Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well my cousin dropped the turtles off yesterday afternoon, out of the blue. I researched as much as i could in one day. I have the ability to care for them. I have the funds also. I know you probably will question me and i dont blame you, but i can assure you these turtles will long happy life. My cousin has no idea how to care for an animal in general, let alone something that needs as much special care as these. I'm the only one in my family stable enough to take care of an animal. Well, i just want to make sure i'm doing things right. Here are some pics as well as an explanation of what i'm doing.

The turtles are tiny. I cant believe how small they are and have no idea how she got them. They couldnt have hatched any longer than 3 or 4 months ago. There was no sence in buying a 60 or 70 gallon tank, i wouldnt even be able to find them. They needed something temporary so here is my ten gallon set up that i bought. I know i know, they need much bigger but i will buy them a huge set-up when they get big enough.

The water is at about 78, and the basking spot is at 90.

Here is what they've been in for the last 3 months, before they got here. It is so small, no telling what these guys have been through.

And here is the food i was given for them. Is it ok? Oh, btw, they havent ate yet. Stress from the move? Thats what i'm assuming since all of my other animals were that way. Thanks alot for reading such a long post. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Please dont laugh at my little set-up. I know its small and not detailed at all, but its 20 times the size of the turtles. And i had to get them out of that stupid little island bowl. You'd just have to see it in person to know how small it is. And, since this was so sudden and unexpected, i didnt have a whole lot of money to blow. Its only temporary, but a heck of alot better than what they were in.

Your set up is just fine and will accomodate them for a while. Don't worry. But when they get large enough for a new tank step up a bit larger than a say to a 20. That all can be discuss later. What kind of filtration do you have. What is your water temperature? The lamp you have is fine for heat but you need a source of UV light. A mercury vapor bulb will combine heat and the necessary UV lighting that you will or you there are lots of flourescent type lights that give you UVB lighting which can be used in conjunction with the light you curently have.

The pellets are fine but you need a variety. Also try giving them greens like dandelion or chicory or even water plants like Java fern and Anacharis. Cooked cocktail shrimp, minnows, crickets, superworms are all good things to add to the diet as well.

From the photo of the "DEATHBOWL" that your cousin had them in that one looks to be in pretty good shape.

Don't be too hard on your cousin. Too often people do things on impulse (and that is wrong) but they are often times mislead when by people selling these animals and telling that they are very easy to keep and just to put them in that stupid little bowl and they will live just fine.

your setup looks fine! i am sure they will be A LOT happier than being in the "death" island bowl! i was also misinformed about these turtles. the lady who i got them from sold me one of those death bowls, gave me some temporary food, and told me they are the easiest things in the world to care for. that is when i came back home and did research on them! i found out that they arent the simplest things to care for, but i got what i needed and now they are doing great! mine were also that small whenever i first received them... the one still had the tooth on it's nose from breaking out of the shell it was in! but trust me, they grow fast. just make sure you dont overfeed them and make them overweight! it looks like there's an awful lot of food in the deathbowl. i would say keep some pellets in the water (but not a lot) at least until they start eating. because all it's doing now is falling apart and making the water dirty! make sure to also keep some vegetation in there for them. and dont forget about the calcium from the cuttle bone (broken into little pieces w/o the hard covering)! they may not eat it right away, but it's great for them! plus they LOVE earthworms, i just went outside tonight and caught some for them! well i guess that's it, sorry this got long! i just hope it helps! keep us posted as to how they are doing...
here is a pic of my turtles, i am sure yours will be this big before ya know it! (one is a year older than the other)
big turtle- Booger, baby turtle - Snot!

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~ Evie

Pets:
German Shephard {Dusty}
German Shephard/Collie mix {Shadoe}
2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
Snail {Gary}

I got my turtles in the same exact death bowl with the same exact food. The people who sold them to me lied and when I got home and read all about RES on the internet I was sure mine were going to die. I was so scared and I couldn't sleep for days as I frantically searched for all the materials I needed. I drove mine home all the way from Florida in the death bowl and we drove though a huge snow storm. If that wasn't enough stress on my babies I don't know what would be.
My turtles wouldn't eat that zoo med food. I don't know why they didn't because now they are pigs and will eat anything almost. They love the reptomin pellets though. Try the reptomin baby sticks because my guys love them. I was so excited when I first saw them eating. I probably cried. Warm the water up too because they won't eat if the water is too cold. You can buy a water heater if you need to. I'm sure someone here already mentioned that. Once you get everything set your turtles will bring so much enjoyment to your life. They are the cutest I love your set up because your basking area looks like fun times. Good Luck!

One note regarding buying a heater. First off if your water temperatures do not drop below 72 (nighttime) you will probably be alright without one. But if you see temps fluctuate and if they don't get a bit higher during the day then I would get a heater for the water. Good temp is 75-78 for the water and be sure to get a submersible one and a plastic guard to put around it to protect it and the turtle.

For a ten gallon tank you need only get 50-75 watt one. You only have the tank partially full so I wouldn't bother getting some huge that will take up the whole lenght of the tank and be over kill.