Photo Gallery :: new kids on the block (new pics, 5/15)

[CaseFam]

carl and ellie


carl


ellie


exploration


russell


fish not named, as we didnt expect him to last


ellie, in nighttime mode


ellie in cargo pants pocket


russell, clearly attempting to escape our poor care


habitat in progress



backstory
our sliders were purchased on a whim in los angeles' chinatown, but, as many probably do, we quickly realized turtles arent really set them and forget them pets, and since we love them dearly we started investing in their future. the carrying case they were sold in immediately got replaced by a 10 gallon aquarium, heater, and filter, and then very quickly became a 60 gallon with larger heater, more lamps, and multiple dock environment. we purchased them in late december, so i suspect they are little more than 4 months old, and while both were similarly sized when purchased ($5 initial cost has turned into about $500 investment!) carl is now 4" and ellie is 2 and 3/4" long - prompting us to think carl and ellie may be carly and elliot:



they are fascinating and excellent pets, primarily fed with reptomin pellets, with a smattering of crickets, feeder fish, and mealworms as treats. ellie by far the more curious one, when released into the open, she'll start exploring her surroundings, whereas carl hightails it for the nearest corner, and then stays there until retrieved.

i hope they bring a smile to your faces as your check them out, as they do to ours each and every day.

[steve]

Hi CaseFam, welcome to the site! The tank is looking pretty good. Do you have a UVB?

Carl looks like he's growing a bit quick and Russell really needs to have his own tank. Your pair sound a lot like my own, very opposite personalities (though both are good at begging) but generally well behaved

[CaseFam]

Hi CaseFam, welcome to the site! The tank is looking pretty good. Do you have a UVB?

hey steve - good to be here! no uvb as of yet, but until they had just moved to this tank, they were getting a little indirect sunshine daily. since we now have two lamps, we'll pop out tomorrow and replace one of the bulbs with some shell-pleasing uvb.

Carl looks like he's growing a bit quick and Russell really needs to have his own tank.

not growing in such a way that should concern us though, right? i think after reading this excellent resource of a site, we may have been a little too generous with the feeding, but we've learned to be strong and let their begging go unanswered except for twice a day.

on the russell front, he was originally purchased as a snack, but i'll be damned if they all havent forged some sort of truce, the three of them. honestly, russell tried to get testy with them right off the bat, but i dont believe his pinchers are strong enough to bother the turtles much, and they really show no interest or respect for him, stepping on him to get where they need to go - he just deals with it, and goes about his business cleaning up after them as they only manage to get about 75% of their food down their throats at any given feeding...messy little things. it may not be apparent from the pics, but russell is roughly ellie's size, and neither his bark nor his bite are anything the turtles seem to care much about one way or another.

thanks for the welcome, looking forward to learning from and interacting with the community!

[blackforces get you]

i think carl is female. size and tail. ellie looks a bit macho (male)

cute turtles though

and the growth doesn't seem like something to worry about. be careful they dont get too much of that fish

[Moose]

lol Beautiful turtles!! lol and I think your right, it more like Carly and Elliot! lol i thought buster and eugen were both boys turns out buster is a boy but eugene is a gurl but i still call her eugene

[CaseFam]

thanks for the turtle props!

although i'm sure the turtles couldnt care less what gender we think they are, it will take my kids a period of adjustment as they segue from she's so cute to he's so manly, and vice versa.

thanks for being there for us during this transition.

[CaseFam]

ellie, failing in an attempt to hide amidst cuttlebone and fauxliage


carl, doing his best impression of a tank


ellie, proving she can float, to the surprise of no one


carl, investigating a new tetra filter my wife sweet talked out of a salesman at the oc pet expo


carl, deigning to have his photo taken


ellie, enjoying a moment of solitude, before a lurking carl ruins everything


ellie, enjoying the fruits of her begging labor


russell, crayfish on the prowl


russell, proving he's an ambiturner


russell, hiding his turtle-bit tail


exploring the tank redesign


the gang's all here!


dont show the world my secret hiding place! - russell


carl and ellie - wondering when picture time will finally be over


carl - basking fool


ellie - gettin' her carl on


ellie - quick, take the pic, basking is about to be over

[CaseFam]

took some inspiration from the atba thread, and invested in a little cork wood, plexiglass, and silicone.

[Lilsaint]

nice DIY turtle dock! i love it. Btw i was thinking about putting a crayfish in the tank, does ur turtle eat it?

[CaseFam]

thanks! less than $30 worth of materials, and so far, so good!

and while the crayfish was originally purchased as a supplement to our turtle's diet, they have managed to forge some sort of truce. early on, there was a lot of posturing and nipping at tails, but after a few days, they all sorta went their separate ways. 3 months or so later, the whole crew seems to have settled into a routine, and nobodys eatin' nobody.

[CaseFam]

i have an idiot savant crayfish...when its feeding time, he climbs the fauxliage, a good 14" or so, to be fed as if here were one of the turtles:

[Outlander]

Hahaha, I love the "sneak up" shot!

[jwinters]

Wow, that's pretty good (the pics I mean). I love your tank set up.

[CaseFam]

Hahaha, I love the "sneak up" shot!

no turtles were harmed in the creation of this thread!

Wow, that's pretty good (the pics I mean). I love your tank set up.

thanks! its a work in progress, but we're really enjoying the process! here's a new dual mini dome lighting fixture with requisite stand.



and not that the turtles dont love the cork basking area, but they spend hours upon end hanging on the 'rigging' which keeps part of it up.





and finally, ellie, wondering just how stupid her owners are, making her walk around with a toy res on her back.

[vic021]

lmso st last photo i thought it was a real res until i read caption above it