Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: New to turtles :)

[tink94]

Hey, I'm new here, and new to turtles.

We got our first RES yesterday. I admit it was unplanned and somewhat of an impulse buy. My mom, brother and I were going to pick up my new snake and my brother threw a fit because he wanted a RES. (He's 11). So we ended up getting one. I knew how big the tank would have to be, what it ate, etc. Just wasn't sure about the UVB need and all the caring for them. But I've researched a bit now and have bit more of an idea how to care for him.

He's in a 12x12x12 exo terra tank currently with a 10UVB bulb. He's eating commercial turtle food and small meal worms presently. He/she is a tiny little guy still but when he does get bigger we definitely will buy a way bigger tank. He doesn't have a filter yet because we knew we had one at home but it ended up being too big for the tank. I'm open to any tips and suggestions anyone has. We want to give the best of care for him. His name is Stanley by the way.

[Jaysea]

What a little cutie.

Don't be afraid to give him plenty of water to swim in, just have to make sure he has places to get fully out of the water to bask and rest when he needs to. Also make sure there isn't any way for him to escape if you do fill the water up.

[happycamper]

Oh my gosh so so so cute!The 5th picture down just melts my heart!

Only thing I see is it looks like there is some food on the rock, RES have to eat underwater. You could add more water for swimming room too. Start working on a turtle fund too so you can be ready for the inevitable upgrades

[marboo]

I love its conical shell!
Welcome here and have fun! (I'm still learning, so no tips from me for now... )

[rsour24]

well id say you can raise the water level, RES love to swim. also the food needs to be placed in the water because RES do not produce saliva so they cannot eat on dry land. also do not feed your RES mealworms. they have almost no nutritional value for a RES

[tink94]

Thanks I raised the water level a bit more. I'm going to re-arrange the tank a little and get the rocks a little higher so I can add even more water. Rsour24, thanks, we're going to stop feeding them mealworms than. Is there a specific diet I can have them on while they're young? Right now they are eating only commercial food but I read that had to be 25% of their diet and they need 50% meat and 25% vegetables and stuff.

Also if anyone noticed I've been saying "them" My dad went out and got my brother another one to keep Stanley company. He's a bit bigger than Stanley and my brother named him Sheldon.

Anyways his shell is a bit white, I'm not sure if it's healthy or not, it doesn't look like it. If anyone has suggestions I can use to get it to heal up or something if anything is wrong with it, go for it.







Now both




And some more of Stanley from yesterday.











And their tank setup.


It moved around now though because my mom got a filter too big (originally for 15 gallons and over)

And sorry for posting pictures in an introductory thread.

[SINI5T3R]

Welcome to the Site!

[Jaysea]

i'm always more interested in the intro threads with pictures lol. Also just make sure the rocks are stable when rearranging them so that the turtles can't knock them over and become stuck. You might want to start a new thread about the other little guys shell, it will probably get more activity and you'll get more answers about it.

[tink94]

Thanks

[Miss Tee]

I have found that alot of problems clear up when the little guys are (finaly) given proper care (warmth, light, feeding) but I needed to have patience.
Check out the Jello-shot thread for eating advice!
Good Luck.

[Love of Animals]

Stanley is adorable! You can place food on the basking area. They just won't eat it there. He'll bring it into the water to eat. I put pieces of carrot on the basking area all the time, Rocky just goes up and brings it into the water piece by piece. It's good exercise. Good luck with him and welcome to the site.

[MomOf2Gremlins]

OMG how precious they are!!! Not only are they absolutely adorable but you've got such great shots of them! Love the closeups!!! Thank you for sharing!