General Care Discussion :: New RES

[xbeefcakexx]

Hello all, a friend of mine recently gave me a six year old female RES. She was kept in a very little tank with little gravel and not fed correctly. So now I have her.

She is still in a small tank but much better than before. I do have some questions though. Since she is a female, will she produce eggs without a male around? And she never had much human contact so she is very shy and trys to bite me a lot. Are there any secrets on getting her use to me? Ive been sitting by her and putting my hand close and not moving so she sees that Im not dangerous and that seems to work a little. But are there any other thing you guys know?

Well anyways, I might as well show you her. Her name is Queen.

[Caelestis]

You can probably wear a glove your skin color and when she bites you it won't taste great. She looks healthy to me with no pyramiding, and you can probably take her out for some sunshine now and then.

[octpusgirl8]

She's beautiful, she doesn't seem to have suffered too much from her poor care, it looks like there is some spotting on her shell though? She could have some shell fungus or something, post some good wet and dry shell pics and we can help you sort that out.
She will get used to you, she just needs some time. Feed her by hand if possible (and safe!), it will help her to get excited about your presence. The best thing you can do to make her comfortable around you is to make her feel safe and comfortable in here tank. If you haven't already, read over all the infor on houing and care on redearslider.com and hook her up with everything she needs. And yes, you do need to look out for egg laying.
Congratulations on your new turtle friend!

[xbeefcakexx]

Thank you. In those pix she is in the bathtub. So she will still lay eggs right? Ive read that they can hold them in and it will make them sick. What should I do about that?

I also have 2, 2 year old male RES. They are healthy but have some pyramiding. Im working on it though. Yea hopefully she will get use to me and be happy in her new home. =]

[xbeefcakexx]

Forgot to put, she is pooping out rocks from the gravel they had her in. Im guessing eventually she will just poop them all out but should I look out for something or anything like that?

[octpusgirl8]

Make sure when she poops them out you remove them right away so she can't eat them again. Also, keep an eye out to make sure she continues to pass things and she hasn't become impacted.

[shelach]

i think the way to make her like you is food. RES love one thing more than all others... FOOD!
when you go to say hi, give here a little treat. then she will relate you to "Yummy!"

[untsmurf]

And it will take a little time for her to warm up. So don't be put off if it takes a couple weeks.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Food is the way to any turtle's heart.

She looks great! Also, I agree with what other people said here already.

I wouldn't worry about the eggs just yet. Make sure you read thru all the different sections about "reproduction" in the main part of the website (www.redearslider.com.....scroll down to all the selections). There's a ton of information that will help even the most experienced turtle-keeper!

[Dr.VildGarcia]

After work, I like to have my turtles sit out in the sun for abot 30 minutes. Your turtle looks good to me.

[SpotsMama]

You asked if she could lay eggs even if she isn't around a male turtle, and the answer is yes! Just like a chicken. You'll know by her behavior if she's gravid (carrying eggs) and needs to lay them. And yes, they can harm her if she retains them.

Like it said above, you can read all about the process on the main part of the site. Come back if you have any questions.

It looks like the shell might have some fungus. How does the bottom (plastron) look? I can't see too well but it looks like on the first picture there might be some fungus or damage on the bottom too. Some sun would do wonders for her and you may need to disinfect, too.

All in all, though, she's a fine big girl! Do you know how much she weighs?