General Care Discussion :: Hi few newbie questions.

[vear]

3 full grown RES = 12*10*3=360 gallons! 120 gallons is good enough for 1 full grown female, not for 3. An outdoor pond would be best... or a large indoor pond... I guess if you have a basement you can set something up there.

About salmonella... a lot of things we come in contact with may be infected with salmonella.... raw eggs, chicken etc. You need to wash your hands after handling your turtle.

By the way, make sure you've read through the main site before getting your little ones: www.redearslider.com

[Marcus.85]

3 full grown RES = 12*10*3=360 gallons! 120 gallons is good enough for 1 full grown female, not for 3. An outdoor pond would be best... or a large indoor pond... I guess if you have a basement you can set something up there.

I know that, but first of all that's not completely true, since 1-2 or even the 3 of them could turn out to be male, in that case the tank by the rule of thumb could be smaller than 360 gal. Secondly they're hatchlings therefore a 120 gal could be a good start. Third, some of them could die before reaching adult size. Fourth you can't really expect a newbie to get a 360gal tank, since nobody has one. Fifth, rule of thumb is quite murky regarding housing multiple turtles, some say you don't have to add up the carapace lenght of all of the turtles, but just half of the other 2, others that you have to take into consideration just the biggest one.
I think a 120 gal would be a fair compromise for 2 to 3 years, after that she'll see, I guess.

[vear]

3 full grown RES = 12*10*3=360 gallons! 120 gallons is good enough for 1 full grown female, not for 3. An outdoor pond would be best... or a large indoor pond... I guess if you have a basement you can set something up there.

I know that, but first of all that's not completely true, since 1-2 or even the 3 of them could turn out to be male, in that case the tank by the rule of thumb could be smaller than 360 gal. Secondly they're hatchlings therefore a 120 gal could be a good start. Third, some of them could die before reaching adult size. Fourth you can't really expect a newbie to get a 360gal tank, since nobody has one. Fifth, rule of thumb is quite murky regarding housing multiple turtles, some say you don't have to add up the carapace lenght of all of the turtles, but just half of the other 2, others that you have to take into consideration just the biggest one.
I think a 120 gal would be a fair compromise for 2 to 3 years, after that she'll see, I guess.

I wasn't attacking you or anything, I'm simply stating what I believe. The OP has not yet bought the turtles, we're here to inform them of the requirements. You say I shouldn't expect a newbie to get a 300 gal pond, but a newbie really shouldn't be getting 3 turtles to begin with... unless of course they're capable of taking care of them for life (that means having the space to adequately house all 3 of them). I also don't believe anyone should buy 3 turtles thinking one or more will die! Of course 120 gallon tank is good enough at the beginning, but it will not be good enough for life... IF they get the RES as hatchlings there's no way of telling the sex. Also you never know if they'll actually get along. I'm only here to help and I'm not trying to say anyone else is wrong... I'm just saying 120 gallons won't be enough for 3.

By the way, how do you know nobody has a 300 gal pond? A lot of people here have ponds for their RES. If I lived in a house I'd have a pond for my 1 male too.

[marisa]

Just curious, but why do you feel the need to get 3 RES? What not just one (they don't need company).

If you keep your turtle(s) healthy with a good setup and diet and practice good hygiene, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[Brookelovesturtles]

Thanks everyone. I have decided not to get the RES due to salmonella. I don't want to take any chances.


Again, thank you for your time,

Brooke

[Marcus.85]

I wasn't attacking you or anything, I'm simply stating what I believe. The OP has not yet bought the turtles, we're here to inform them of the requirements. You say I shouldn't expect a newbie to get a 300 gal pond, but a newbie really shouldn't be getting 3 turtles to begin with... unless of course they're capable of taking care of them for life (that means having the space to adequately house all 3 of them). I also don't believe anyone should buy 3 turtles thinking one or more will die! Of course 120 gallon tank is good enough at the beginning, but it will not be good enough for life... IF they get the RES as hatchlings there's no way of telling the sex. Also you never know if they'll actually get along. I'm only here to help and I'm not trying to say anyone else is wrong... I'm just saying 120 gallons won't be enough for 3.

By the way, how do you know nobody has a 300 gal pond? A lot of people here have ponds for their RES. If I lived in a house I'd have a pond for my 1 male too.

She said she had the option to eventually build a pond, but would you put 3 hatchlings straight in a pond? We were talking about a tank, since she also expressed the desire to keep them inside, at least for a while. Probably you didn't read the whole discussion, I was the first to talk about the pond. And again I said 360 gallon TANK.

[mikee]

Brook - On the filter pump there is a guidline I go by and it has served me well and I recommend it to all. Buy your pump by the gph and not twice this or three times that. You will need a filter pump that pumps as least 5 times the volume you have in the tank. If you go with the 125 gallon tank a FX5 is a good pump to use. You will find that turtles are not a cheap varmit to take care of.

[Shelldon]

Thanks everyone. I have decided not to get the RES due to salmonella. I don't want to take any chances.


Again, thank you for your time,

Brooke

dont make your choice based on salmonella. Like the earlier post say, salmonella comes from many things and is over exaggerated. It is something you can easily avoid. i have a little container full of hand sanitizer for when i feed shelldon that i use alot.
a turtle is an amazing and wonderful pet to have and will surely love you until it dies.

you really dont need 3 turtles though, only one or possibly two. one is good enough and is fine with just the company you give it.
all of us from turtle talk would love to see you get a turtle and save it from the conditions that the pet stores have them in.

please reconsider getting a turtle, ask someone in person who knows about turtles and salmonella. everyone has their opinion. and i wouldnt make my own until i asked a professional.

- brian and shelldon

[marisa]

"When in doubt, don't" can be a very wise saying to follow.