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I have 2 RES one I have had for 4 months and the other for about a month , the oldest Groucho is about 3inches and the baby Tuck is about 2 inches, I have been feeding them pellets and dried shrimp, soon as I seen the info on this site I cut them up a grape and some lettuce and brought them outside to play in the grass thank you for all the info

Great to hear that they're doing good!

Welcome to the forum!

Although, you might want to wait till they're older before taking them outside...They look like they're exploring, but they're actually terrified and looking for a place to hide.

maybe the baby was terrified, but the older one is pretty sociable, I make sure they come out of the tank on a regular basis , the baby still likes to hide but Groucho has no problem staying in the open and exploring , but I do need lots of advice I have a 40 gallon tank basking lights, floating log, and a turtle loft I have spent lots of money since Groucho came to me kind of in default I became attached to him? her? and I want to do right by them

It sounds like you've got the basics covered pretty well This is a great site to find ideas and hear other people's experiences in order to create better lives for your turtles. You can look at the "sticky notes" at the top of the nutrition pages to find other good treats and foods for turtles and there are lots of tips around for how to maximize your tank space... which will be especially important for you since you have multiple turtles. The more space turtles have the better- it can even help offset potential aggression problems.
What is a turtle loft? Is that a type of above tank basking area?
You can also post pics of your tank if you want more specific feedback from members.

a turtle loft is attached to the side of the tank with stairs leading up to it, the guy at the petstore referred to it as a turtle loft, maybe just a platform or something? but I also added a floating log since groucho seemed not to let tuck on his loft, tuck seems happy with the log , now they both share the log and the plateform stays unused , and I agree I am a novice at this, just love animals any kind, and can't stand to see any mistreated, so yes I go out of my way to make them comfortable and I hope happy but I do need alot of advice so any would be greatly accepted

Have you read the care sections on this site? Have you got all their needs covered?

Hi Tenodera
if that post was for me , yes I think I have all their needs met, they are active and sociable eat well swim alot and bask , they don't jump off anymore soon as some enters so I think they have adjusted, when I take them out of the tank the tend to follow me , which amazes everyone who see's it , why I don't know I am a biginner at this, what I can't find a answer to is how long can they stay out of the tank? or should I be taking them out at all?

That's great!

erm, No you shouldn't take them out of the tank unless you need to since baby turtles get nervous very easily and it would be a terrifying experience for them.

You could take them out to explore when they're older, though

ok then I will leave them in the tank , one more question I leave the lights on from about 6 am when I leave for work and its pretty quiet in the house all day, and I turn them off about 9:30 at night, I noticed soon as I turn them off they settle right down , is this too long to be leaving the lights on?

nope, sounds ok to me! As long as they are getting some hours of sleep they're fine

thanks for the info,