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Hello everyone! I am new to the forum! I have a 1 year old RES named Comet. As you can see, there is gravel in the bottom of the tank which will be removed this weekend so, not to worry. He hasn't eaten any gravel before anyway,but all the same, I am removing it. Comet is a funny, smart and somewhat clumsy turtle. He is an eating machine and incredibly curious. His favourite foods include bananas and cucumbers. Well, I need to be stopped before I babble on and on about my special turtle so, here are some pictures.

"I love bananas! Hey! Where do you think you're going?"



"What's under there?"



Strike a pose!



Fish hunting we will go!



Playing under the bubbles!

EDIT: oops I just reread your post. Good luck on taking out all that gravel!


You could raise the water level. Turtles love lots of water to swim in. They're natural swimmers, so don't be afraid of making it higher. But add water in gradually so she can build up those swimming muscles!

You shouldn't feed bananas too often since they're high in potassium which isn't too good for your turtle.

Do you have a UVB basking light?

Have you read over the care sections on this site?



Good luck with your turtle!


Kevin

oh and, welcome to the forum!:D

Totally agree with what kevin said up there

He
Looks very happy!

And Welcome to the Forum

Thanks! Oh, and don't worry, I only feed him a bit of banana (about 1/5) once every 2 months or so. Yes, I have a UVB basking light and I have read over the care sections on this site, which has very good information on turtle care. I have already passed the site on to my other friend who has a juvenile RES. I will raise the water level and I am also getting Comet a new docking station! I am also currently on the lookout for beautiful river rocks which I am sure he will have a blast with! On a more serious note, I just discovered that Comet has teared up his fake plant so I going to have to buy a real plant for him.

oh.

awesome!!:D

Your turtle, I think, is a female.

Well, actually, Comet is a male, . You can tell by his cloaca and also, his claws were once long but are worn down on the rocks and basking area.

I love the name! Very cute!

Ohhh...I see now. I didn't notice the tail and the claws told me something else! lol

He is a cute boy. His face is very sweet.

Thank you! Although I got Comet in December (22nd) 2005, which is very near Christmas, I didn't name after the reindeer! I named him Comet because the red on each side of his head looked like comets, such as the ones you see in space, to me. When I was at the pet store, and after I chose him, I asked a pet store worker what day that my turtle was hatched. He told me it was actually exactly a month ago, November 22nd! So, now I know Comet's birthday is Nov,22nd!

You've got a lovely turtle, andI love the name Comet! The "strike a pose" picture is cool - his eyes looks so big and happy!

Glad to have you and Comet on the boards!

Thanks! I will post more pictures soon! Also, it turns out we need more river rocks so I am trying (successfully) to train Comet to not dig under the river rocks and into the gravel and eat them, in the meantime. Everytime I see him do this I pick him up and put in a a rubbermaid container for about 5 minutes. Then I put him back in the tank and give him some pellets. It seems to be working because he doesn't attempt to eat the gravel anymore, he only digs under there for fun. But I still have my eye on him!