Other Turtle Discussion :: I have a dillema......rant...help!

[camee1991]

Remember a couple weeks ago I posted about my nextdoor neighbor and the teenie RES they found on the street and took home...(and kept it in NASTY conditions...) Well...I gave them a book and care sheets on RES and went over and took pics and posted them here at that time. They seemed like they were planning on doing the best they could and that they would LEARN what to do...
Its been a couple weeks now and the neighbor talked to "hubby" yesterday and told him he dont have enough money yadda yadda..and told him he thinks he is gonna give "leonardo" away and that I would be the 1st person he would ask to take him if they do.
Hubby was like NO WAY (to me) Didnt say nuthin to neighbor(course not).....which made me upset cause I thought I would have the chance to get the RES. BUT the deal is... Im partially disabled and I have 6 pets and a child already...and I have heard that 2 turts are much harder than 1...and there would be NO way my Tobi girl would allow that little boy in her tank, which I would NOT do anyhow. (She would eat him! )Which means 2 tanks and 1 more of everything else...we cant afford it right now either. I only have the tank, and food, and lighting. Nothing else.
I dont want this baby to suffer! And I really think he would release him back into the wild if I dont take him. He is tiny and has been captive now for about 2 months. Im sure I can talk hubby into this IF I wanted Leonardo bad enough; but do I???? I know for sure I dont want him just released or to go to someone else who knows nothing!
Golly, I dont even know where I would keep another aquarium!!! Tobis takes up my "open" space.
I just dont know what to do?!
Any ideas? If anyone has had 1 res and went to two; lemme know how it went?! Im kinda freaking

Here is me holding the baby:

The baby walkin'...sooo cute!!!

[octpusgirl8]

Ooh he is cute...but two turtles does mean twice the money and time, if you have to keep them separate. I would love love love to adopt another turtle, i see them all the time on cragslist while i'm looking for a bigger aqarium, but there is no way i have time/space/money. Turtley would be jealous anyway I think you should give it a good long thinking, maybe make a list of what you would need and add up the costs. You could also investigate turtle rescue organizations as part of your decision making process. Good luck, i'm sure whatever decision you make will be the right one for you and the turtle!

[DavidY]

Well, you know how much work another turtle would be (twice what you're doing now for Tobi). Personally I think the baby would be just fine if he released it into a nearby pond. A couple of months probably gave it a better chance as survival if anything. They have strong instincts especially if it was a wild baby to begin with. And like octpusgirl said, you can't adopt every turtle out there. I feel the same way when I see a RES on craigslist.

[octpusgirl8]

Just today i saw a woman was selling 2 RES for $25 dollars because her kid got tired of them and they wanted to use the tank for a lizard. What i don't understand is, how do you get tired of a turtle? And two turtles especially? i try not to think about it too much when i see things like that

[camee1991]

Ok...Im thinking hard about it! I feel like Octpusgirl8 in a way that I REALLY do want him....BUT Im afraid of the costs and the xtra work involved. Although I know if I had him I WOULD take care of him. (Tobi would be soooo jealous... ) But...gotta do what I gotta do.

And David, your post makes tons of sense. Im thinking about that too. I just feel that once a pet you shouldnt release it?! But if they do have those strong instincts....why not huh? I just hate that I live in Oklahoma and I see RES dead on the roads all the time!!!! And would hate for it to be one I knew.... ya know?

I DO have lotsa thinkin to do I would not have even thought to have another RES EVER unless something happened to Tobi (God forbid); but since I have seen and held and smooched on this one; Im like oh crap! "still thinking" I hope they wait a while to ask me. But I hope they dont wait until the RES is sick or anything! Then I WOULD have to take it! I would not let a sick one go. Would you guys?!

[rayzherup]

awww i wish i could take him! lol

[xsavingsaturdayx]

You can afford it, if you work on a tight budget. I'd say skip a tank, buy a rubbermaid container, shop around at walmart for cheap filters (whisper powerfilters) and water heaters. Get two clamp lamps from any hardware store, use a normal light bulb for UVA and buy a UVB light online (esu coil 7% uvb bulb, 15$ at www.reptilesupply.com For a dock, you could probably make one or use one of tobi's old ones. All that stuff probably wouldnt go past 100$.

You could always keep the little guy until you find a new home for him..if you tell hubby that, maybe he wont be so "bleh" about the whole dillema and let you do that, or maybe even let you keep it

[adam85491]

If you have a local Petsmart, you should pricematch everything. It would make it much cheaper and save you on shipping. You could get two clamp lamps for twenty bucks, a $17 stealth heater, and an adequate $30 aquaclear filter.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

You can get two clamp lamps for 10$ (they usually go for 5$ each) at a hardware store. The ones in pet stores are usually "especially made for reptiles" therefore are more expensive, you can use a normal clamp lamp from a hardware store.

[adam85491]

I didn't know that...

[xsavingsaturdayx]

LOL its okay, me neither. I was so pissed, because one day my mom had to go get some new bulbs since her bedroom bulb burned out. And as she was paying I wandered off and came across clamp lamps, identical to the ones in pet stores, just 5$ each. I paid like 20$ for both of mine at petsmart..

[camee1991]

Sooo many good ideas! Im guessing that IF he asks me...I will take him. Prolly stay with the 20 gallon for a bit then rubbermaid all the way baby!
As long as hubby isnt totally p.o.ed.....we will see! Im still kinda hesitant about the xtra work, but I have a python and TIME...and I love my babies and 1 more....what the heck?! lol