Habitat - Indoor :: Tryin to make a better habitat.

[Erica&spikey]

Hi im erica
i have 2 RES, one of them is a 5 1/2 inch female as i just found out named Spikey and the other is a 4inch male. Their tank is so plain right now but i am unsure what i can put inside. Im afraid to place live plants in b/c i dont kno what they can eat and i cant use plastic plants b/c they eat them. I was also wondering about rocks, gravel ne thing else i could be inside to make it look better and to give them a better life. Ne suggestions?

[sonyj]

If I were you I'd look through the photos in the photo gallery section of the forum. There are so many pics there of our set ups that should be a big help to you. You know what they say after all, a picture's worth a thousand words!

Any aquarium live plants that's safe for fish should be fine for turtles to eat, so that's just about any one you'd buy at a pet store. There's a list under the feeding section (what to feed). Many people use fake plants with no ill effects. River rocks can be used but not gravel due to the turtles trying to eat them and it contributing to poor water quatlity. Take a look around the photos and if you have any questions just ask.

[ZooKeeper]

I just got my adult RES about a month ago and have been continuing to try to better her environment.

She had pebbles and when I removed them she pooped pebbles for a couple of days so I had heard about river rocks and went down to a mulch and rock place near my house and asked to buy about 6 and he said he only sells them by the (big!) scoop so he told me just to take a few. Free rocks! Yeah!

Also, I bought a background scene for the back of the tank. It was $6 or $7 at the pet store. And I did buy a large fake plant and she bit it once and left it alone. I guess she figured out that it isn't food.

Over all, her tank is looking sooo much better!