General Care Discussion :: Is this turtle in danger?

[Danielle182]

My close friend just got two baby res from Chinatown last month. I was asking her how she set up her tank and whatnot and she told me she doesn't have a heater. Her father worked in a pet store all his life and explained that these res can live in freezing temperatures since they are fine in the ponds during the winter. But from information here and my own research it really doesn't seem safe. I sent her some links but she doesn't seem to understand that the heater is really important. Thanks to the great people on this site i've been learning how to take care of my turtle properly. But how can I help these two baby turtles? The winter is coming up and she claims having them by the heater is good enough. How can I convince her to buy one?

Some pictures of my turtle
Baby Squirtle: http://i.imgur.com/ABqGM.jpg

Recent pictures of Squirtle: http://i.imgur.com/0esNl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2NWEu.jpg

[ljapa]

Remind her that a slider in a pond will brumate (almost hibernate) under deep water in a pond. That's not the same as living in cold water in a house. In their natural habitat, in the summer their water is quite warm. And there is a temperature gradient in the water. It's hot on top in July and cooler at the bottom. The turtles can use that plus direct, warming sunlight out of the water to control their temperature.

For a reptile,body ttemperature will control metabolism and immune response. Being too cold can make them more likely to get ill.

Your friend's father may not believe some folks on the Internet. Does the pet store have any literature or care sheets on turtles? See what that has to say, or if there are books in the library that tell them the same things we are saying.

[steve]

Almost every caresheet would give her some guidance... I'm not sure why she doesn't take a few minutes to look up some of the info you're sending her. I think Petco has a basic sheet...

[CactusJohn5]

everything looks wrong with that setup, ugh. Like steve stated a basic care sheet can be found almost anywhere. what is your exact concern?

[Danielle182]

I might just go out and buy her one...also print her out a care sheet. I would hate to see something happen to these poor baby turtles... Thanks for the feedback guys!