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Hi


Thank you

It is never good (or legal) to take turtles from the wild in the first place, and not good to release turtles that have been dependant on humans for their food from birth. There are programs that rehabilitate turtles to go back into the wild but I'm unsure of how they work. It sounds like your turtles would be happy in the lake with plenty of room and since it's their original habitat I would think they would be fine there, but I'm not sure of what two years in captivity has done to them as far as survival instincts.

The decision is yours now, but whatever you decide they should be given the best accommodations. If you release them, be sure to return them to the same home range. If you keep them, upgrade their home to give them the life they deserve. I don't advise taking any other turtles from the wild.

The fact that you have been feeding them means that you haven't raising them to return to the wild. With the growth rate I would say that they may have even been over fed. So, what will happen when they are returned to the wild and they have to find food for themselves? What will happen when they can't find as much food as they may be used to eating? If you are happy with the possible answers of those questions, then you have to do what you have to do.

For RES the good rate of growth is an inch a year, and I would assume that it would be similar for painteds. If you decide to keep them, changing their diet some would be in order for a healthier life.

I need to find a home for them then as I am unable to upgrade their living space. We thought we were helping them survive, and did not know such a forum existed. When we decided to keep this pair past the one year mark we had planed on keeping them. When I have more time I will study your site for feeding instructions as we plan to replace our set with one purchased RES. We meant no harm and I feel bad at reading the responces.

Matt

2 overfeed but otherwise very healthy Eastern painted Turtles,3 cats, 1 dog

It did sound like you had the best intentions, but most of the times when we humans play around with mother nature we do more harm than good. I'd do some research for a rehabilitation center near you if possible. This would be the painteds best bet.

Please read through the forum and main site thoroughly before purchasing your RES. They are very rewarding pets to have, but they do require a lot of care and maintenance to live long healthy lives. Just to keep in mind, even by purchasing one RES, you will still have to upgrade eventually from your 55 gallon tank to at least a 90-120 gallon depending on whether you have a male or female.

Good luck and let us know how we can help.