I've been fascinated with turtles since I was young, but never got the chance to own one as a pet as my mom wouldn't let me (she had a superstitious belief that turtles bring bad luck, so she didn't want turtles in our home).
So the closest thing I had to a pet turtle back then was a small turtle Koosh toy (that I still have on my desk at work until now).
So now, many many years later, on an impulse I decided to get, not one, but two RES turtles...but, um, beyond fascination and appreciation of turtles I really didn't know much about actually taking care of them
.After doing extensive research post-purchase, I realized a few things:
1. There's quite a number of helpful turtle-care information out there, including this site!
2. That the pet store folks didn't give me good info on proper care of turtles.
3. And that I hadn't really thought this through
But I intend to do this right and keep my new RES friends healthy and happy. I've only had them for 3 days...they look healthy and active, but tend to hide when they hear sudden noises or when they see me watching them. They are definitely still spooked about the new environment (and me). They haven't eaten the pellets I've given them the past 2 days, but today I saw them having a piece of the vegetable I gave them. So there is hope
As I've read here and elsewhere, they may just need some time to adjust. I'd love to post some pictures once they get used to their new home.
I've met a few pet turtle owners before, and they told me that it's very easy to take care of turtles...just leave them in an aquarium with a little water and a rock. But looking back, I see that their pets displayed symptoms of being unhealthy. I don't think proper turtle care is well known where I'm from
But I don't know many turtle-owners here, so I can't say for sure. Looking forward to learning more from this forum
and hopefully sharing the helpful info to other turtle-owners
