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Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 3:49 am**

hey everyone -- first post here. i'm so glad i found this site, the board has been quite helpful and i look forward to contributing myself as well!

anyways-

I've had a couple of baby RES's for about a month now, and i've got turtle paranoia. I'm constantly fretting over the temperatures in the tank, whether or not one of my turts is eating enough, whether or not they're happy (lol), but most of all .. when i come home at night and they're apparantly sleeping, i freak out and think that they are dead. i end up turning the lights on and reaching in there to stir them up just to make sure that they're still alive! :cry:

The thing is, at first I had three turtles, but one was obviously premature and had an extremely soft shell from day one. I tried giving it hydro-life drops every day but it eventually died

This m ight be the source of the paranoia ... but i find myself worrying about these little guys so much that i think it's getting in the way of me just enjoying them! i'd like to rest easy thinking that they'll be okay the next morning, but i just cant help but fret constantly over their well being. any advice? sorry for the long post!

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:44 am**

It will get better with time. I was the same way for the first couple of months, but once you adjust oto them, and make a routine of checking thier tank temps it does get better. They do require fairly specific temps and care, so it is a little bit of a shock to the daily routine at first.

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 2:27 pm**

Heck I was like that when I got Zeke who was 5 years old when I got him. Every little thing! Which turned out to be good cause I cause a Vitamin deficiency before it got too bad.

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 2:40 pm**

Oddly, I wasn't like that until I found this forum and figured out all the things I was doing wrong ..

If you have all the proper equipment setup correctly that helps take away some of the worry. Just read the basic care section that should help also..

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 3:56 pm**

I was like that for a long time - couldn't sleep at night, etc. - until I found this forum and got Spot's habitat and diet fixed. Now that I'm more confident he's safe and happy I can relax and enjoy!

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 4:27 pm**

cam722 wrote:Oddly, I wasn't like that until I found this forum and figured out all the things I was doing wrong ..

If you have all the proper equipment setup correctly that helps take away some of the worry. Just read the basic care section that should help also..

And after she found the forum she still panicked until she got used to the silly turtlizms.

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 5:40 pm**

she still panicked until she got used to the silly turtlizms.

What do you mean? I may just be panicing because this is new stuff to me. I do enjoy the challenge of exotic pets though.

Posted: **Sun Nov 26, 2006 6:38 pm**

Once you get used to turtles and their habits you'll calm down.

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:55 am**

I agree with fluttery! First congrats on your new additions! And YES I was a freaky one when we got our girl. But once I got the "perfect" set-up...it was so much easier! And having boards like this with so much info. was a God-send!

It was like a new baby! All noises freaked me out...feeding, cleaning, etc... But it gets easier.

ENJOY!

Cam