General Care Discussion :: Thinking about a RES - Too much work?

[Red October]

Hi everyone. I've recently thought about getting one. I've read on the internet that they make great "beginner" pets, but from what I've read... it couldn't be farther from the truth. The tank maintenance alone seems like an awful lot of work. Especially considering they need over a 90 gallon tank, lol. Which reminds me... I was at the pet store looking at sliders, and they were in 40 gallon tanks (it was quite the setup). Crystal clear water, rocks on the bottom, logs, plants, etc. The turtles looked pretty happy. Now I know about the 1 inch of shell per 10 gallons of water, but I asked these guys at the local pet store (family owned, who also have turtles themselves) and they said a 40 gallon breeder is fine for one turtle. I even offered to buy a bigger tank and said "I thought they required a much bigger setup." They said "The setup we have for them here is ideal."

So I'm still debating. I think RES would be the neatest pet to have.

Thanks

[megcornell]

RES grow to be 10-12 inches. Can you imagine how cramped that would be in a 40 gallon tank? Not only would space be an issue but with that much turtle to so little water you couldn't hope of keeping the water clean.
RES are nice pets in terms of care after you've set them up correctly. You've been smart to research before-hand. If you can afford a 90 gallon tank, canister filter, basking lights, heaters, etc and realize that sometimes even with proper care turtles need a trip to the vet, then you'll be fine.
Here are a few links on considering RES as pets:
http://www.redearslider.com/general_tips.html
http://www.redearslider.com/startup.html

[marisa]

Welcome. I really don't think turtles are "beginner pets," only that some species of turtles are relatively are more hardy and will better tolerate the mistakes that new turtlekeepers often make (and are therefore considered to be better for beginners). All require effort and a certain amount of money.

You didn't say how big the turtle/s were in that 40-gallon tank. Some people do keep turtles in tanks that are smaller than the recommended guideline. But that doesn't make for a happy turtle and usually makes for more work for the keeper.

[DocShay]

Once your setup is complete, and you learn to do things effeciently turtles are easy to maintain.

One you have all your equipment, and temperatures right then the hardest part of keeping them is feeding them, and water changes.

I used to dread doing water changes, dragging bucket by bucket of water to drain, and to fill every few weeks got annoying. Until I bought an attacment that hooks onto a ordinary garden hose, and a sink. It will suck all your water out, and then you can fill it.

Feeding them is pretty straight forward to, lots of different things to feed them. Not too difficult to do unlike some pets - for instance a poison dart frog in which you need to find wingless fruitflys and cultivate your own.

So I guess in summary, it is a fairly easy pet to care for. In difficulty rating....I'd say somewhere between a fish and a cat.

[FLhaven4strays]

Once you have the proper set up it's really not that time-consuming at all. You do a spot-clean every day or few (I use a turkey baster sometimes, other times a small fishnet) and do a filter cleaning each week or two - and a partial water change at the same time. If you get a python hose draining / refilling is a snap. Once a day feeding takes just minutes, and it's not a huge deal if you need to leave them for a couple days.

I think the most time consuming part of having a turtle is all the time spent watching them, LOL!

[Vivi]

Welcome to the forum.

This is the right place to learn everything you have to learn about RES. Its good that you want to learn about RES before you go out and get one. Alot of people dont do research about a pet that they want and go out and buy it. And once they do learn about the animal they end up giving up the animal because its too much for them.

I would say that its not hard to care for a RES. It just cost alot to care for one. lol everyone on here knows what i mean.

[mikee]

Vi -- There is a little bit of a learning curve and you can get use to it. This site and a few others are a great place to learn. There a few who are way off base but you can get the gist of it right away. It is way less trouble and cleaner than a dog or cat because you control the cleanliness of the animal. My parting shot to you is that if your heart is not in it and you have doubts in the beginning is to not do it.

[octpusgirl8]

The nice thing about turtles as opposed to something like a bird or a dog is that if you're busy and don't have any time to interact with them, they don't care as long as you throw some food in for them. They're still fun and personable though. If you're worried about tank size, get a male, they don't get as big as the ladies and won't need quite as big of a tank.

[Opus]

Why do you want a res?why don't you get Maps,painteds etc,etc do more research and get the one turtle you think you can handle that DOESN'T grow over 9 inches.

[Bumby's Mom]

You should check out a few other breeds. Like Opus said there are many breeds that don't get nearly as big. There are even some tortoises that stay really small.

[roseK]

i dont think its that hard, never did. but i did my research before i got a turtle, and after and i still do

its easy if you kno what to do

[Starchick]

I tried to research before getting my first turtle, but quickly found out that the information I got from a google search was completely wrong. I think having this site from the beginning would have made everything a lot easier. Turtles are a lot of work at the beginning, it's like training for a new job, there's so much stuff that you need to know to care for them that the average person doesn't. But once you get past that, they're extremely easy pets. I agree with Bumby's Mom, see if you can find a smaller breed that you like. Painteds are readily available in pet stores, and if they're larger than 4 inches you should be able to choose a male, which will stay smaller, for which a 55 gallon tank would probably be plenty. (I have to plug painteds, I have three and I looooove them) But compared to other pets? You don't have to walk them, you don't have to lug home 50 pound bags of chow, you don't have to scoop poop out of a pan of gravel, they don't shed or bark or wake you up at 5 am, most apartments don't mind them, they won't pee on or shred your furniture, and so long as you keep up with the cleanings (with a large enough tank and filter many people go several weeks between cleanings) they won't smell. And their personalities are so engaging, much more so than you're led to believe. So think about it, check out the different turtle breeds and decide if one of them is right for you.

[Vtolds]

I found this site after I we got Rexi and you shoudl consider yourslef lucky that you found it before. I dont think it is hard to take care of a RES, it just takes some time for everything to move smoothly. Just try and buy the biggest tank you can afford, give a good basking area with a UVB and a Incandescent bulb, in clamp lamps. A good filter and some turtle food and your pretty much set to gie your turtle a long and happy life. Rexi started out in a 10 gallon which was upgraded to a 20 long and now is a 30 gallon with a out site basking area.

[mikee]

V tos -- Many of us have been down that road of 10,20,30,50 gallon tank and beyond. If I had had some idea of what I was getting myself into I would have started out with a much larger one in the beginning. For each of the above listed I have all the equipment to go with them. Oh Well, maybe my grandchildren will get the bug!??

[FLhaven4strays]

LOL - from reading on here BEFORE my son brought home his hatchling I decided to totally skip the 20-30-40 gallon situation & go straight from the 20 gal tupperware to a 55 gal he's getting for Christmas.