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Okay, here's the deal. I walked out to my pool the other day and found an RES swimming around, thoroughly enjoying himself. I already posted to another topic regarding our "salt-water-chlorinated" pool. This turtle is approximately 7" in diameter. I have to assume he was a pet who got away. We posted flyers around our neighborhood but haven't received any responses yet. We're keeping him/her in an enclosed area with a large lid full of water and plenty of lettuce and carrots. We put him back in the pool several times a day just to keep him water-logged. Is it common for them to be 7" in diameter? I haven't seen any turtle pictures showing one this large. Is he/she older than we realize? Would it be fair to believe that someone is probably looking for this turtle? How far might he/she have traveled to get all the way into our back yard? It would have to be several blocks because we blanketed every house and mailbox in a two block area. If we have the opportunity to keep him/her, I'll be asking a lot of questions. Hope you're all ready to provide some guidance.

I can't help much but the "he/she" thing is sorta annoying so I'll tell you how to tell if its a boy of girl

Boy
1. Long (I mean, real long) claws on the front paws.
2. A fat tail and it is longer than a female's tail.
3. A slight concaved curve on the bottom part of the shell.
4. You might notice more aggressive tendencies.
5. The cloaca (opening) is closer to the tip of the tail than the body.

Girl
1. Shorter claws than a male's claws.
2. A shorter, thinner tail.
3. Flatter plastron (bottom of the shell).
4. females tend to be larger than males.
5. The cloaca (opening) on the tail is closer to the body than the tip of the tail.

thus your lil (BIG) turtle might be female, but I have to see it to make sure... maybe some1 else can help you with the rest

lol Loves_sliders

if the res was in someone's backyard pond, they might NOT know it is missing. you will need to keep the res in proper water conditions and make sure it's eating.

<...added the NOT...>

Thanks for the info. I think it might be a girl. We'll go with that for now. Tomorrow, we're going to set up a pond area with beach and make sure its covered with fencing to protect her from predators. We're also going to build a wall around the pond area. SInce we live in southern Arizona, the outdoor life should fit her perfectly. As much as I hope that the original owners see our flyers, I've grown extremely attached to her. She's calm and playful. My kids are totally enamored with her. I won't complain if we get to keep her. I can see why everyone else loves these little critters so much.

Is it common for them to be 7" in diameter? I haven't seen any turtle pictures showing one this large. Is he/she older than we realize?

RES can get up to 12 or 13 inches, some bigger.


The one you have is something like a young adult (sub-adult)

Make sure you get her (I'm assuming) a container with enough space (think 10 gallons of tank/container per inch of shell length). A stock tank or preformed pond would be really good.

wow, thats a big turtle O_O bigger then my male Box turtle, and hes big....

well roycpat do you still have your turtle?amazing size. they are alot of fun and work.read all the stickys here and you will learn a bunch please update.

It looks as if Pistachio (that's what the kids named her in honor of the movie "Master of Disguise") will be staying on indefinitely. We purchased a preformed, round pond insert (3' diameter by 20" deep). I think it's around fifty or sixty gallons. We're also building a little walled enclosure with a small beach for her to sun herself. Learning slowly but loving every minute of it. Oh yes, the enclosure will also have a screened cover to protect her from predators.

Sounds great!