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ok, hi I'm new and was looking for info on my new pets and came across this group and thought it would be helpfull so I joined. ^.^ today I got them a tank, I have 2 and one, the one that seems older cause it's shells darker and its alittle bigger then the other, has like an eye problem, what I mean is; its right eye looks like it has... well a pink eye kind of thing
I got them about a week ago, I would have gotten them a tank earlyer but me and my family got them on vacation in florida I think it might be sick cause of it sleeps most the time and eats very little. but it might be because it went thru like 13 hours of swushing back-and-forth in the car
the tanks smaller then a 5 gal, not realy sure, the girl I got the turtles from said they do fine in a 5 gal if you don't want them to get too too big, like 2-3 inches maybe
if your not sick of reading, please tell me what I can do to make them last longer then atleast 5-10 years, they last about 20 I beleave ^^

I also forgot to ask, How do I tell if their a girl or boy? its too young to tell now most likely but will I be able to latter?

How big are they? They usually can't be sexed until they're 4 or 5 inches long.

First thing, get them in a bigger tank NOW! Sorry, not trying to yell, but it's very important. Read thru all the care info on this site about feeding/heat/lighting/tank size etc.

Secondly, keeping them in a small tank to keep them from growing is a HUGE mistake. For one, it won't work. Also, it'll make them very ill and unhappy.

13 hours sloshing around in the car would make any animal sick. When transporting RES, they should not be in water because all that sloshing about can stress them out and possibly hurt them physically.

What kind of setup do you have now? Do they have a spot to bask under a light and dry off? Again, please read and re-read all the care info here, and if you still have questions, post and we'll help you as best we can

i think that 13 hour ride did severe damage. you need to get both to a vet and get them checked out.

also do everything jenaero says

You know, if you take good care of them and give them the proper living conditions and diet, they can live considerably longer than 20 years. Do some reading on what they need to thrive.

Does the pink eye look like an infection? You could try an eye rinse (Flukers makes one, I believe).

If you can't afford a bigger tank right now, get something like a Rubbermaid storage container to keep them in. What are the temps of the water and basking area?

If you don't see any improvement in the eye or overall behavior, a visit to a herp vet would be a good thing. Let us know how they're doing.

well, they do have a basking spot big enough for both of them yes, the temps; we've been putting them out side and watching them for 1 1/2 days, today we're ganna go get a light to keep them worm for 12 hours. other info I've found on the web said I should make the watter 75-85 and the basking atleast 10 more then the water temp
I also found out they realy need it so their shell doesn't rout or "go bad" with all the watter.

my ant debbie and her son (jimmi) has 2 and they've had them for years, one resintly died T-T lasted about 15-20 years, it was jimmis first pet, he has so sad.... anyway, they keep the one (he's had for about 10) or the turtles they still have in a 5-10 gal tank and its about 2- 2 1/2 inches long from front shell to back.
he also said we should keep them to the size of the tank you want them to grow.....

it seems to be getting better, but it still dosen't eat, it tryed this morning though. we think its because we're keeping the tank to cold, info I found said they might lose their abitite (sp) if the waters too cold, so latter today I'm ganna get a light for sure ^.^

don't forget a water heater.

You want a noticeable difference between the water temp and the basking area temp and around 10 degrees is good. A water temp of 75-85F is a way-to-big range though. I'd aim for a water temp of 78-80F to get your turtle eating. Get a submersible water heater that you can adjust the temp on.

A basking area temp of of 88-90F would be good.

lol marisa....sorry i couldn't resist...

Does the pink eye look like an infection? You could try an eye rinse (Flukers makes one, I believe).

lol...fluckers....

Strange name, but they do make a number of reptile products.

I think he was laughin cus it's Flukers

Ha! Missed my own typo!

alrighty, its keeping its eyes closed but its sometimes awake. it went swiming today and 1 question; I see both my turtles doing this- when their basking, they stretch their back legs all the way out, is it for getting heat or something? its just wierd how they can sleep with thier legs all out and not tutching the ground

we got them a light today, about 5 hours ago and we got a thing that tells us the temps of the above water and under, right now the water is about 79-83, and the basking is about 87-90, is that good for my lil sick trtle ? T-T and will it be too hot/cold for the one thats not sick?

I think they just streach out to look cute when they bask. lol i'm shure it helps them absorb heat better. those temps sound just about right. you really need to get a bigger tank though. 5 gallons is way to small. think 1 inch of turt, means 10 gallons of water.