RES poorly looked after
Hey,
After I've red some articles on this site I've reached the conclusion that my RES's are poorly looked after and I want to change that:
I will provide a short history:
He is 12 years old:
http://tinyurl.com/n3tz5w4
http://tinyurl.com/pzqbm84
She is 10 years old (ill atm, info viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36027 ):
http://tinyurl.com/om4zedj
http://tinyurl.com/kbuvj3x
I've had them since they were tiny turtles. They've had their share of issues (common illnesses like conjunctivitis) but I've always took them to the vet as soon as I've noticed that something was wrong. Even if everything seemed ok I still took them to the vet for a routine check. Every vet that I've spoke with told me that they are really well looked after and I should keep up the good work.
They stay in a 150l tank with a heater (which is set at 27 degrees Celsius). They do have a basking area, however there is no additional heating (the room temperature is 22 degrees Celsius in the winter and 26-27 degrees Celsius in the summer).
They don't stay together in the tank because they will fight, so they stay one at a time in the tank, while the other takes a walk trough the room.
In the summer I do take them out on the balcony to stay in the sun for 2-4 hours/day.
Nutrition wise, I've fed them for the past several years raw fish (mostly trout and sprat, on occasions some salmon) and raw beef (i've tried to feed them parts of beef which are soft and with little fat as possible). For there veggie diet I've fed them mostly green lettuce and some water plants (which I bought from the pet shop, I don't know how to name those plants) and on occasions some carrots and green cabbage.
I feed them 2-3 times/week.
After I've red some info on this site I've noticed that:
He: for what I can tell, he has some shell rot on his belly (advice, guidelines or links on how to treat that are greatly appreciated);
She: her shell is deformed unfortunately (I don't think there is something that I can do atm) but I would like some advice on how to alleviate this issue. On her belly she has like a crack which I've noticed for a few years now. Quite a few vets told me that is nothing to worry about, it's only a flaw in her shell (they've told me this about her entire shell). Yesterday I took her to a herp vet and i've been told that it looks like a cut and it shouldn't be a problem (it's a bit more sensitive that area).
Those are the problem that I've noticed. If you guys can spot anything else from the pictures or from what I've told you, please do tell so I can take care of it.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
In the next weeks I'll try to diversify their diet (they don't seem to be fans of vegies, but I'll try). Also i'm planning to upgrade their tank to a bigger one so that it could accommodate both at the same time (I was thinking a 400l tank) and I will buy and UVB lamp.
Thanks
After I've red some articles on this site I've reached the conclusion that my RES's are poorly looked after and I want to change that:
I will provide a short history:
He is 12 years old:
http://tinyurl.com/n3tz5w4
http://tinyurl.com/pzqbm84
She is 10 years old (ill atm, info viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36027 ):
http://tinyurl.com/om4zedj
http://tinyurl.com/kbuvj3x
I've had them since they were tiny turtles. They've had their share of issues (common illnesses like conjunctivitis) but I've always took them to the vet as soon as I've noticed that something was wrong. Even if everything seemed ok I still took them to the vet for a routine check. Every vet that I've spoke with told me that they are really well looked after and I should keep up the good work.
They stay in a 150l tank with a heater (which is set at 27 degrees Celsius). They do have a basking area, however there is no additional heating (the room temperature is 22 degrees Celsius in the winter and 26-27 degrees Celsius in the summer).
They don't stay together in the tank because they will fight, so they stay one at a time in the tank, while the other takes a walk trough the room.
In the summer I do take them out on the balcony to stay in the sun for 2-4 hours/day.
Nutrition wise, I've fed them for the past several years raw fish (mostly trout and sprat, on occasions some salmon) and raw beef (i've tried to feed them parts of beef which are soft and with little fat as possible). For there veggie diet I've fed them mostly green lettuce and some water plants (which I bought from the pet shop, I don't know how to name those plants) and on occasions some carrots and green cabbage.
I feed them 2-3 times/week.
After I've red some info on this site I've noticed that:
He: for what I can tell, he has some shell rot on his belly (advice, guidelines or links on how to treat that are greatly appreciated);
She: her shell is deformed unfortunately (I don't think there is something that I can do atm) but I would like some advice on how to alleviate this issue. On her belly she has like a crack which I've noticed for a few years now. Quite a few vets told me that is nothing to worry about, it's only a flaw in her shell (they've told me this about her entire shell). Yesterday I took her to a herp vet and i've been told that it looks like a cut and it shouldn't be a problem (it's a bit more sensitive that area).
Those are the problem that I've noticed. If you guys can spot anything else from the pictures or from what I've told you, please do tell so I can take care of it.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
In the next weeks I'll try to diversify their diet (they don't seem to be fans of vegies, but I'll try). Also i'm planning to upgrade their tank to a bigger one so that it could accommodate both at the same time (I was thinking a 400l tank) and I will buy and UVB lamp.
Thanks