warmer. If the air temp isn't warmer than the water temp they won't be encouraged to bask. It could also be that he is frightened by your movement and won't bask when you are around. I've had mine a year and they won't bask when I am in the room. They jump and run when I walk in.

Shell length is not a good way to tell the age of the turtle. In fact, if you don't know when he was born, there really isn't any way to tell. The size of the shell depends on the environment in which it was raised and the genetic makeup of the individual turt. If it is a male though, it is probably pretty nearly full grown.

Do you have any pics? We love to see pics here!

[pbangelo]

I think it's a male because he has long nails. Is there a more reliable way to tell? No pictures yet, since he is so shy.

[missibsu]

Nails are one of the best indiactors. You can also tell by the tail, but I had to post pictures, cause I couldn't figure it out. If the nails are long though, then I'd bet male! I look forward to pics! I'm sure others will be along tomorrow to add their two cents worth on the not eating issue and all of that.

[sonyj]

Welcome to the forum.

[hannah.26]

Welcome! Where in Nor Cal are you?

[pbangelo]

I am located in Placerville CA

[KyleRasmussen]

Hey from Canada Calgary!!

[marisa]

Welcome. I think in your other post there were some suggestions for you. (That 1200-gallon pond sounds wonderful. )

[Pam]

Welcome to the forum! You are not far from me in Placerville - I am in Citrus Heights near Roseville. We have 7 red eared sliders of various ages. How is your turtle doing? Can you tell if he is eating? If he is from the wild he would probably eat different foods like earthworms or ? If he has been a captive turtle someone dumped he could have been used to pellet turtle food like reptomin. Have you tried that as well? Also, romaine lettuce would be a good try. How warm is your water? Does your turtle look healthy?

[Pugness]

Hey!!! Im not too far either, im in fairfield

[hannah.26]

i'm kinda far but I know where you are. I'm in Livermore.