Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi again,

Just got my babies yesterday!!!

Question about feeding. When you put your RES in a tub for feeding, do you put water in it? Also, since this is not their normal habitat, do you keep it heated? Is the change in temp. ok for babies?

Thanks,
Rebecca

Ill have to pass on the temp question, but yes, sliders have to be in the water to eat.

78 degrees sounds OK for the water. You want the basking
area about 80-85 degrees. If the temps are too close the
babies will likely not bask. Remember to think heat gradiant.
I raised my 2 slider babies without a submersible heater as
the light above their enclosure heats the water also during
the day. In the winter time I did use a red bulb for night
time heat. My babies turn 4 yrs next month

Hope this helps. Enjoy!

Ok, just curious, but where did you get your babies??

I live in Los Angeles and they came from Seltrut, Inc. in Florida. I found him in the kingsnake.com classified.

You mentioned that your turtle is going to be 4 years old. how big is it now (carapace length)? Thanks!

One is 4" and weighs about 225 grams and the other is
about 4.5" and 250 grams. It is funny as they are the
same size right now but weigh more than my Painted Turtles
who are about 7-8 years old.

Do you have turtles the same age?

Linda

I was asking because I was curious about how fast they grow. I don't know how old my turtles are, but right now they're both 2" long and weigh 25 grams. Any guesstimate of how old they are? One of my turtles grew 3/4" in 3 months! Do they grow slower as they get older?

I would guess yours to be less than one year old. Turtles
all grow at different rates so this is not an exact science.
With mine it seems they grew about an inch/year.

Hope this helps

Thanks! I feel that my turts are growing too fast! Maybe I'll feed them more veggies and fewer reptomin sticks. Those little critters can eat!

I always use warm water (roughly 80 to 85 degrees) from my tub to put in their feeding container (a cat pan). I find this increases there appetite and helps them make a bowel movement (I leave mine in there about 30 minutes so they can eat and go to the bathroom). I also figure that a little chlorinated water won't do them any harm, but if I am by any means wrong, someone please tell me!!- I also add a little ReptiSafe (water conditioner) to it just in case. Hope I was some help!!

My water usually runs around 75 to 78* in the inside tank, when I feed my guys I scoop some of the tank water out to their dishes so the water is the same temp they came out of.. this also keeps fresh water in there since I have to replace the water I scooped out.. it doesnt replace changing the water out but it helps makeit that much cleaner in my mind anyway. When they are outside in the summer time I still scoop the pond water out when I feed them.

you don't need a heater for your feeding container...just fill it up with warm water when they need to eat and when they're done just dump it out.

Thats good thinking!! I don't know why I never thought to just use their tank water. thanks!