Stu the turtle

[dustinpedley]

I never realized that we had this section, i guess i never scrolled down this far. i have a one year old RES named Stu. Stu is great and this is how i got to getting into fish. when he grew out of his 20gal i had a random tank left over so needless to say i got some fish and here i am now.

If people have the ability they should try turtles there wonderful and have lots of personality. here is a pic of Stu from earlier in the year and ill post some pics of his enclosure. also if anyone needs help with turtles you can just ask away.:thumb:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/lilgecko96/n40007139_32348994_9931.jpg

What a cute little guy!

Right now he is in a 20gal long tank. he is about 1.75" SCL at the moment. Turtles need at least 10 gal per inch of turtle. Male RES get about 9-10" or so and females will get larger 10-12" so eventually i will need a huge tank or pond. turtles need a lot of filtration and i have an elite stingray submersible filter rated at 60 gallons. they need to have water in the 78-82* range and something to break the surface tension of the water like an air pump otherwise there will be a scum that will form. you will need a UVB bulb, i have a compact florescent kind or they cant get their vitamin A and D and will soon get sick and die. they also need a basking spot with a UVA bulb, normal reptile heat bulbs will work and the temp of the basking area needs to be 85-90*. turtles need to bask in order to digest food turtles dirty the water realy fast so you need to clean it once a week which is a lot of work. it is all worth it though. they will beg for food and they all have their own quirks and personality's

[angelcakes]

wow he is cute :1luvu:

[Rue]

I had turtles when I was a child...but it wasn't a good time to have turtles...not enough information about turtle care was available...

Stu is adorable!

[dustinpedley]

thanks i will get some better pics up when my camera has stopped being broken.

:rolleyes:

[DragonGoby]

I loooooooooooove your turtle :malelovies: ... I had two when I was young... But knew nothing about them... And they died...
Say, can you tell us a little about your set up for this kind of turtle?
*but discretly, I don't want my boyfriend to know that I'm interested in another kind of pet :27: *

[Bassfan]

Looks like a red ear slider turtle. They need a 40g tank atleast, 65-75g is more ideal, because they can get somewhat big. It costs a lot to set up a turtle tank.. They are really neat though.

[dustinpedley]

They need a 40g tank atleast, 65-75g is more ideal, because they can get somewhat big. It costs a lot to set up a turtle tank.. They are really neat though.

they need more than that its more like 100-120 gal. its expensive at first but well worth it they are more interactive and have more personality than any fish that ive had

[Bassfan]

i was always told 75g is best, thanks for the information.

[dustinpedley]

i was always told 75g is best, thanks for the information.

yah the rule is a minimum of 10 gal per inch of turtle. a 10-12" turt needs a 100-120gal

[squirt_12]

Your turtle is very nice!!!

[Adrian]

RES are illegal to sell here in florida, as they are invasive. I have seen them at pet stores, just not for sale. I like them, just as I like all turtles, well, except one...the alligator snapper is not one I would enjoy....that thing gets huge, and can be dangerous as well....:c11:

[dustinpedley]

RES are illegal to sell here in florida, as they are invasive. I have seen them at pet stores, just not for sale. I like them, just as I like all turtles, well, except one...the alligator snapper is not one I would enjoy....that thing gets huge, and can be dangerous as well....:c11:

if you want to be technical they are illegal in every state, when you buy them you need to sign a waver stating that this is not a pet and you are buying it for "bona-fide educational purposes" unless you get them from hobby breeders. when you get them in pet stores they need to be at least 4" SCL (top shell). I got Stu from a breeder friend of mine so then you can get babies I got Stu when he was the size of a nickel.

[Ellen4God]

Very cute little guy! I have two RES for several years when I was younger - Zack and Skeeter. They were great!!

[jbeining75]

Haha that turtle is cool lol... I like him...

[DragonGoby]

Woooooo...That explain why my turtle die when I was young...
Now, I know what to do for the next one!
yes, RES are illegal in France too now... A lot of people release them in the "wild"... And now you have children bitten by big RES in lake, and lots of fish disappearing...
Still they're cute...
Do you know of little turtle (smaller than RES) than you can keep easely at home?

[cocoa_pleco]

theyre illegal here in alberta, government thinks kids will get salmonella from them. funny thing is that people sell turtles on ads in the city, people smuggle them in from other provinces, and ive even seen some smaller pet stores illegally sell them

[dustinpedley]

theyre illegal here in alberta, government thinks kids will get salmonella from them. funny thing is that people sell turtles on ads in the city, people smuggle them in from other provinces, and ive even seen some smaller pet stores illegally sell them

yah opera did a special back in the early 80's about a kid who put his pet baby turtle in his mouth, got salmonella and died. then the gov. stepped in and said if the turt was bigger than 4" SCL then a kid cant put it in his mouth, so therefor you could get them at pet stores if you signed a waver. thats why all the ones you see for sale are 4-5" or so.

i dont know about Alberta but there in the states if you are a hobby breeder than you can still sell them legally at any size.

Gotta love Opera

[dustinpedley]

Do you know of little turtle (smaller than RES) than you can keep easely at home?

Eastern Painted M 4-6", F 6-8"

Southeren Painted M 3.5-5", F 5.5-7"

most map turtles will be in the 3-8" range

if you can find one the spotted turtle will max out at about 5" or so

if these are to big there are a bunch of small tortoises that only bet about 4" or so. just depends what you want

check out kingsnake.com in the turtle classifieds heres the link
turtles
http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=39
tortises
http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=50

[DragonGoby]

Thanks a lot!!! :thumb:

[dustinpedley]

heres a photo of his tank and a better pic of him

his tank
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/lilgecko96/100_1016.jpg

heres a better pic of him
you can see all of his colors
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/lilgecko96/100_1013.jpg