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whats up everyone i just got my baby RES last week so im going to be coming back to the site for lots of advice, i'm really scared about caring for it, the person who gave it to me isnt around to help me raise it.

Wow, getting a little turtle all of a sudden is a big responsibility! Lots of us on here have been in pretty much the same boat, so we're happy to help. The first thing to do is to read up on the general info on this site - it covers all the basics. Then, you'll probably have a lot of questions, so just ask away.

What's your turtle's name by the way?

i dont know yet, i've been thinkin it over but for some reason nothing really sticks with me. the one im liking now is "baby" for some reason that all i like to call him, its soo cute and shy so i guess i'll call it baby, lol

btw im getting 3 more as soon as my brother comes to new york from florida, so im taking name advice since i cant even my mind up with my first lol

Here's a recommendation - get used to taking care of your one turtle first before you add more to the system. People are usually surprised at the complexity of the setup for a turtle and it often takes awhile to get it down. Also, it can be expensive.

You'll find as you read and get more experience that aquatic turtles require a lot of space. The more turtles you have the more space is required - plus the related filters, lights, etc. When turtles are full grown, each one needs tank space of 70 to 120 gallons, depending on the size of turtle. If you had four turtles, you're talking about tank space of around 400 gallons - huge!

Also, turtles housed together in an aquarium frequently don't get along. Usually they're ok when they are small but as they grow they get territorial and aggressive. You wind up having to separate them, which means having to maintain multi environments.

I'm not saying it can't be done. People who have been at it for awhile and find they really love turtles and are willing to do what it takes to maintain several aquariums do it. Also, people who have large outdoor ponds can maintain several turtles.

You don't need to have additional turtles just to keep your first turtle company. In the wild, turtles don't like to mingle except when they bask together. They can live quite happily their whole lives in solitary.

So....it's up to you, but I"d sure recommend waiting awhile before considering getting additional turtles>

speed2187 wrote:btw im getting 3 more as soon as my brother comes to new york from florida, so im taking name advice since i cant even my mind up with my first lol

unless you can afford a 440 gallon tank, a pond, or seperate tanks to house them in if they get aggresive, dont get more.

I already told you in one of your posts: Turtles are not easy pets to keep, most people have trouble just keeping up with one, and since your new to all of this, i'd suggest slowly starting out with one until you get a better grip at things

..though, if you have a good job, a lot of time and money to spend on vets and everything else you will need, then go for it, but if you dont...skip the idea, though I realy think you should wait a while until you get more experience.

yeah i was thinking about it and so was my brother, i decided to just get one more

Remember to quarantine the new turtle in a seperate tank for 90 days before putting it in with your turtle. That way, in case the new one is sick, he wont get the old one sick, and you can avoid having two sick turtles.