General Care Discussion :: Owner to be's questions

[Kremmeh]

Hi, I'm new here. I'm from Singapore. I can't explain my sudden urge to want to keep a pet turtle xD But I'd like a reptile companion around. Not an introductory post, but I need some advice here.

I am planning to get a RES soon, so I've been reading up stuff and asking questions so I can be prepared.

I went to a shop today to look. I live here in Singapore, and most places only sell RES (the shop I went into today said the rest are too endangered to sell. No idea if the lady is right).

I was looking at the RES in the shop. They are about 1.5 inches long. They were in tanks, three or four, some even more, in each tank the size of a shoebox, with basking areas provided. No lamps except the tank at the counter which had those fluorescent (?) lightbulb (bright white light anyway) over the basking area. 3 RES were in it. (I'm going to ask the shopkeeper for those if I can XD)

So needless to say I am not so confident. But I know the shops in the little neighbourhoods have more cramped conditions. I saw these in a mall (bit too noisy, I suspect high traffic). They'll cost like... 2 bucks more than a neighbourhood shop (these were 5 bucks for one). Not bad.

And I asked the lady how they give customers the RES. Apparently, the same as all other fish - a gigantic plastic bag filled with air, and water.

Yeah, I had the same reaction you probably are having now - 'Oh, hell no.'

Issue 1: I have read that you shouldn't transport them in water (god knows they'll get bonked around a lot) and you should get a cardboard box with newspapers in it then transfer it to a tank when you arrive home. Is this right?

Issue 2: These RES aren't 100% optimum health (since the lack of light and warmth) so how do I tell/pick a healthy one if possible? Also I'm trying not to get a female (I can't build nesting areas in my teeny apartment!) but I DOUBT you can tell at this stage.

Issue 3: I know you must stand the water the turtles swim in for a while to let out the chlorine. My dad, who used to own betta (fish) said standing wasn't enough, but he added Nutrafin (sp?) into the water while it stood (edging the water?) and this fully removes the chlorine and stuff. Is this okay for turtles?

Issue 4: The shop also sells duckweed. The lady said they wouldn't last long indoors, and I read that turtles at this stage don't like their greens much, so is this too early to be putting aquatic plants in?

Please help me out, I am planning on getting one soon. My tertiary education begins soon, so I'd like to sort stuff out and get him settled before the paperwork pours in XD

[PintoD]

#1 I bought my RES at a mall that had a little tank with 20 turtles in it with none of the required stuff (pet stores) are not so pet friendly thats a business to them nothing else. They put mine in a little 3" diameter tub, but they survived the trip home.

#2 If they are babies then all of their shells should be a little bit soft, but look out for damaged scutes. Look for the happy energetic ones and don't let the shop owner try to sell you the one that you don't want. It will be hard to tell from male or female at this time also.

#3 I run my water for a while and use water treatment to eliminate hard water/ chllorine, etc.. GET THE RIGHT EQUIPTMENT for them like the proper tank, filter, lights and water heater.

#4 go basic first with pellets and home veggies like carrots and lettuce. Alternate their foods.

Finally, let me tell you that a RES can withstand a lot example: My daughter once played hide and go seeks with Sneaky (one of my turtles) and we looked for it for almost four days and all that time it was stuck under an area rug! It was a miracle that Sneaky survived but they are tough.

Don't stress out you will learn little by little and then you will have lots of fun with your RES!!!

[TheComputerGremlin]

Hi, so as for transportation, as long as you aren't traveling far, the baggie with water and air is fine. It's only not good if you are like driving for an hour. But a little trauma is okay.

As for picking a healthy one, pick one with the most activity, very perky, friendly, active, ask the lady if you can feed them a few pellets and see which one eats them up, pretty strong shell (as opposed to a soft shell), no markings/bites/white spots, and definitely not one breathing through their mouth!

Letting the water stand for 24 hours is enough, if you are worried, agitate it a few times each day with a stick or utensil. If the Nutrafin is just a dechlorinator, then you can add that, just follow the directions on the bottle.

It's never too early to introduce veggies, just don't be disappointed if your turtle isn't interested.

Any ideas on what you want your setup as? Size tank? Lights? Basking area? Decorations?

[AnthonyGarcia]

here's my two cents:

on issue1: my friend bought an RES ages ago. she told me the lady at the petshop put the RES in a plastic bag filled with water and air. when she got home, the turts were dead. so when i bought ollie and stewie, i spent a bit more to buy one of those small plastic tanks with covers. ollie and stewie were pretty small that time, and the plastic tank cover has a handle, so transporting to my house was fairly easy.

on issue2: i cannot help here. i had no knowledge on RES when i bought mine, so i just asked the lady at the pet store to give me two. she just picked two from the crowd and put it inside the plastic tank.

on issue3: i think chlorinated water is okay (please correct me if i'm wrong). but to be sure please buy those anti-chlorine water conditioners you see at pet stores. they remove chlorine almost immediately. and if you can get one of those turtle water conditioners (plus they break up excess food and wastes laying around the tank), that would be great. i use Sera Aqutan or Turtle Clean to condition the water in my tank.

on issue4: it's okay to put duckweed in the tank. but this should not be the only food they eat (turtle pellets are best on young RES). you could also put duckweed in another tank outside and let it grow there so you won't be getting duckweed anywhere else if your RES eats them all up.

there. good luck on getting your RES. and please, post pictures soon!

^_^