Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey my sister is getting a RES for christmas and I need the whole scoop on them. everything from the temperature of their water to what the teranium should look like.

ok... this might take awhile so please bear with me!

First, you need to get a pretty big tank. These turtles are supposed to grow about an inch per year, but some grow faster when they are younger. they need 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle. keep in mind that when you have a 20 gallon tank, and you only fill it 3/4 of the way with water because you dont want the turtle to get out, that obviously isnt 20 gallons of water!

their tank needs to be pretty much all water with a spot for them to get out and get dried off. the easiest thing to do for this is get a ramp that suctions to the side of the tank (so that the turtles can swim underneath) OR you can get a floating dock which adjusts itself to the level of the water, and the turtles can also swim under this. the more water you have for the turtles, the happier they will be and the more active they will be. depth doesnt matter, turtles can SWIM at any depth!

you will need a heat light (usually just a regular light bulb, a 60 w should work) that shines on the basking spot. The temperature of this spot should be around 85 degrees. use a thermometer.

you will also need a UVB light, which comes as a long tube and this is for the development of the turtles shell.

you will also need a filter. you will need a pretty strong one because turtles are MUCH messier than fish. i hear the canisters are the easiest because they are outside of the tank, so this gives the turtle more room to swim. i cut down on waste in the tank by feeding my turtles in a separate container. this cuts down immensely on the waste that the turtles produce. if you leave the turtles in this other 'container' long enough... they will also deficate in there as well, cutting down on even more waste in the tank.

your water should be around mid to high 70's. if the turtle is under 2 inches shell length, most people would say that you can have the water and basking spot a bit warmer because the warmer water helps keep the baby turtles healthy. i dont need a water heater because the teamperature of my house keeps the water at the right tempareture, however yours may be different.

you also want to have some kind of hiding spot for the turtle, especially if it's a baby. but all turtles like to hide. this could be something as simple as a rock, or some aquatic plants.

food: your turtle will need some kind of protein. I use the Reptomin turtle pellets. my turtles love them, and most people are tempted to OVERFEED their turtles, and although this is very tempting, it's not good for the turtles at all. and it can actually lead to death. for a baby turtle (under 2 inches in shell length) you want to feed the turtle everyday for about a year or two... you only want to feed it enough pellets (aka protein) that would fit into his/her head everyday. no more than this... you may also want to mix in some aquatic plants for the turtle to munch on, and you can also start feeding the baby turtle some lettuce, collard greens, and slices of carrots or any other veggies it will eat. veggies are great for the turtle, and you can feed the turtle as many veggies as you want becuase these are not fattening. if the turtle is larger than 2-3 inches in shell length, you will only want to feed your turtle the protein pellets EVERY OTHER DAY (same amount: the amount that would fit into the turtles head, but less often) and you want to use the greens/veggies as a regular supplement. eventually your turtle will turn completely to a vegetarion (or so i have been told).

for calcium: you can either get the calcium powder and put the turtles food in this before you feed it to him/her. the only problem with this is that the powder will probably fall off of the food before the turtle eats it. most people (including me) on this forum go the easy route and get the cuttle bones (in the bird isle of your local supermarket or wal mart). all you have to do is break off the hard backing on it, and place this into the water. even if the turtle doesnt eat the cuttle bone, it will still dissolve into the water and the turtle will also get the calcium this way!

i also feed my turtles small feeder fish every now and then. this way they not only get a good chase out of it, but they also get some calcium from the bones of the fish, and they get to catch live food. they also eat earthworms and crickets as well.

i will tell you that it's much easier to clean the turtles tank if you do NOT use a substrate (such as sand or rocks). or at least this is my experience. whenever i clean out their tank i just clean out the tank, this way there is no rocks to rinse off or sand to rinse. just wipe out the tank and everything is great!

keep in mind that these turtles can get pretty big!! i think the females are somewhere between 12-15 inches shell length full grown and the males are likw 10-12 inches. so you want to make sure that you will eventually have a pond or large enough tank for these full grown turtles.

you will not be able to tell the sex of the turtle until the turtle is about 5 or 6 yrs old. then you will start to see a change in the tail and size of the nails.

wow... i think that's about all you need to start off... i hope this helps! if you have anymore questions please dont be afraid to ask!

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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}

actually you can tell if male or female at size not age.

my 3.5" is a male, no doubt about it
my 3" looks male, not 100% yet.
the others too young..

Males average about 7" Females 12"

I hate to say it, but the larger turtle in that picture looks to be suffering from a calcium deficiency. The upturned edge of the shell is a fairly reliable indiator. i'd check my feeding practices if I were you.

I know this and am well aware of it. this is the shape (actually looks much better now) that the turtle was given to me in. This is why I try to make people aware of the decisions they are making before they buy these turtles and realize what type of situation they are getting themselves into before they buy them. Obviously the previous owner of the large turtle didnt know what they were doing and I am just glad I got the turtle in time to help it and hopefully these damages are reversible.

Soooo many people have seen my turtles at school (I was at college until a few weeks ago) and asked me where they could get them, UNTIL i explained to them everything that goes along with taking care of them. Usually they don't ask anymore...
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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}