I've been lurking around here since last week when a friend of mine and I came back from the pet store with a 1.5" RES to give to her boyfriend for his birthday (research was quickly done and better basking platforms and bulbs are currently on order!).
I spent most of the last week trying to talk myself out of getting one too and I've failed miserably. I've been into keeping things in tanks (I'm a total corydoras lover, my dream tank is 12 inches tall and about 3'x3' with a sand bottom and multiple massive cory shoals) since high school, but this is my first reptile. I'm on a tight budget for the rest of the year, having signed up to live in and fight poverty for a year in the middle of nowhere, but intend to lavish great amounts of attention and ingenuity on my turtle and its habitat now and my discretionary income when I get a for-real job with a for-real paycheck next July. Currently, I have an honestly very tacky looking but adequate setup for under $100. And once the epoxy on my rock structures dries, he should have reasonable looking places to hide and play. The turtle's name, I think, will be TBA. I keep introducing him/her to people as "Name and gender TBA," and it's sort of growing on me.
Anyway, here's a picture of the little guy with his very fancy Christmas mug cave. He's being shy, but I had just put him in about 30 minutes ago at this point, so I can understand hiding from the camera.
[/img]
