Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It is a RES adult female. She is in a 40 gallon critter tank with an UWF... My friends wife is pregnant and is dispersing her "zoo" They've given me lots of good instruction. (I think) I've never owned a turtle before but I am very into herps... The care sheets I've looked at don't seem to be too far out of the range I am already providing for my other pets... I am inexperienced with turtles but willing to learn. I realize that they should have a long life and require a long term committment. Is there anything specifically I should know that could influence my decision to take her?

Also, should I be concerned that she says the turtle tries very hard to bite her but so far hasn't had the opportunity? Is this normal for turtles to want to bite?

as long as your provided w/ everything needed to take care of a turtle, then you should be fine (lighting, filter, etc...), as far as biting goes, if i put my finger in front of my turtles face, sometimes they try to bite it, they probably think its a piece of chicken or food....i wouldnt worry about it

I thought you couldn't fill 'critter tanks' with water because the bottoms aren't made out of tempered glass.... I'd be very careful about how much water you put in that tank if I were you.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

RES are great turtles to start with. They are very hearty creatures. Just remember... DON'T overfeed them. The first time I got RES I fed them too much and it lead to their tank being filthy and hard to keep up with. They will keep eating whatever you throw at them. Another thing is to make sure that they have their UVA and UVB lighting. As for the biting thing... I have 3 VERY aggressive RES. They hiss at me and try to bite me every time I handle them. I've only been bitten once and to tell you the truth, it didn't hurt much. It's nothing to worry about. You'll find that they have a lot of endearing qualities. I love the way mine splash at the top of their tank everytime I go to feed them. Good luck.

I would not worry about the turtle bitting. My husband allows mine to bite him all the time. My turtles allow me to hand feed them, so I guess they think that when they see fingers that it is supper time. As for everything else, it seems like everyone else has covered it. You may think oh what can I do with a turtle, but they really are fun. I love to sit and watch mine, they are so cute and funny.