General Care Discussion :: New RES - Wondering what to do

[34thncrenshaw]

Just got a new RES about 4 1/2 inches long and we are gonna put her in our pond soon, but right now we have her outside in a little kitty pool that has been set up with plants and rocks and basking area just getting her used to the environment and humans. She seems very shy always hiding under the plants and I have thrown in some feeding pellets, but am not so sure if she is eating them or not and I also tried dangling worms and strawberries in front of her and she doesn't seem interested. We got her from a pet shop and have had her about 4 days she's been living outside since then and the weather has been pretty mild here in santa cruz, ca. Weather has been in the 70's in the day and 50 at night, the water temp is about low 60's I'd say, just want some input from anybody because we've had another full grown female RES in our pond for years, who we got as an adult and put her in our pond right away and she has been doing great and living off the pond with us just feeding her every now and again, any info/input would be awesome, thanks a bunch - Barton

[steve]

If she's kept outside, she will be more skittish. Pretty normal behavior. As for her worms, maybe place it under water so she can see it better. The pond sounds great, any pics or more details?

[34thncrenshaw]

yeah i'll take a few pics, and see if i notice anything else I can relay to you.

[bstone23]

I introduced a smaller RES with my adult RES in my backyard pond and they did fine.
There was a "feeling" out period between the two. But then all was good.
Keep an eye on them during this time (could take a few days). Larger RES' are known to nip at smaller RES'. I was lucky and they acclimated to each other quickly.

The smaller RES will be skittish and "slide" away anytime it catches sight of you. Hence the name "Sliders". It will take a bit of time for it to eventually "warm" up to you (give it a year if kept in the outdoor pond).
Eventually the smaller RES will recognize you and attribute that to FOOD. Then the begging begins. Don't give in to begging and only feed it on schedule (they can get too fat).

Make sure there is plenty of space for both turtles to bask, and hide.
Also, expect twice the damage from their curiosity. RES' are infamous for moving things (rocks/plants/etc) just to see what's beneath.

I'm in San Diego and so keep my turtles outside, in the pond, year round. They still hibernate in the winter. It is just abbreviated to their normal pattern. Eating slows to a stop, they become lethargic, and they may spend days underwater (keep leaf litter at the bottom of your pond for them to hibernate within).
Typically from about November through February.

Good luck with them!

[steve]

bstone23, what are their genders?

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

I would love to see photos as well. Congratulations on your new turtle and welcome to the forums.

[bstone23]

Steve,

The adult is female. The smaller RES sex is still undetermined, but I'm leaning towards male. I plan on pulling it out of the pond in the next couple weeks to give it another look over and see if I can notice anything on the claws/tail length.

With that said, the adult female just recently started showing signs of dominance by fluttering her front claws at the smaller RES. But I've only witnessed this at night (when they are feeding on the minnows/guppies), and only a couple of times at that.

Bstone23