General Care Discussion :: new baby

[ginn]

i am new here, and i am probably asking things that have been answered, sorry if i am..
some background info:
i had been thinking about getting a turtle/terrapin for awhile, never really researching it... just thinking..
but then yesterday saw little turtles for sale in chinatown and bought one. went home and figured out it was a res. and today i went out and bought all the stuff to make a happy turtle home(read up on what a res needs and all)

i am worried because its illegally small(only about an inch or so). he has been energetic since getting in the nice big warm aquarium. swimming around all day long.. but im worried... since hes so small i wonder if there is anything special i need to do for him.. also, he didnt bask at all today(i have a dock and lamp), spent the time either swimming, on the bottom of the tank, or hanging out under the turtle dock.. and right now hes sleeping(i think??) under the turtle dock.. can he get stuck there? how long can they hold their breath? is it okay that he doesnt want to bask? he hasnt ate anything yet. but i read thats okay for a bit.
i want my little buddy to be okay and live and be happy.. but as many sites and hours ive spent reading up on RES terrapins lately, im still confused and worried i may be doing something wrong..
im really scared my bub will get stuck under water.. my family had turtles when i was a little kid and one of them died because it got stuck underwater..

okay, ill stop babbling, sorry for the silly newbie questions. i just want to do everything right for my little bub

[camee1991]

Ginn- Yeah they are illegal to sell under 4" long, but I myself got mine at a petstore and had to sign a form saying I was 18 or older! DUH! lol

And YES they can get stuck under the basking areas and drown.
If you have the floating one that levels with the water with 4 suction cups, you may want to take the suction cups off / flip the metal bars over and put the cups on again. Then put it back on. There have been many a baby get stuck in the cross bar on the bottom and die. So....when it is on top; it is safe.

I would check on him.

Also, if he looks well. Dont worry about him basking or eating for a few days. It will take a while for it to get used to all the new surroundings! I just went through this again myself. Scary, but just keep an eye out.

If you read all through the site information you should know about NO gravel, temperature levels, what lights to buy and filtration... you should be doing good.

And as for holding their breath..babies not as long as mature RES, but it can be pretty long while sleeping. Not really a given time. But if its been under the dock a LONG time...CHECK!

Keep us posted!

[SpotsMama]

Welcome to the forum!

You've got a lot of questions, which is natural. I'll try to help with some.

1. Special for little turtle - keep the water temp somewhat warmer than for an adult - at 78 to 80 degrees. Little turtles need to eat more - imagine that his/her head is hollow, like a thimble, then every day give him/her enough pellets to fill it. Little turtles tend to be quite nervous. Don't stress him/her more than necessary (like picking him up all the time, for instance) especially while he's brand new. Adults are much more confident.

2. Like I said, brand new turtles, especially when they are very small, are very nervous. He/she can't be sure yet that you're not going to try to eat him. That's why he/she isn't basking. After a week, he'll probably feel safe enough to bask but he still may not do it when you're around. A lot of people first know that their new turtles are basking when they walk into a room and hear a little "plop". He/she may not eat for the first week, either, due to nerves.

3. Turtles sometimes can get stuck in their tanks and drown. For some reason they love to squeeze into tight places and sometimes they can't get loose. Therefore, you need to turtle-proof your tank - try to imagine anyplace he/she can get stuck and fix it. On the turtle dock, turn the plastic frame upside down so the horizontal bar is at the top. Then, remove the plastic suckers that are under water - you don't need them, the ones above water are sufficient. This will make it much easier for the turtle to get loose if he gets stuck.

4. On holding their breath, they can hold their breaths for a long time. I'm not sure about how long for a little one, though. Maybe someone else on here can respond.

If you want to describe your setup - or better yet, post photos - people on here can take a look and they'll let you know what they think. There are lots of folks who have a lot of experience and they can give you good info. Why don't you describe what you're planning to feed him/her too.

Good luck! i hope you and your turtle have many happy years together. By the way, what's his/her name?

[ginn]

sorry for not responding sooner. accounting homework and some term papers are to blame(im a college student) i did read both responses, and thank you for them...
i switched the crossbar on my turtle dock, thank you for that.. because he had been spending his time around the crossbar before we switched it... i was so worried before..
the temp in his aquarium is 78-81.
i dont pick him up at all.. not yet at least..
he is super tiny... only about one inch. but he is doing well.. already eating and basking when no one is around(we have seen him bask here and there when we get home)
im sorry i cant write more, but i must go to sleep, but thank you guys so much on the turtle dock thing, i fear he would have drown if i did not know about switching it.
my camera is kind of funky right now, but ill post some pictures soon making sure everything is okay...
i shall post later... i think my little bub is doing okay for now.. so yay for that..... we dont have a name yet... we(my boyfriend and i) agreed that we would not name the turtle for a week. to see his personality first...

[DavidY]

He must be a cute little guy.

Also you need to be careful to make sure there are no cold drafts blowing on him like an airconditioner vent. The baby turtles can get respiratory infections very easily from the cold air and that can often be fatal. Make sure to read the section on Health so you can be aware of the signs of RI. Usually if you can catch it soon enough and get the sick turtle to a good reptile vet they can be saved with proper antibiotics. Also baby turtles from chinatown and flea markets are kept in very poor conditions and are already sick. Symptoms may not show for a few days, but your little guy sounds very healthy and active so hopefully he's okay. The fact that he's so small means that he probably hatched fairly recently and didn't spend enough time in their poor care to get sick yet. If he's active, eating and basking (even a little when you're not around) those are all good signs that he's healthy.

[Bumby's Mom]

The basking temp should be about 90 if the water temp is 81. Do you have some fake plants in there for him to hide on?? I got some fake plants that had suction cups on them so i can put them on the side of the tank where they are half in and half out of the water and that is where my babies spend a lot of their time. They are only a month old.

[ginn]

davidY- oh he(well, maybe he, since we have no clue! haha) is adorable.. ill keep a look out for those symptoms, im amazed he is doing so well considering the condition of the place in chinatown.... luckily we have no air conditioning and he is not by a window, so there is no draft.. its been so damn hot in chicago, i never thought id say luckily i dont have air conditioning..hehehe.. but thanks for the warning!!

bumbys mom-i need to fix my basking lamp.. its only uva and and it only reaches about 86 degrees.. thanks so much fo the hints, im a clueless new turtle owner.. from what i gathered i need a heating lamp AND a uva/b basking lamp.. i think... i just feel bad i have to wait until friday to buy them(again, student with budget, and classes from 9am-6pm most days) i didnt buy fake plants because i read about turtles eating them.. but im going to look into it.. currently he likes to hide under the turtle dock and it scares me to death when hes been there awhile..

[ginn]

if anyone wants to give any other advice, by all means do so! i want to be a good pet owner to my new little turtle(i havent had one since i was a wee little lass, and dont remember much besides the trama of being a little kid and one of our turtles dying by drowning).. and although i have read a lot about RESs since i bought my little guy, i still could use some pointers from those who know about keeping them.

[Bumby's Mom]

86 is what a lot of people keep it at, but if he isn't basking then he probably wants it warmer. My turtles like it in the mid 90's the best but all turtles are different. Right now I only have on my UVB bulb and the babies basking spot is in the low 90's and they are basking away Also I don't think a baby that tiny could actually eat a fake plant. He might bite at it when you first put it in but he should stop after he figures out it isnt food. The little plants I got from Petsmart were around $1 so they aren't expensive and the babies just love them.

[DavidY]

Sounds like you got a nice strong baby! It's interesting how some baby turtles are able to survive under very unhealthy conditions while others succumb to RI or other infections no matter how much effort the owner and their vet put in. But it's good that you are so conscious of your turtle's needs since we want to provide our turtles with the best environment that we can.

Regarding the basking temperature, it's generally best to try to maintain a basking temp about 10 degrees warmer than the water. But if your tank water is too warm (in the 80's) because of room temperature, then you don't want to make the basking area too high either since it may unnecessarily heat up the water more. You'll have to fiddle with it a bit to see what works best for your situation and your turtle.

I'd go ahead and put some plastic plants in the tank since most RES will leave them alone after they taste them a couple of times. Most likely your turtle will have no desire to actually eat them. It will help him feel more secure if he has some cover to hang out around.

You sound like you are going to be a very good turtle mom, and there's a lot of really nice people here who are always able to help out if you need it.

[ginn]

ah, i feel bad on the delayed response again.. thanks for all the help, my little guy*STILL no name! , we figured since RESs can live up to 20 years, we need to think of a name that we wont get sick of! haha* is doing wonderful.
i still need to get some plastic plants.. but he is eating lots(pooing lots too!), has a whole lot of energy, and basks all the time now.
one more stupid newbie question, how much should i feed him? i know i should feed him every day since hes so small. but i dont know how many pellets to drop in..

[DavidY]

Glad to hear he's doing so well! You should take a look at this section http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html on nutritional requirements for your turtle. General rule of thumb for baby RES is enough pellets that would fit inside the turtle's head if it were hollow each day. You can feed that amount all at once or split it up into several meals if you want but try to keep track of how much you feed. It's too easy to overfeed and then you risk your turtle's shell pyramiding.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Congrats on your new baby! You definitely came to the right place. There is a lot of knowledge on this forum & in the main website as well. Enjoy the reading!

[ginn]

finally named the little bugger.. Taco(inspired by the fact that its national taco day today, and figuring that it was about time we just picked a darn name).
now that i've really looked at the site i feel like a dork for asking a bunch of questions that have been answered in other places here
i must of just missed some stuff with sheer panic of not knowing what i was doing! ha...
thanks for the patience with my silly noobiness