General Care Discussion :: What was I thinking!!!!!

[jef3kat]

HI all,
I am a newbie (kassy)

Well here goes... We went to the garment district in LA and they were selling these cute little sliders in these little bity cages with just barely enough water in the bottom and also a few rocks in the bottom as well. Ok well my little baby girl saw them and just wanted a turtle. So we got the little fella thinking oh this will be great. The lady told us that their life span was 3 months... ( Imagine my surprise when I got home 2 hours away and found that these little guys live much longer and that the habitat was totally inappropriate.

Well needless to say, I am waiting for a starter kit to come in the mail with the light, aquarium, food, filter and all. Until then I am very concerened about this little guy. I put a little peice of salmon in the water to see if I could get him to eat but quite honestly I have never had interest in turtles until now!!!. Now I want to make sure that the cutie is ok until his new home comes.

I don't know how much handling I should do or my daughter should do.

When I change out the water how much old water should stay.

He is a quick little guy when we hold him he runs up our shirts and in our hands. (Not very frightened).

As a matter of fact. I am not sure if it is a boy or a girl.

Please help me. I am very angry that these people are allowed to sell these little turtles and aren't really educating the people that are buying them so they are suffering and dying... This is so sad.

However I want this one to have a good happy life. What to do!!!!!!!!!! I will take pictures soon. I think I got him on Thursday, it is now Saturday. the aquarium should be here by Wednesday or Thursday... Until thursday what should I do...even after Thursday what should I do.

I haven't a clue but I am an educator and am up for the challenge.

[THERUIZFAMILY]

I had the same thing happen to me this weekend...A lady at work ended up with 2 little guys and now I have them...Be careful with your daughter she needs to wash her hand very well if she is touching ANY reptiles..Do a search on salmonella and reptiles

[Dein211]

whoa wait the lady actually thought and told you that they only lived three months?! o.O lucky for you this website is a wealth of RES info. i would suggest starting here http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_info.html . i will warn you, there are somethings that will surprize you ( like how big they can get!) as for determaning your little turt's sex, you won't really be able to tell untill he/she's shell is at least 4 inches. of course you can always post pictures and we will be more than happy to help determine the gender if its possible at yet. my biggest suggestion, serch your area for a vetranarian that specializes in reptiles or Herp vets. you can start by calling your local vet and asking if they can reffer you to one. its always better to find one BEFORE you actually need one.

Welcome and Good luck

[dianimal]

Ohhh the first time I saw a res was at the district too. When I first got mine I didn't know what to do either. I went through like three different tanks before I got the right one within a month. What kind of starter kit are you getting? You came to the right site for help. If it wasn't for this site and all the books I bought on my turtle, I would be so lost.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Yeah, many people on the forum have had the same experience as you.

Let's start off with, RES can live as long as 40+ years. So think of your new RES as a life partner! Oh, and they can get as big as 12 inches, which will require 120 gallons of tank and water. Just to warn you!

Next, the "starter kit" will likely need to be replaced quickly, but it's a start. I honestly kept my turtle in a 1.5 gallon tank for 3 months to see if she would live long enough to make her worth the investment. Well, she's still kicking, and has a much upgraded tank, though it will need to be upgraded again. What exactly is contained in the starter kit, so we can make sure it has all of the necessary items?

Many new turtles won't eat for a few weeks, so don't become too concerns. Don't get your turtle started on "junk" food like fish now, otherwise you may have a hard time getting them on pellets later in life. Go to a pet store and get something called ReptoMin Baby/Mini. Most turtles take to that pellet well.

Please avoid as much handling as possible until your turtle reaches about 4" in shell length, or about a year of time that you've had them. This is both for their own good and your own. Baby turtles have less control over their, umm, bowel, and will release Salmonella easier than adult turtles. Also, baby turtles can be injured more easily when dropped.

At this point, just keep the water as clean as possible. When my turtle was in the 1.5 gallon tank, I was completely cleaning the tank every 2-3 days depending on how nasty the water got. That is, I put the turtle in another container and washed everything with hot water (no soap or bleach) and reassembled.

You won't be able to tell the gender until your turtle is 4" in shell length, or you see Wolverine-type front claws growing, or you see his, umm, manhood show up.

Also, as a last warning, be ready for the worst. Turtles sold at street fairs and whatnot have a high chance of being sold already ill and frequently die at young ages. This isn't to say yours will have this happen, but just be prepared for it, esp. with your daughter involved. But hopefully your little guy/gal will beat the odds and be with your family for many years to come. You can chose a unisex name, or change the name when you find out the gender (as I had to do).

[jef3kat]

I wish I knew how to take pictures that aren't so blurry... Yuk I wish that you all could see the little guy. He is only a bout 1 1/2 inch. tiny...







*fixed*

[steve]

Can you post the exact link? I will repost the images for you.

[jef3kat]

ok.. thanks steve. what am I doing wrong

[steve]

You linked to their page, not image. And the page is making it hard to copy the image... give me a sec

Fixed... you also need to have BBCode on.

[THERUIZFAMILY]

Many new turtles won't eat for a few weeks, so don't become too concerns. Don't get your turtle started on "junk" food like fish now, otherwise you may have a hard time getting them on pellets later in life. Go to a pet store and get something called ReptoMin Baby/Mini. Most turtles take to that pellet well.

Please avoid as much handling as possible until your turtle reaches about 4" in shell length, or about a year of time that you've had them. This is both for their own good and your own. Baby turtles have less control over their, umm, bowel, and will release Salmonella easier than adult turtles.

Let me confirm....."many turtles wont eat for a few weeks" ? ? My little guys haven't eaten for several days...When do I need to be concerned ? I thought maybe it was the pellet food that I have been trying to feed them...

[mikee]

Jef-kat -- The above suggestion about food is a good one: a good brand of pellets should be their mainstay. Clean, well pumped and filtered water, proper lights and temps and you are off to a good start. Taking them out of their tank while they are so little causes them to cool off too quickley and could start him/her toward RI. Some turtles do have salmonella and can cause illness in humans. This is a good site and we keep each other in check and most here have good experience and are willing to help. Good Luck!! m.

[ashipyor]

I bought a turtle under these same conditions 4 days ago...then found out it's illegal to even sell turtles under 4-5 inches. A $14 investment has turned into a $240 investment so far...you're lucky your turtle doesn't seem to scare easily. Mine is scared by everything...even feeder fish!

[steve]

Let me confirm....."many turtles wont eat for a few weeks" ? ? My little guys haven't eaten for several days...When do I need to be concerned ? I thought maybe it was the pellet food that I have been trying to feed them...

That's really for healthy yearlings and adults. For hatchlings, I would get a basic setup (temps, basking area) ready ASAP and try to get them to start eating.

[papoopeepoo]

Many new turtles won't eat for a few weeks, so don't become too concerns. Don't get your turtle started on "junk" food like fish now, otherwise you may have a hard time getting them on pellets later in life. Go to a pet store and get something called ReptoMin Baby/Mini. Most turtles take to that pellet well.

Please avoid as much handling as possible until your turtle reaches about 4" in shell length, or about a year of time that you've had them. This is both for their own good and your own. Baby turtles have less control over their, umm, bowel, and will release Salmonella easier than adult turtles.

Let me confirm....."many turtles wont eat for a few weeks" ? ? My little guys haven't eaten for several days...When do I need to be concerned ? I thought maybe it was the pellet food that I have been trying to feed them...

that also depends on if your turtle is new to its environment, because it may be stressed a bit from traveling and being traded.

[mikee]

Your turtle will be more inclined to eat if the water temp is at 78 degrees and the basking is at 90 to 91 degrees with uvb lighting. That will cause their metobolism to increase. Be patient they will eat after they get acclimated to their new environment. m.