Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: HAD A REAS FAILED TO CARE FOR HIM PROPERLY AND LOST HIM

[MrScratchTheRES]

So I'm giving it another much more informed try. My new res's name is Scratch and he appears to be a 3-4 year old male. I believe that after much rerasearch and discussion I have learned from my mistakes I previously encounted with Green-Go.....RIP. I hope to prove my self as a responsible RES caretaker.

[jenaero]

Sorry to hear about your first turt. Glad that you're researching this time

[missibsu]

Welcome! Don't forget the main site as well as the forum. There is a lot of useful information there that gets missed.

[MrScratchTheRES]

This was one of the sites "the main site as you referred to it" that I read in depth before purchase. So thanks for all the important info. Also a quick update... I now believe Scratch to be a male due to the disturbing to say the least display of what I believe to be called "flairing". So Mr. Scratch it is.

[missibsu]

I believe what you mean is fanning. Does he also have the long front nails?

[wetchikn]

WElcome!!!

[marisa]

Welcome. Good luck with your new turt. Learn from your mistakes.

[MrScratchTheRES]

As I stated he was not in the best of shape when I got him, which is probably why I'm giving this a second try... Saw my suffering Green-Go in Mr. Scratch... So I adopted him and all his issues... one of them being most of his front claws were either infected or broken.... so it's hard to tell from the claws... He appears to be an older turtle from what I have read about age/size. His shell is 5 and 1/4 inches long and 4 inches wide... So let me know your guess? thanks for all the valuable info!

[MrScratchTheRES]

oh yeah and the fanning you spoke of is what I saw... is this only possible in males? I feel silly asking but I'm not exactly sure what I saw. Only that it fit the discription of fanning as described in another post and was similer to an excited male dog and only much darker in color.

[steve]

Well, it could also be a prolapse, but that is a health issue. If it goes back in with out a prob, it's likely fanning.

[MrScratchTheRES]

is fanning a mushroom head dark mass that flairs out from the opening in the tail and returns? and is this a definite way to tell Scratchs sex?

[steve]

Pretty much

[MrScratchTheRES]

is this a definite way to tell sex?

[Breigh]

Hey there

I've also gone through the same thing you did, having not cared for turtles properly the first time around.

I got two turtles about 4 years ago at a pet store and they were fine all that time, then suddenly they both got sick and died. It was horrible.. their little necks were swollen up, their eyes swollen shut...

When I took the 2nd one to the vet after finding the first one dead I was told that it was a vitamin deficiency. Nobody told me about the UV light and how to feed them... I was just told to feed them the turtle food they gave me and that they needed water to swim in.

I have 2 new turtles now and have done a -lot- of reading. I also plan to do things better this time around.

[MrScratchTheRES]

Yea turtles have so mu personality in them you start giving them human emotions and they become more than a turtle then a part of your family.... and you start to learn them and there behavior it's hard to loose one because of something you did... they can't ask for the proper temps and lighting ect.... So It leaves alot of responsibility on someone who might not know that these arer required things... thanks to all the misinformation being passed out with the sale of a new pet... At least I'm not alone in this... thanks for the compassion.. my Scratch is slowly comming "out oh his shell" so to speak and his health issues seem to be clearing up.. So I expect to have a healthy happy well care for turtle soon.. in the mean time I can only try with the infomation I went after on sites like these. so WE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LIFE SAVING INFO!