Photo Gallery :: Newbie pics....

[Juggernaut]

Hello I'm new here just started checking out the net on RES' so I thought I post pictures of Wilber....

[mybrosteve]

Welcome to the forum, hope you find what youre looking for! Your turtle looks great! My turtles also have the lighter yellow coloring and i think it looks nicer than the bright yellow some turtles have. Few suggestions tho, you have a good sized tank, but you can put alot more water in it, also the gravel is not a good idea, it may look good but if its big enough for your turtle to swallow, theres a good chance it will and it can get inpacted and cause alot of problems.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Wilbur has beautiful eyes!

I agree with mybrosteve, definitely get rid of the gravel. We've had some sad reports on this board of turtles eating the gravel & it getting stuck in the turtle's digestive tract.

Fill up the tank! Your turtle will love to the extra room to swim!

[Juggernaut]

Thanks for the advice, I'll ditch the gravel ASAP.


He's made friends with 2 "feeders" he refuses to eat them...

Any other advice?

[FanOfTurts]

Hey!!! Happy New Year and welcome to the forum. You will find that this forum is chock full of great advice.

Yes....I AGREE..........GET RID OF THE GRAVEL!! The turtles may eat it. A suggestion is that you can get bigger rocks and make it look like something out of the wild. I decorated my tank with fake plants and a floating island for the basking area. Yep, my turtles made friends with 6 rosy red minnows!! = ) they actually help keep the tank clean. I'm glad I have them now!! I use a dayglow bulb to emulate sunlight and the nightglow to emulate moonlight. I also use an icadecent (I don't think I spelled that correctly) for heat. I may follow my own advice and get some of those bigger rocks. I want to make my turtles feel right at home.

Second, yes another good point....fill up your tank at least halfway for them to swim. They are slow on land, but in the water they are strong swimmers. See for yourself.

What kind of filter do you use?
I use the Fluval 4 plus and it does a GREAT job.

Are you using a water heater? If not, I encourage you to get one because you have to keep the water at a certain temperature. I keep mine approx. 80° F at all times. Too hot, your turtle will freak out....too cold, they won't eat and they can get sick.

Your turtle looks good too!!

Again, welcome to the forum!!

[dudio]

Is anyone going to ask why his female turtle is named Wilbur?

[mybrosteve]

Is anyone going to ask why his female turtle is named Wilbur?

I didnt want to burst his bubble.

[dudio]

oh .. ok.
... shh

[Juggernaut]

My Daughter named her......


I didnt know what sex she was at the time.....

[steve]

How big is Wilber? The shell length needs to be about 4" before you can tell.

Once you fill up the water level, you will probably want to invest in a basking area and possibly a screen top.

[dudio]

4 inches, 4 schminches !

I'd say the shell colouring indicates a mature enough turtle,
and the total lack of nail/claw length and tail width are enough for me.

I have officially proclaimed myself Judger of Turtle Sex

edit: and suggestor of names.
Wilimena sounds good !

[Muirner]

Wilma

[Blue Flamingo]

No way I love the name Wilbur you should definitely keep it. When I figured out my turtle was a female I kept her original name of Ivan. If the name fits the personality/character then you should keep it no matter what the sex. In my opinion.

[Juggernaut]

Well I cleaned out the pebbles, and re"designed" her layout, but now I'm worried because the larger rocks I have in there are (species unknown) "layered" and she keeps biting at the layers and actually getting pieces off.

Should I scrap all the rocks for now, and start over?

I do have a Turtle Dock for her, I had just taken it out for the rock basking area I had laid out, but it's back in there now.

Any suggestions?

[mybrosteve]

Well I cleaned out the pebbles, and re"designed" her layout, but now I'm worried because the larger rocks I have in there are (species unknown) "layered" and she keeps biting at the layers and actually getting pieces off.

Should I scrap all the rocks for now, and start over?

Yeah, its really just not worth the risk. If you want to get good rocks, go for "river rock", its round, solid, and you can it in many different sizes, its what i use for my turtles and it works well. Below are some pictures of what it looks like.









As for where you can get it, i would think Lowes or Home Depot would have something like it, but I got mine from the building supply company my dad works for, lucky me!