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hi everyone! newbie here.

i've been wanting to own a pet turtle for soooo long. but it's only now that my parents finally decided to give me the go signal. i've done my research [turtle care, habitat, feeding, etc]. i have my tank ready and most of the paraphernalia [filter, fake plants, stones, and other accesories. i have yet to get a light though]

all i lack is the turtle. for the past 2 anda half months, i've been trying in vain to get one but it seems that i can't seem to find one. i go to our local pet store [and it's other branches] every week but they still don't have RES. i went to a specialty store this afternoon and still no RES. are RES seasonal pets? i mean are they only availabe at pet shops at certain times of the year?

i'm really excited to get one already. i hope i find one soon.

by the way, i live in the philippines. although RES are originally from southern california, i normally see RES and other breeds of turtles in petshops here.

im not sure if there seasonal pets. I got mine in the middle of summer when they were still really small. Maybe they need to restock since you do live out of the country.

What other breeds are the stores selling? Maps, painteds and cooters have pretty much the same habitat and diet requirements as res. Cooters do get larger tho.

Go get the heat and uvb lamp as soon as you can. You want to be ready if you come across a turtle tomorrow.

Hello and welcome to the site! Hope you get the turts soon, they really are wonderful!

thanks for your replies.

ferd: i dropped by our local pet shop again today and remembered to ask if they are seasonal. but the store person was not quite sure.

jenaero: yes, i think other stores have maps and painteds. there are also some tortoise.

milhouse: i hope so too. i get so envious when i look at the pictures in the gallery.

Welcome pixie. I hope you get your turtle soon, too. In the meantime, you can look through the stickies here to make sure you have everything you need for your new friend before you bring him or her home.

thanks countrygirl. actually, that's what i've been doing and it's making me all the more excited to get a turtle.

No need for the ubv bulb here in the philippines. The bulbs are so hard to come by and the ones that they have are for large ponds and are very expensive. Sunlight is good enough for the turts here. Just keep watch of the temperature. Water temps usually hit around 88F around here which is around 32C. I tried putting ice but only provides for temporary cooling. When indoors, the turt may not get enough UV... so its really a balancing act. So I got a plastic container instead of a glass one so moving the container is easier.

Keep us posted. Hope you get your turt soon.

oh ok. that's why i can't find any. i guess i can just use the normal aquarium lights sold in the petshops. my aquarium is by the window so i guess, my futrue turt will be enjoying enough sun.

oh and i have another question. i read here that you can only clearly determine the turtle's gender when it's older/bigger through the claws and tail. well, i want to get a baby turtle, preferably female coz i hsort of have a name picked out already. is there a way to know if it's a he or a she when it's still very little?

Only if it was temp sexed (incubated at a certain temperature to predetermine gender). You won't likely find that at a pet store.

Pixiedust, do not keep your tank near a window. Sunlight can drastically raise water temperatures to lethal levels. Glass and plastic also block UVB rays. Window screens block a great deal of UVB as well and cool breezes can make your turtle sick.

well the i guess, i better pick out another more manly name just in case. lol!

don't worry steve, my tank's not directly beside the window. and it's not the solid glass type...er..i can't explain how it looks like. but rest assured that it wouldn't fry the turtle with too much sun, it won't filter the uvb rays and won't allow draft to come in.

Thats good, but glass and plastic will filter the UVA and UVB rays. Direct, unobstructed sunlight is great for basking and absorbing UV rays.

don't worry. i'll make sure the turtle gets unubstructed sunlight.