General Care Discussion :: new turtle owner!

[edgerton]

so... my girlfriend impulsively bought a RES a couple weeks ago.. and now i have it... i love it though... and im setting him up an awesome home...
a couple questions though...

how do you know if your turtle is actually healthy??? he's really small.. like, a 1" shell.. he swims a lot... he's been attacking a snail thats at least twice his size... very amusing... i am assuming he is healthy b/c he is very active..

he doesnt bask... is this normal?? i have a good basking area set up with a uva light about 10" above... but he never goes up there.. or if he does he only stay for 2 or 3 minutes... i do not have a uvb light yet (i will on monday).. and i believe they work together, so will he likely bask more then??

i have a 40 gallon tank i am working on setting up... right now he is in a 20gal... when i set it up my gf is going to buy me another turtle the same size... will it be ok to have another turtle put in???



thanks for your help.. if i have anymore questions i will post them...

edgerton

[edgerton]

another question.... will a RES bite me??? do they like to be handled??? i've read that they like to have there underside rubbed... at his size im not really afraid of him biting me, but as he grows, do i need to be concerned?

[jenaero]

I wouldn't get another turtle just yet. Even if you did, you'd need a whole second setup because of the recommended quarantine period.

If he seems active and healthy and he's eating regularly, he's probably basking when you're not around. They can be shy like that. I used to have to sneak a peek on mine and now I can go right up to them and they'll just sit on their rock looking at me.

I assume you've read thru the basic care info on the site? Are your water and basking temps appropriate?

RES will bite. Mine (6 inches) are known to draw blood. They don't 'like' to be handled but some tolerate it better than others. I don't handle mine unless necessary for cleaning the tank or health checks.

[edgerton]

i have read much of the info on this site and some on other sites as well... i have read nothing about a recomender quarantine period though... can you tell me more about this or give me a link???

water temp is 82 and im not sure what the basking temp is at but it is quite warm.. i will try and check that temp later..

[cam722]

The quarantine is recommended to make sure you don't infect a healthy turtle with any diseases the new turtle may be carrying. The last thing you want is to end up with 2 sick turtles having to go to a vet or worse yet having a healthy turtle die because you didn't quarantine the new turtle.

The water temp should be around 78 .. 82 is a bit on the high side. Usually temps that high are used for ill turtles. The basking temp should be in the high 80s to low 90s.. ideally about 10 degrees warmer than the water temp. Turtles need heat to regulate the body temperature, if the temps are too similar they will not be enticed to bask.. they also need to bask to dry off to avoid shell rot.

Another thing to keep in mind with getting a 2nd turtle is that turtles are not social animals, they have no problems with being alone. You also run the risk of having to have 2 complete setups for each turtle if for some reason they don't get along, or one ends up ill .. etc. As you can see, that can run into a lot of money!!!

[Shavannah]

He probably isn't basking because the temp difference between his water and bask area isn't much different. Water should be 78 and bask temp should be around 10 degrees warmer, so 88-90 is good for a little turt. But, even when you correct this, he/she could still be shy and only bask when no one is around, so give him/her some privacy or you could wrap something around the tank where the bask area is so he/she has privacy.
He/she will get used to you eventually though, and not get so startled when you come around.

[Shavannah]

Sorry Cam722 , you posted while I was still typing, lol.

[missibsu]

Just to add to the quarantine period, it is recommended for 90 days. RES are good at masking symptoms of sickness and disease and it may not be noticable that the new RES is sick.

[cam722]

Sorry Cam722 , you posted while I was still typing, lol.

Never hurts to have things repeated.. and btw, you can call me Carol..