Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hi, We just adopted 2 hatchlings and need a little info

[nyoder]

Ok, My kids had brought home a baby turtle and without looking at it my husband told them they could keep it, but when i took a look it was a baby snapping turtle . So to make a long story short I told them it couldnt stay long cause it would eventually start biting and little fingers could get mangled so i Ordered 2 Red eared slider turtles hatchlings. There really flighty and havent ate yet. any advice or tips on proper care wpuld be apretiated. And i did read that RES are very people friendly so how long does it take hatchling to get use to you and not be flighty

[devilduck]

I'd bring back the snapping turtle. It will get very large, very quickly.

There are links at the top of the page that contain a lot of useful information about proper care of red ear sliders. I'd start out with a good sized tank, water heater, heat lamp and uv basking light. It may take a few days for them to settle and eat.

[steve]

Welcome to the site. Do you know where they got the turtles from? Can you tell us more about their setup?

[nyoder]

I ordered the RES from turtleshack [not reputable].com which is in florida, so they had a long way to go since I live in delaware. The tank is a little small at the moment there in a 10gallon tank until I pull out my 50 gallon out of storage but i figured they would be ok for a couple of days since there the size of a quarter. I have a heat lamp on top of the screen top and a filter and a basking area. Oh and a fake plant too. I figured with being so little theyed want somewhere to hide for a bit. But there so flighty and shy if you get anywhere near the tank they take off and try to hide and once they find a so called hiding place they go inside there shells. Im so hoping its because there just still little and only been here 4 days

[ataraxiamb]

Welcome!

RES are actually not known for being particularly people friendly.

The hatchlings are going to be more flighty than most juvies and adults, but there's no guarantee that they will become super friendly. They will become used to you, and will be more comfortable with you near the tank. However, there's no guarantee that they will be friendly as adults. Some people are able to hand feed their turtles, shake hands with them, have them sit in their laps, etc. Other turtles will urinate, defecate, and bite when handled. Other turtles will tolerate being handled for a short time, but wriggle to try to get away pretty quickly. Like people, they have different personalities.