General Care Discussion :: procedure for adding a new turtle

[Brianthedog18]

When I began to take care of RES, I decided to start with one turtle to make it easy on myself. Now I feel I am a little more experienced, and I'm thinking of getting a second one.

I know there is a procedure of quarantining them and everything, but I'm not sure exactly what to do. If I were to get a second RES, what exactly would i have to do before adding him to the main tank with my current RES?

[CountryGirl68]

I understand from others here that the quarantine period for a turtle is 90 days.

[jenaero]

You'd have to have another complete res setup and keep them separate for about 90 days. Having a vet check him out after that would be a good idea too.

[amazingcc]

Actually it is vet-recommended that a new turt should be quarantined for 6 - 9 months! How big is your turt and your tank?

[cprcheetah]

I have read only 90 Days, and my vet said that would be adequate...for the signs of sickness to show up by then, and also to rid of any parasites with wormer and stuff.

[sonyj]

Actually signs of illness have been known to present themselves several months later (I've read up to 2 years). But that's a little impractical to quarantine for 2 yrs. I think the longer you can go the better. You never know the prior conditions your new turtle has been living in or exposed to.

[missibsu]

I would attempt to purchase a turtle that is near the same size as the one that you already own. That way there isn't any domination, etc.

[marisa]

90 days is the minimum for quarantining---a number of experienced turtlekeepers recommend even longer.

Just checking, but I seem to remember a while back that you were thinking of giving up your turtle and that you were having issues about where to keep him (dorm vs home?)...What size tank do you have now for him? Would you be able to care for both of them when school starts?