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I own three very young RES, they couldn't be older than 1 or 2 years. My concern is in the event something serious happens to one of these turtles the closest Herpetologist that is closest to me is almost two hours away. My question is what do you guys recommend? Would it still be worth keeping these turtles and trying to raise them? Or should I release them back into the wild? I do want these turtles and I am doing my best to take care of them. I am just worried that something will happen and I won't be able to make it to the Herpetologist Veterinarian in time for the turtle to survive.

What would you do?

Thanks for all your advice!

(P.S. I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum, moderators please move if necessary.)

What's your knowledge of aquatic turtle care. Where did they come from? If they have been captive do not release them they probably won't survive. Just my 2¢

My knowledge is no where near enough to care for these turtles in the event something happens. I'm learning everything as I go. I work for UPS and two of these turtles I own, were found in a bunch of roughly 1000, which we assumed were being illegally shipped. (Though it can't be confirmed since the box didn't have any kind of shipping label.) Needless to say some coworkers kept a few turtles. I personally didn't take any at the time because I didn't have the means nor the money to afford setting up a habitat for them, but I ended up getting them a few months later. After a couple months after we found the illegal shipment, another one of my coworkers found one turtle in our storage closet, she was going to keep it but didn't want her children to hurt it so I kept it. I set up a small 20 gallon tank for it.

wow, crazy story! I would keep them but that's just me. I will let others chime in on this. Good luck whatever you decide.

Any local herp groups you can be in touch with? Maybe veterinary schools? Most situations do not require immediate access to a vet.

Kansasslider wrote:wow, crazy story! I would keep them but that's just me. I will let others chime in on this. Good luck whatever you decide.

It is. I want to keep them, but at the same time I want them to be safe and stay healthy!

steve wrote:Any local herp groups you can be in touch with? Maybe veterinary schools? Most situations do not require immediate access to a vet.

Unfortunately no. Aside from local pet stores there's no where else around me. I can ask them and see what they recommend. I have one local shop that deals with a lot of amphibious and reptile animals, I could see what they do when their turtle get sick.

The best medicine is prevention. Your turtles needs to bask, have UVB and have the right temperature ranges. Make sure filter intake is secure. The tank is escape proof. Electrical equipment plugged into a GFCI. Any decoration plus the basking area and filter intake must not pose as a potential trapping area. Don't overfeed on the protein. Do regular inspections on the shell and skin. Get the proper filtration and media. Have a plan to separate them.

steve wrote:The best medicine is prevention. Your turtles needs to bask, have UVB and have the right temperature ranges. Make sure filter intake is secure. The tank is escape proof. Electrical equipment plugged into a GFCI. Any decoration plus the basking area and filter intake must not pose as a potential trapping area. Don't overfeed on the protein. Do regular inspections on the shell and skin. Get the proper filtration and media. Have a plan to separate them.

I'm getting a bigger tank for them this Black Friday. I see separating them often, is there any particular reason why?

Yes males might become aggressive. I have many different turtles in one tank. I watch them every day just in case but so far so good. They might all get along since they are all small now but that could change.

Kansasslider wrote:Yes males might become aggressive. I have many different turtles in one tank. I watch them every day just in case but so far so good. They might all get along since they are all small now but that could change.

Ahh, alright. With them being so young is there a way to tell if they are male or female? Or do I have to wait until they are older?

You will have to wait a while. They should be just fine for some time. They might even never fight. Do you have any pictures of them?