Hi! Introduce yourselves here.

As a family we have been wanting an aquatic turtle, but it was not something we were going to jump into without planning and preperation. Well then yesterday my girlfriend asked me if I could take her turtle she could not care for. I have about a dozen aquariums in the house that are well kept so she knew I could keep up with his water changes better. I said I would, but again planned on getting lots of research and planning done before bringing him home. I went over to her house last night to check him out, get an idea for how big he was and if his tank was big enough to keep him in for any amount of time. What I saw was a 7" turtle in a 20 gal long with maybe 5 gallons of what looked (and smelled) like sewage. Well I ended up bringing him home. I couldn't leave him there another day. He came with a small filter, a pile of rocks, and a heat lamp. I doubt he's ever had a UVB light in his life. It's very sad. So he's still crammed in this tiny tank for a short while but at least he will have clean heated water, and more of it. I'm only one day in to my research and trying to figure a lot of stuff out. Honestly I have so many questions I don't even know where to begin. You read one thing one place and the opposite somewhere else..it can get confusing! I really appreciate this community taking time to help me so I can help my new turtle friend become happy and healthy

Welcome! You be a great parent

Welcome! I would start by reading the info on redearslider.com, take notes, then come back here once you have formed some questions. The search feature on the forums is a great tool, and if no one else has asked a similar question... ask away!

Biggest things are, large enough aquarium, powerful filter, easily accessible basking area, steady water and basking temps, well balanced diet and proper lighting. Good luck

Can you tell if it's male or female? You are going to need a pretty large tank :wink:

Pictures would be great

Oh yeah, another important thing is the substrate! Sand is a must! Or bare bottom, but rocks and gravel are bad news

Welcome to the forum! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have

happycamper wrote:Can you tell if it's male or female? You are going to need a pretty large tank Pictures would be great

Oh yeah, another important thing is the substrate! Sand is a must! Or bare bottom, but rocks and gravel are bad news

Uh oh I was going to do river rock. I had read sand wasn't safe for them.

my.lovely.turtle. wrote:Welcome! You be a great parent

Thank you

steve wrote:Welcome to the forum! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have

Thanks Steve!

happycamper wrote:Welcome! I would start by reading the info on redearslider.com, take notes, then come back here once you have formed some questions. The search feature on the forums is a great tool, and if no one else has asked a similar question... ask away!

Biggest things are, large enough aquarium, powerful filter, easily accessible basking area, steady water and basking temps, well balanced diet and proper lighting. Good luck

Ok I am on track then, that is the list of things I'm trying to figure out

Oh and I'm pretty sure it's a male.

Really no danger in river rock, just collects a lot of poo

Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: HI :) I'm going to need lots of advise please

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