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I have a RES that is frankly older than I am. First of all, I don't know if it is male or female, anyway to tell? Secondly, It is been in a 10 gallon tank all its life. All I have in the tank is water and a rock that does notbreak the surface of the water by a good three inches. Basically the turtle has been in a total aquatic environment for over 20 years. In the last 3 summers, I have put the turtle outside in a rabbit cage with a pool of water and many rocks. THe turtle loves to bask in the sun during the summer. and seems to like being out of the water. I was suprised to read about the tank size requirments as my RES is about 9 inches long and has always been in a 20 gallon tank. Is it cruel to keep the turtle in a tank this small? Also, I have never even used a filter in the turtle's tank. Nor have I ever checked the water temp. When the tank gets dirty I take the turtle out, put it in the shower and use tap water (which incidentally is well water that has gone through a water softener to remove minerals) to fill the tank about 1/3 full. I never pay attention to water temp. Sometimes I forget to feed the turtle for a few days and the utrle doesnt seem to miss a beat. I have never had any health problems, never had to put any money into the turtle, and it is worrying me that there are all these tank specs I never knew about. Should I change or if it aint broke don't fix it. Also, the turtle loves to eat live flies floating in the water ( I catch them from the window and throw them in the tank). Is it ok for the turtle to eat live flies? Any thoughts out there?

I don't think the quote, "If it ain't broken. don't fix," applies to this situation. I may be a new RES owner, however I've adopted most of the tips on regulating a healthy, minumum, and hopefully adequate living quarters for my new friends. A human can live on water and a single meal a day, however, it's not the best living conditions, it's just the bare minimum of survival. I think the reasoning behind such elaborate and grand tank specs presented is due to creating a space a turtle can call home and not miss the wild. From what I've learned on the board, a fully aquatic turtle that old can develop shell problems without the proper basking to break the calcium. Also, I read that our turtles like a good swim and a 10-20 gallon for your sized turtle is totally restricted swimming. It's like us trying to swim in our bath tubs. RI, which seems to be a RES biggest threat in life can be caused by incorrect temperature and unclean water, which can be remedied with a heater and good filter. You might want to look into the stickies on top of the forum list to get a better idea of how to create a better living solution for the fella. My 2cents..

You are, absolutely, a turtle keeper after my own heart and the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" certainly applies in your case. If, after all these years, that turtle is in as good shape you say it is, the only thing I would change is a bigger habitat and a platform of some sort for it to be able to get completely out of the water and dry off. You might let it have a few hours out in the sun also.
If the front claws look like 'Edward Scissorhands' ( really long) and the tail is fat close to the back shell edge, then you have a male. If the front claws are fairly short and the tail is narrow at the back shell edge and kinda long and the vent is also close to the back shell edge, you have a female.
You might also try Romain or Red Leaf Lettuce as a turt that old would eat vegetable matter ( lilly pads, underwater weeds,etc. ) as a main diet. Flies are just fine and if you have access to small frogs( Bull or Leopard ), your turt would just love one now and then. I had frogs that came out of the woods and took up residence in my little preformed 265 gallon pond and when one would try to swim in the pond over to the other side or climb up on a lilly pad, my turtles would ambush it and eat it with great gusto. I had a couple of big Koi in the pond also and they would snatch the frog out of the turts jaws and proceed to eat it when ever they could. Also had a pair of Garter Snakes that lived under the rocks on my waterfall and you should have seen them together come slithering down the watercourse and over the foot high fence where they would split up and go around each side of the pond and each grab a frog. What a sight that was! Don't start heating the habitat water as your turt does just fine in the water it's used to. You are one blessed person to have had a turtle for this many years and too radical a change in it's life would not be a good idea. I'm so glad you are on this forum. George

Well with Mr. George's reply, my post is pretty much voided and should be disregarded. Sorry for any misconception from my limited knowledge in RES care.

Hey, Justamonk,
Us guys with old turtles don't have the same needs as do owners of hatchling and young turtles. Warm environments are not a critical for older turtles as for youngsters. Hatchlings in the wild are subject to whatever whims Mother Nature has for them. We have found that to have healthy captive bred turtles, they should have a warm habitat to start off their lives with. So we supply them with warm water and a warmer basking area and are picky with what we give them to eat. No one should keep a 9" turtle in a 10 or 20 gal tank with out a basking place of some sort BUT, if the turtle that you have had for 25 years has thrived in a less than adequate habitat AND you never knew what was adequate to begin with, we that do know can't just jump in with all kinds of suggestions. An old turtle like that, that has lived, so to speak, in a wild environment all its life and is of sound body and health, should be given more swimming room, veggies as noted, a large enough basking place of some sort (rock or log or ledge) and much more sunlight either natural or induced artificially but mostly natural.
Didn't mean to cut you off at the pass, Justamonk. Just an Oldturtle giving advise to another Oldturtle, okay? George

Thanks for the insight, I will definitely have to try the lettuce and get a larger tank. Otherwise, I think I will maintain everything else at the status quo. I also am gonna try to procure some frog delicacies for the turt. Anyone know how long RES can live? This is a cool forum, I wish i had discovered it sooner.

thanks for the tips. I think I will try feeding turt some lettuce and procure some frog delicacies. Also, I will enlare the tank and elevate the basking rock. Otherwise, I will retain the status quo. This is a great forum. I wish I would have discovered it sooner. Anyone know how long RES can live?

I think I saw a post on here somewhere about a 72 year old woman that has had her res since she was 5..that'd be a 67 year old turt