Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: New kid on the block!

[RKRamos]

Hello everyone! My name is Rick and I'm the proud owner of three Red Eared Sliders! I've owned one for almost six months now and it's probably one year old, and i've owned the other two for four months! and they're probably a year and a half old! Right now they're in a 20 gallon tank, ( I know, I know I need to get a bigger one for them, I'm currently saving up and searching for a 75 gallon) but they're still sort of small, neither have a bigger shell than four inches. Here's my little minions now, please excuse the dirty glass It's clean now!

DSC_5349 by RKRamos91, on Flickr

[TurtlesOwner97]

Hello everyone! My name is Rick and I'm the proud owner of three Red Eared Sliders! I've owned one for almost six months now and it's probably one year old, and i've owned the other two for four months! and they're probably a year and a half old! Right now they're in a 25 gallon tank, ( I know, I know I need to get a bigger one for them, I'm currently saving up and searching for a 75 gallon) but they're still sort of small, neither have a bigger shell than four inches. Here's my little minions now, please excuse the dirty glass It's clean now!

DSC_5349 by RKRamos91, on Flickr

Welcome to the forum, Rick! Cute turtles you got there! I noticed the water seems to be dirty and cloudy. Do you provide any filtration for them? Also, may I suggest you to remove those small gravels, they might cause impaction to your turtles!

[steve]

Welcome! TurtlesOwner97 is right. Also the shells are bit bumpy, you might want to re-evaluate their diet.

[RKRamos]

I have a lot to learn, I normally feed them a mix between shrimp and calcium tablets. Are they normally pretty picky eaters? As for the water I just brought them water from a small river, it clears up within a few hours.

[TurtlesOwner97]

I have a lot to learn, I normally feed them a mix between shrimp and calcium tablets. Are they normally pretty picky eaters? As for the water I just brought them water from a small river, it clears up within a few hours.

Same here buddy, we are all here to learn and share our experiences. Refer to here http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html Giving supplements can be a little tricky, overdosage can cause health issues. My turtles are pretty picky, they prefer commercial pellets than veggies lol. And this has to depend on the personality of every turtle. Some tend to stick with pellets and refuse to accept veggies. So I'd suggest offering veggies at their young age so they are able to get used to varieties of food. Cuttlebone is a good calcium treat for your turtles too! Also, I think that you will have to check if the river water is safe from any pollution. Having a filter is the practical solution in the long run.

[steve]

Skip the shrimp. What kind of calcium tablets?

[Zady]

Hi cute turtles you have there. I'm new here too. ☺

[Zady]

Skip the shrimp. What kind of calcium tablets?

Steve, are the baby shrimps bad?? I give baby shrimps to my turtles they love it. Is it bad?

[steve]

It's not bad when used as a treat. I would skip it with turtles that are overweight or have shell issues.

[Zady]

Thanks Steve☺

[Kansasslider]

Why are you using river water? I would also get rid of that aquarium gravel asap.

[RKRamos]

Skip the shrimp. What kind of calcium tablets?

No shrimp? Why not shrimp? That seems to be the only thing they will and like to eat. Do you have any recommendations as to something else? I've tried feeding them meal worms but they seemed to not like them (they wouldn't eat any). Then I switched to floating food sticks and Aquatic Turtle food. The floating sticks were high in crude protein and low in crude fat. The Aquatic Turtle food was also high in Crude protein but had slightly more crude fat. As for the Calcium tablets, I'm not sure of the name brand (I threw the box away) but they seem to like that a lot.

Hi cute turtles you have there. I'm new here too. ☺

Thanks!!!

Why are you using river water? I would also get rid of that aquarium gravel asap.

I don't have access to any other fresh water source. I've seen the water purifiers, but I'm afraid of it harming the turtles. I am open to better and safer suggestions though.

[Kansasslider]

Not to sound stupid but you don't have indoor plumbing? I would use a purifier before I would use that river water. Your turtles might also eat that gravel in your tank possibly causing death.

[RKRamos]

Not to sound stupid but you don't have indoor plumbing? I would use a purifier before I would use that river water. Your turtles might also eat that gravel in your tank possibly causing death.

LOL I do have indoor plumbing, but aren't there still chemicals in the water that make it unsafe? Would a purifier be safer for the turtles? These are my first aquatic animals I've owned so everything I'm learning I'm learning as I go.

[Kansasslider]

Ha ha ha its all good we all learn here! You can hook up a whole house carbon filter to any water line and that's all you need to do to provide good water. Here is the link on how to do it. You might want to read it all to get an understanding. I think I posted pictures on that thread as well. Don't use river water.
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