General Care Discussion :: New owner, not sure what to do

[2wicky]

I bought 2 turtles while walking around Chinatown 2 weeks ago. The night after I was looking up basic care guides and found out buying my turtles there was illegal. It said they could be carrying salmonella. What should I do now? Keep them or what?

[Tenodera]

Well you could keep them if you want to, or you can give them to a friend and direct them to this website!

But DO NOT FREE THEM.

Check out the other parts of this site, especially the care quides.

[Safdar]

Now that the turtles are in your posesion you need to keep them

But If you arent up to the expenses and work you can give them to an adoption agency
But suggest you keep them since you supported that store whos selling illegal turtles

[megcornell]

If you are afraid to keep them because of legal issues or salmonella, don't worry. It's illegal to SELL turtles under 4" not keep them. And so long as you wash your hands after touching your turtles your chances of getting salmonella are pretty much eliminated. You should practice the same sanitary habits you would with any pet, and you'll find that there really aren't that many reasons to touch turtles, they're really a "look" rather than a "touch" pet.
If you're unsure about the needs of RES, you've come to the right website. You can look up all kinds of topics from habitat to diet. Once you get your turtles set up, they are really pretty low maintenance pets. The initial set up can be costly, especially compared to the $10 you paid for them in Chinatown, but they are well worth it.
If you simply don't want the turtles, then you can try to find an adoption group or a responsible person to take care of them. That being said, if you can't immediately find someone it IS your responsibility to give the turtles a home, you can't just dump them somewhere, they're living creatures, no matter how cheap they were to acquire. A simple 20L set up should keep them safe and happy until you can find a home.

[shelach]

My little turtles also came from china town ncy, and i also was unaware of the legal situation until i had them home and was looking on the internet. I reported the issue to the ASPCA, how said its not their department...

If you can afford to keep them they will bring you much joy, but what ever the people that you bought them from told you is most likely B.S.
They need alot of swimming room, proper basking area, lights, proper diet (not the pellets they gave you in china town), and clean water. If cared for properly they live a very long time (longer than you or me) and can get to be the size of a dinner plate.
This site is great for getting all your info. Its helped me alot.

First off, you will need a bigger container to keep them in then what they gave you in china town. even if its a bucket or rubber maid container. And they must have a place where they can get dry too.

Next, do the look and act healthy? look at some pictures of other healthy RES and some of sick ones. One of mine had the beginning stages of blood poisoning and had to be kept separate while i treated him with antibiotics.

Taking them to a herp vet to check them out is always recommended.

If they look healthy (no spots on shell, no pink color on skin or under shell, nice orange/red ears) and are responsive when held (sucks into shell or trys to get away) then I say start caring for them the best you can and just keep an eye on them for any signs of sickness.

About semolina, as with all reptiles, wash your hand well with soap and water after contact with them. Keep them and yourself in good hygiene.

I hope you keep them. I never knew how awesome and sweet turtles could be until that day in china town.

[RunninWideOpen]

There are no legal issues you need to worry about. It's illegal to sell them that small, not illegal to buy them or possess them. The only one who can get in trouble is the person who sold them to you.

My suggestion is read up on redearslider.com and give them the best home you can. Turtles are very rewardinig to care for and have as pets.

[2wicky]

Thanks for the help everyone! I was watching them last night and the second one finally started to eat! I'm so proud of them.. I guess they're finally getting them comfortable..

I have no problem keeping them. I already bought them a 10 gallon tank (is that too much) filled with rocks and a bottle of turtle food as my mini beginners kit just to get them settled in... and they look pretty healthy. I compared them to the pictures on this site as well as others

I guess my only problem was, how do I keep myself safe from salmonella? But someone just answered it.


Again, thanks for the help and I'll read through the site for more help on caring for them =)


BTW - How old/size will they be when I no longer have to worry about the salmonella issue?

[RunninWideOpen]

They'll never out grow the salmonella, if they have it. not all turtles do. This issue with them being younger, and why they're illegal to sell under 4" is because children like to play with them and even put them in their mouth. So, the law is to protect kids. Just wash your hands after handling them. I've never had a salmonella problem, and honestly I often don't wash my hands after handling them.

Actually 10 gallons is a bit small. The general rule is 10 gallons per inch or turtle. So if you have 2, 2" turtles, that would be 40gallons. There are a couple reasons for this, they have to do with swimming room (naturally these turtles are found in lakes at great depths, so room is important), but also for cleanliness. The more water you have them in, the longer it takes for them to get the water dirty. Insufficient amounts of water make it impossible to keep clean and that can make the turts sick. Turtles are dirty creatures, even the best filter out there can't keep the water clean if there's not enough water.

Concerning the rocks, are they large rocks? Turtles eat anything they can and there have been threads on this forum of turtles dying because they eat the rocks / gravel. I caught one of my girls eating rocks at one point. Any rocks in the tank need to be bigger than the turtles' heads.

Also, be aware that your turtles will grow. Females will even grow to be up to 12" long. It takes a few years for that, but be aware of it now. If you get a bigger tank, get one they can grow into, not one you'll have to replace again in 6 months.

Have you read up on the main site, redearslider.com? It's got TONS of info, just about everything you need to know to successfully take care of these little guys and ensure a long, healthy life. Turtles can live up to and sometimes over 100 years, and they develop personallities. They'll get to know you over time. There are a few long-time turtle keepers on here that have really neat stories about their turtles and how they interact with them now.

[2wicky]

I havent read the entire site but I've been reading thing here and there when i get the chance. I just jumped up and looked into the tank when you mentioned how big the rocks should/shouldnt be. I'm not sure I found the answer to this. I'm looking at the list of startup materials needed and there's no mention of rocks.. are they required? should I use sand? What is usually used? My rocks are half the size of their heads so I'll need to change them soon

[marisa]

You don't really need anything on the bottom (makes it easier to clean). However, you could put a small bag of smooth river rocks on the bottom (or part of a bag). Turtles like to forage and push them around.

[RunninWideOpen]

Yes, rocks are definitely not required. I do like marisa said and use just a few small river rocks. not enough to cover the bottom, but my turts like pushing them around and playing with them. This has made it SOOO much easier to clean my tank since I took out all the rocks I used to have.

[steve]

This page has list of what I consider to be optional... www.redearslider.com/tank_considerations.html

I think I wrote about everything