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I forgot to mention that I have a turtle tank. I have 2 turtles actually. 2 red-ear slider turtles. I got them probably like 4-5 years ago when I went to Chinatown to eat Dim Sum. I was walking around and saw these tiny turtles for sale and I had to get them. I actually got 4. Then I gave 2 away when they started to get kinda big. Turtles are like the easiest pets to keep. They always get all excited when you get close to the tank because they are happy to see you..or they are happy to see you b/c you feed them. One time the filter broke and I didn’t get a chance to fix it and yet they were as happy as if the filter was working. I feed them sparingly to keep them small. My friend has 2 also and feeds them everyday and they’re twice the size of mine. I hope one day to build a pond and give them a permanent home there. [phpbay keywords=”keeping turtles book” num=”3″ trackingid=”136-china-town-turtle”] |
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{ 220 comments… read them below or add one }
I bought an ex one of these for her bday once (she was obsessed with them). It cost me around $300 to get everything for the setup. Shoulda just gotten her a ring or something instead haha.
$300! turtles were cheap. $10 for 2. found a old tank and a filter cost me $15 new. added some water and a basking rock and that was it.
10 4 2!!!!whered u get urs?
chinatown. 🙂
OMG!! THIS IS ANIMAL ABUSE!!!!!! If you can’t take care of them properly then don’t have them at all! Getting the turtle is the cheap part but you need special equipment. I spend $500 a year to keep my turtles happy. And starving them? What kind of owner are you? I will be more than willing to take them in if you cannot take care of them of course.
Just my two cents
Hi Krystell,
Thanks for the concern. What I wrote above was more in a jokingly manner. i am sorry you took it the wrong way.
My turtles are doing great. I recently upgraded them to a bigger tank and a bigger filter. They also have a heater to keep the water temperature from getting too cold. They have a basking area with a basking light that is on a timer so they get the necessary basking time. I feed them a variety of food a few times a week. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know but they are healthy and happy.
hey i bought my turtle from chinatown too..so far im giving him the pellets..and he is swimming in my fish tank with 2 goldfishes..and he had a log peice which he goes and sits on when he is tired of swimming..what food did u give ur turtles?..email me back..thanks
i feed him assorted food pellets also. i’m assuming he’s not big enough to eat your goldfish yet?
where in china town??? I am looking for my daughter and no one knows the store name???
Hope you an help
check the small stores inside the plazas. or ask around when you get there. it’s not like a petstore.
Hello Johnny: I’ve heard they sell the turtles in small portable tanks on the street corners in Chinatown. Usually $15 for 2 red earred sliders, tank & food. Not sure which streets but I guess if you ask around someone might know.
How often do you feed yours?Mine is still a little hatchling and I’m feeding it a little every day,but I didn’t want to mess up the schedule.Everything I’ve read recommends feeding every day.
i feed mine every other day or so.
well i am 9 years old.my mom drove all the to new your and she bought to red eared baby slider turtles from china town in new yourk.my turtle was eating ok.when i started school she stopped eatind i feed her four pellets every day now she want eat like she is sopose to eat like
Turtles and GOldFish…I woouldn
‘t be supirsed if one day you found one less goldfish and on bigger turtle.
OMFG!!! what kind of turtle owners are you?? chinatown. OMG. those poor animals. they probably were not even taken care of properly! and the guy who sold them to you probably doesn’t have a f*cking idea what turtles need and that they are ANIMALS WITH MORE NEEDS than a dog or a cat!!! turtles are really difficult to take care of!!! i have like two turtles (yellow-bellied sliders named shirley and bubbles). i keep them seperate.
turtles want to be kept alone. they don’t need “playmates” as you call them! it would be far to stressy for them! the reason that you should keep your turtles in seperate tanks is: IF ONE OF THE TURTLES IS DOMINANT (THAT MEANS: WHEN HE IS THE BOSS IN THE TANK AND ALWAYS BULLIES THE OTHER ONE), THIS COULD CAUSE THE BULLIED TURTLE TO BE BULLIED TO DEATH!!!
never, never NEVER keep two turtles in one tank, if you don’t want one of them to die!!! @ the guy who bought 4 turtles just because they were cheap: you probably didn’t have the slightest idea that those little guys the size of a half-dollar can grow to be the size of a dinner plate, even bigger still!!! so please think twice before you get 4 babys just because they aren’t “so expensive”! for god’s sake…..the poor animals. and don’t let turtles get in contact with children (don’t let the kids take the animals out of the tank, it is better to just “touch the turtle with the eyes”…) turtles don’t want to be played with. THOSE ARE REPTILES AND NO FURRY ANIMALS SUCH AS DOGS, CATS, OR MICE, which love to play with their owner!
think about it.
and another thing. don’t keep your turtles too warm! only the basking spot should have a temperature of 35°-38° celsius. sliders want to be kept at a water tempearture of 25-28° celsius. higher temperatures would cause them to grow too fast, which isn’t good for their health! and don’t feed them too much PELLETS (it’s like eating fast food every day!!!! overweigt is very bad, also for turtles!!!) pellets contain far too much protein!!! this is also a reason why they grow too fast!!! feed them more salad or something similar. give them fresh or dried fish to eat. they also like slugs and earth-worms. and feed them waterplants that aren’t poisonous for your pet. or better, READ A BOOK ABOUT TURTLES because i have the impression that no one has informed himself about his pet… 🙁
so if you want your baby turtle to live long,
– don’t ever play with it out of the tank. don’t let it run on the floor. this only causes stress! (and the turtle also could catch a cold and die)
– always make sure you clean the tank and the filter at least once every week
– feed your turtle with the things it would eat when it lived in the wild (3x a week fresh fish, slugs, worms, salad, dandy-lions or unpoisonous waterplants every day). when the turtle is bigger than 5 centimetres, you can also give him nothing to eat once or twice a week. he really doesn’t mind (careful: when they are begging for food, it doesn’t mean that they NEED to eat immediately! hunger and appetite aren’t the same words…)
– never obandon your turtle in a lake (if you don’t live there where the turtle species comes from)!!! people often do such a thing. the turtles wouldn’t last long, especially in winter. they would freeze to death!!! or get run over by cars if they cross a street!! it’s better to look for a new owner who takes good care of the turtle!!!
hm….sorry i didn’t want to write in such a harsh way…but i just love turtles…and want people to see that they are more than just “a pet”. they need more care than people think.
Take it easy!
i love my two red ear sliders. i also got them at chinatown. the pics of the two turtles are cute. There names are Bully & Baby. and its actually because one is smaller than the other one. I really am thinking of separating them and buying another tank for the other one because Baby still looks smaller like before when I first got her. Bully is more aggressive. I actually take 30 minute naps with my turtles-Bully is the one to search for a warm spot of my body and takes a nap there (like under my underarm. the other day i cut their nails and Bully bit me lol. baby is always passive. and they watch tv in my lab lol theyre incredible and cute!
I am 12, and i just got 2 bought 2 baby red-eared sliders about 5 month ago. And people who get really mad a people who buy baby turle, we found out it was illegalAFTER we bought them. I do have a problem though. All i have is a ten gallon tank for 2 4 inch turtles. We dn’t exactly have any money rihgt now. Is there a cheap alternative to glass tank?
I have seen people keep their turtles in a large plastic tote. Its hard to watch them that way, but they are much happier then being cramped in a teeny tank.
i read on the internet that people don’t keep their turtles right all the time. for all those who keep their turtles in plastic tubs or kiddie pools: please buy an aquarium for your turtle. i really can’t imagine people keeping their turtles in small PLASTIC TUBS or KIDDIE POOLS without propper turtle tank equipment! poor animals. please buy an aquarium that will be big enough, even if the turtle will be fully grown and as large as a dinner plate one day. do it, even if you are forced to buy a tank that is 1,50 metres long and 60 centimetres wide and high. your animal will be much happier, because sliders are very good swimmers and they REALLY WANT TO SWIM ALOT.
my two yellow sliders are 5 inches long and they have a very large tank of their own.
when they were just babies, i kept them in an aquarium which was 80 centimetres long, 40 centimetres wide and 40 centimetres high. and now they have a tank that is 4 times larger.
–> i did this just for the health and happiness of my two beloved turtle-friends 🙂
theresa,
please, don’t cut his nails….he’s gonna need them for later, when he wants to mate with “baby”. but also if you don’t want them to mate with eachother, please don’t cut the nails of your turtles….also if they scratch you when you handle your animals. you should put some gloves on if you don’t want him to scratch you with his nails.
i can understand why “bully” bit you. he doesn’t want you to cut his precious nails because you would ruin his chance of finding a nice turtle-lady (in the wild) for himself to mate with.
ok turtels have survived since the dawn of time they out lived the fucking dinosaurs
they made it thru evoloution and the ice age so to who ever that was up there geting all mad and parental
i personaly think that you are a big no it all and overexaertateing
my sister got my turtel 6 years go when i got him he was the size of a nickel
i got a big plastic tank and some pellets and put water and a rock in it n left him there
he lived no big fancy aqerium but naturaly when he got bigger we got him a glass tank it cost about 12 bucks
and hes still going strong THESE ANIMALS ARE VERYY HARD TO KILL TRUST ME he is perfectly healthy and happy ive taken him to the vet there is notheing rong
they can adapt to any enviorment as long as u have water a rock n pellets and a big enuf tank bowl etc it can be plastic wich is cheaper whatever… YOU DO NOT HAVE 2 SPEND 500 DOLLERS TO MAKE UR TURTEL LIVE LONG they get on with prety much by them selves they dont need too much
also my sister has forgotten to feed out turtel when i was away …. he got out of the chage n the cat found him and he lived thru that i wasent home when this took place if i was it would have never happend but still they are hardy animals there great fun and there not as delicate as u might think
Hi,im from Malaysia.My turtles are fine and they doing well.
I saw one of my relatives had two BIG turtles,they live in small little tank,no filter,tap water only and the water level is low too…
My relatives said they DID NOT BUY OR GET SO MUCH EXPENSIVE THINGS FOR THEIR TURTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SO WHY YOU SCOLD ,THEY STILL HEALTHY!!
i think “shirley and bubbles” is right about that. maybe you just don’t inform yourself enough. after what i’ve read here… they really need more care than you think. do you ever read any books on them?
i know that they ajust to any environment too, but that doesnt mean that they are happy in it. a tiny tank and some pellets just isn’t enough! they need more than just some pellets. they dont eat pellets in the wild! its like you feed them fast food every day (like she already said). and this can cause serious organ damage. maybe you should think about it…
don’t call her a a know it all. she just wants to help -.- maybe you should appreciate the tipps she gives you. i’ve been keeping turtles for about 15 years now. and yes, you need to spend about 300 dollars a year to keep your turtles happy and healthy. turtles die early if they are kept wrong.
i am not critisising anybody. i am just putting the cards on the table for you.
@ shirley and bubbles: you’re totally OK. i like you already.
@ lola suicide.
i’m not saying anthing against you or that your turtle got out of the tank and that the cat found him.
and: i also don’t feed my turtles every day. i feed them 3times a week. and they also don’t mind if they don’t get anything for 2 weeks. they really don’t mind. so, i’m not saying anythin against it that your sister or what ever forgot to feed him. he won’t die from it. in the wild, he also doesnt find something to eat every day. that’s all for now.
If I need to spend about 300 USD a year,in Malaysia that would cost me alot!!could cost me about RM 1020 !!
but it really is nessecary…there is always something that breaks. and you need to change the filter material regularly, and don’t forget the food that also costs a lot.
Hi
I am 14 years old and i just bought a redear slider. The pet shop where i brought it from told me that it will not need a turtle tank of its own just a small pot where i can keep it and change the water everyday. He also gave me a box of turtle food and told me to feed him 3 times a day.
But I am not sure abt this .Can you guys tell me where to keep my turtle(I dont have a pond) and if he needs a filter , heater ,light , etc..
Please help i am totally clueless,
Hi John,
you are absoulutely right not to belive that man in the pet shop. He totally hasn’t got a clue… So I will help you 🙂
don’t worry, you can’t do anything wrong here (i have been keeping turtles for over 15 years now).
yes, you need a big tank for the turtle. sliders can get pretty large, and i’m sure you want to give him a nice permanent home, where he can swim and sunbath and just feel happy for ever.
Here is exaclty what you need:
– A tank (aquarium is best suited), that will also be big enough for him when he is adult (this means: length of the tank = 5 times the length of the shell. it also should be wide enough. and you should be able to fill it with enough water. just make sure that the water level is about as high as the shell of your turtle is long. but you can also put more water in it! this is not a problem!)
– Sand (dont put gravel in it, he might eat it and it could cause serious problems), and sand is way easier to clean. and he has something to dig in (my turtles also love to dig. they do it all day long.)
– a big filter to keep the water clean and clear. make sure you change the water every 10 days, and clean the filter every 4 weeks.
– an basking spot that is big enough for the turtle, so he can crawl out of the water to take a sunbath and to dry completely.
– a spot-lamp for sunbathing, and an uv-lamp. the uv-lamp is important, because it makes his shell hard and healthy. the spot-lamp is there to replace the sun. make sure that the temperature on the sunbathing spot is about 40°Celsius. This is important for his digestion, he can only digest well if his body is warmed up enough.
– a digital timer would also be usefull, so you don’t have to switch the light on/off all the time. and also take into account, that the light should burn like this: summer 10-11 hours, autumn 5 hours, winter 2 hours or not at all, and in spring 5-8 hours. this is important so he gets a feeling which season it is at the moment.
– an aquarium heater with enough power (it depends how big the tank is!). i suggest that you read about the temperatures on red-eared sliders because they vary over the year.
– food: pellets are okay, but don’t feed him too much of it! it is like feeding fast-food every day and this isn’t so healthy for him.
I feed my turtles with the things that they would also eat in the wild:
fresh fish 3x a week, lots of green stuff (dandylions) every day, worms and slugs 2x a week. they love a change in their menu once in a while. or would you like to eat the same things every day? 😉
and: if he is still a babyturtle, you need to feed him 2 or 3 times a day and every day. but the older he gets, you should reduce the food slowly and if he has reached a length of 4 inches, you should only feed him 4 times a week and only once a day). but be careful: don’t starve him 😉 just make sure that he has 1 or 2 days in a week where he gets nothing or just green stuff. it is healthier for him this way.
– some aquarium decoration like: fake plants, some roots, etc.)
please note:
you might have to spend very much money on all these things. so if you want to make your turtle really happy, you should follow these tipps. because unfortunately, people don’t inform theirselves propperly about their turtles, and they just buy one (which is really sad for the animals, as they are often kept really really wrong…)
and last but not least: here is a link to the website where I always get my turtle stuff. the quality is really good and it is not so expensive.
http://www.reptilica.com
have fun 🙂
Hello John,
I’m 19 years , male , Yangon (myanmar). I have 4 red ear turtles. I’m trying to learn about red ear turtle. 🙂 I’m the first owner of red ear turtle. This is my first time.
Nice to meet with you.
In myanmar that red ear turtle is only USD $2. Very cheaper 😀
hehe..I love them so much. They are so cute.I would like to ask some question to John.
They like sand?
😀
Thank you so much for reading my mail.
Godbless you 🙂
From
Aye Chan
My mom bought me 2 red ear slider, they are very small like 4 cm in diameter. I wonder , at their age are they adept in swimming? They seem to struggle a lot even in shallow water.
Hello,
New owner of red ear turtle.
I’m from Myanmar Country.
I have red ear turtle.
But I’m not Profession.
I’ll share to you what i know abt it.
They are too samll and like a fresh water a lot.
You need around 1’x 1′ plastic box.
And don’t fill water a lot in that box coz your turtle is too small and still in da child.
They like sand but your current red ear turtle level is no need.
Some island in maddle of box. They need to sleep there and relax.
Their food is only floating level of food and they are vegetarian.
You can feed them 2 times per day.
They need to morning sun light coz their shield need it.
Only 20 min per day.
Don’t touch to them again and again.
They are too small and only child.
If you want to touch them , you need to clean and washing to your hand.
They like fresh air and fresh water a lot.
If you turtle reach 6 Months you need to fill more water.
At that time they are swimming a lot and living in underwater.
They are reproduction in March and June in the underwater.( I think)
At the time you need to fix the sand in the box.
But That sand need always dry.
Some time the male turtle eat their egg.
So you need to take care and watching them.
At the same level of age, you can know red ear female turtle is more bigger than male.
If you want to know a lot finding page of red ear turtle on the internet.
😀
I’m only sharing to you what i know.
😀
Be Happy
From
Chan Aye
they are on mott street in chinatown. the shop is a gift shop. its near a ice cream shop they take really bad care of them. i saw one that had 20 baby turtles in a very small plastic tub filled up with water and no land.the most commen way i see them take care of them is put then in a 5 inch by 2 inch plastic see throught cage with water not high enougth to reach up to their backs.amasingly there a police station one block away!!!! trust me i live in chinatown
HI CAN YOU HELP ME I GOT TO YELLOW SLIDERS ONE OF THE TURTLES DIDNT GET ANY BIGGER AND HE HARDLEY WENT IN THE WATER THEN HE STOPED EATING ON HIS OWEN AND I HAD TO FEED HIM WITH A STAW BUT NOW HE IS VERY LIMP AND I THINK HE HAS PASSED BUT I DONT WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITH HIM INCASE HE IS JUST HANGING ON HE ISNT CLOSING HIS EYES WHEN I GO NEXT TO THEM I AM JUST WONDERING IF YOU CAN SAY IF HE HAS DIED AND WETHER I SHOULD GET A NEW ONE FOR THE OTHER TURTLE AS THEY HAVE BN TOGETHER SINCE I GOT THEM I HOPE YOU CAN HELP X
its funny to see you guys freaking out about the poor conditions they were previously kept in, and the other people asking where to buy them. heres a few things you might want to know before heading to chinatown to get some turtles: firstly, it is ILLEGAL to buy or sell these, just because you can dosent mean your not breaking the law. ALSO, these turtles are being sold to the local population primarily as FOOD, meaning the reason theyres alot of them in one cage etc, is because by the end of the day they all will have been sold to be used in soup etc, except for a few “roundeye” that come through and think that delicous turtle would make a good pet.
OMFG :’-( the poor turtles!!! how could you possibly eat such a little guy??? IT’S UNBELIEVABLE WHAT THE CHINESE DO!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!
i also got two pet slider turtles in New York. i”m not sure exactly where because my dad gave them to me a while ago. They came in a small plastic tank with a handle. My dad did tell me that someone was selling them on a street corner. I’m sure you will find someone selling. good luck!
are you sure its a good idea to keep your turtles with your fish? I had two goldfdish when i got my turtles but we bought the turtles a seperate tank. Turtles do eat fish in the wild so be careful.
turtles eat less in the winter because they do go into minor hybernation. If you want, you can do some research or ask a vet if you’re worried that something is wrong.
actually, thats not true. I have two turtles in the same tank together. They bhave been in the same tank for about 5 years and they would never hurt each other. They like it when we pick them up and hold them and have turtle races. You make it seem like turtles are these unfriendly and mean and there not at all.
my turtles do this weird thing sometimes. The male turtle puts his hands out and the female turtle puts her head in between. Then, the male turtle starts shaking his hands and its really weerd. Almost, like he does it in a petter. And sometimes they sit on top of each other and put their arms and legs out like superman. Thats kinda funny to watch but does anyone have any idea what their doing?
that really is a horribe way to keep baby turtles. Maybe you could bring the police over or talk to them about the bad conditions. Its worth a try.
Well, turrtlesgirl, this is a process called a courtship. In other words, your turtles are mating and the female will need to lay here eggs in a dry box of sand and u should get her her own tank for the time being. She will lay the egss about 3-4 weeks after them mating (i think).
I have three aquatic turtles, two yellow-belly Florida turtles and one map turtle. One of my turtles bites the other two and had to be moved to a separate tank. First, does any one know why that one turtle bites?
Also, I have had the turtles for four about three and a half years. And within the past two years, the water in my sixty gallon tank has turned green!!!! and I cannot fix it!! I have changed the water three times, and it stays green!!! HELP!!!!!!!
Just wanted to make a correction to the message I left at 12:18. The water started to turn green starting two months ago (not two years). And since, I have changed the water three times and NO LUCK!!!!
well, maybe you turtles are just too many in one tank and if you say that you’ve had them for 4 years or so, i would get a bigger tank. or better: if you have male / females together in one tank, seperate them.
i think the water turns green because 3 turtles make a lot of shit 😛 ???
Two of the turtles live in a 60 gallon tank and the other lives in its own 40 gallon tank! Each of the habitats provide plenty of room for the turtles to have a nice basking area, as well as, water to swim in!!!! So I think their tanks are quite large. Also, about the shit, I do agree with you. However, since the water has started to become green, I have cleaned out the tanks completely, more than normal!! So it’s not just that simple!!!! Thanks anyway.
sorry i didnt know that 60gallon is large…i live in germany and i don’t know how many litres 60 gallons are 🙂
i had the same thing when my turtles started to get kinda big for their old tank and the water was always green… because of the shit 😉
but if you say that your tank is very large, i don’t know where the green water comes from… can’t help you there…exept…maybe you’ve got algae in the water that makes it green. i don’t have any other explanation for it… 🙂
It is alright! Thank you for trying to help me. 60 gallons equals approximately 227 liters. Sorry I had no idea of your background!
Algae is a factor I also considered for the green water. I just do not understand why when I clean it does it turn green immediately. When I say clean it I mean talking EVERYTHING out of the tank. Cleaning all items taken out, as well as, my fiance and I carrying the tank to the front yard and spraying it down with the hose. While spraying it we use a razor blade to carefully scrape the inside of the glass to be sure that it is COMPLETELY clean.
The only other factor I can see may be the issue is the basking lamp. My thought is that maybe I leave the basking lamp on for to long, and this is causing algae??? I am going to investigate that, and hopefully get my problem remedied.
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS!!!
Hi! I have a red neck water turtle that is about 7 years old that has been swimming in water his whole life. I have tried soo many different things to get him to get out of the water because he needs some heat from a lamp. Ive bought floating “rocks” and many other things. I need help for ideas on how to make the turtle come out of the water. Ive asked a couple of pet stores and some of them told me to take the heater out so the waters will be very cold, which will make the turtle want to go on the floating rock, however i’m scared of torturing the turtle, or that he’ll go in hibernation. please get back to me thanks
About the cold water, I have raised three aquatic turtles, they are four years old now. I have a total of two aquariums to house them in and have never used a water heater. My turtles thrive in their habitat and bask in their lamp consistently. I do not think you would be torturing your turtles if you try taking the heater out and see if it helps! In my smaller tank, the turtle uses a floating rock to bask on. In my large tank, I have a built up a landing area with an ample amount of space for the turtles to bask on. Let us know if anything works!
I see a lot of poorly informed owners on here. This is the reason most of these turtles live a short life of suffering. I recently aqired two RES and they are fairly costly to set up. Maybe I can help some of you with some basic info.
Firstly if you were told that these guys stay tiny you were lied to. Adults generally grow to 8 to 12 inches. Be prepared to give them a minimum habitat of 3x shell width by 6x shell width. You may not want to waste the money on a small set up only to have to upgrade.
These are some basic needs that must be provided.
-UVB lighting-without this the shell and bone cannot grow properly
-Heat/basking lamp-basking area should be 80 to 90 degrees F. This encourages basking. These turtles need a dry area where they warm up and dry thoroughly.
-Water should be at least as deep as your turtle is wide to help them flip over when the get upside down. you can go deeper as long as they can still get air when standing. Water should be around 70 to 75 degrees f.
-try to offer a varied diet. Commercial food is not enough. Young RES should eat at least once a day(as much as they can in about 20 min)and need more protien so try adding in some cooked meats and a little grated/ finely chopped veggies to the food.When they are large enough you can give them feeder fish. Adults should have more veggies than protien and can be fed a few times a week.
-Good filtration is an absolute must! Water needs to be changed once a week even with a good filter. I dont recomend aquarium gravel. It looks great but larger stones are much easier to clean.
If i left anything out feel free to add. Hope this helps some of you. And please take the time to find out any info you can before purchasing a turtle. They do take a bit of work and money to care for.
After reading all these comments all I can do is laugh now. I got two baby RES and I have a 55 gal tank, a huge floating rock, plants, two top filters and proper lighting. I alredy spend over 500 $ on their stuff. I clean my tank ever 7th day and do a 95% water chance and treat all the new water the day before. Most animals can live through a lot, but they love having loads of space. When they get big I will have a indoor huge set up and wall to wall aquarium.
My ex boyfriend decided to get my son a turtle, red ear slider, last night. pretty expensive here in Canada though. 75.00 for one turtle some food and a light. I am not too sure on the feeding part. From what I have read on the net the diet should consist of 25% pallets, 25% live fish and 50% fruits and veggies. How do you feed the turtles? do you give the pallets and fruits and veggies all at once a couple of times a day? I really need help here. I really dont know much about turtles and my ex was a dink and got one just spare of the moment without letting me research them first. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Okay, first off you shouldnt be so qucik to judge people. If you think about it the people who bought the turtles from chinatown must have saved thier lives if the guys selling them are as horrible as you said. Next you dont nee to judge whether or not children should touch them, my 5 year old daughter loves her turtles and tales very good care of them, she is careful and loving when she handles them and they are quite fond of her too! Maybe if you have children maybe they might not be well mannered or disciplined enough to handle turtle but my child is well mannered and well disciplined.
ya, my turtles cost 40.00 ea here. I got two baby males, but now that they are just a littler bigger, just after two weeks, I think I have a male and a female – i don’t think that is going to be good. One seems like his tale is longer and pointier – the other seems shorter and rounded….hummm/…they are still very small though.
On the feeding issue, im only getting use to that myself. I give them 2-3 pellets in the morning depending on how fast they eat it -which is not very fast. Then in the night I give them like a bite of chicken ea for a little treat or half a pc of shrimp between them. They are starting to know at supper time they gets a little treat, I guess where they are still new and shy they hide, but supper time they will meet me at the top of the tank bec they know I got something …lol.
Any other suggestions on the food or the male/female thing, I’d love to know.
If its going to be a problem, I might see if my friend wants one of them, I only got them 2 weeks, and he is getting one soon…..does anyone have comments on that?
In Saphira’s defence, her concerns have nothing to do with children’s discipline of lack thereof but are about the very real risk of the child becoming infected with salmonella which turtles carry as part of their digestive system.
I have a red eared slider ( I was told that he is a few months old) , he’s still a baby. but my problem is that he doesn’t get on his log to bask. I’m worried that his shell is going to get soft. What can I do?
I have a 3 year old that has a baby turtle the size of a 1/2 dollar, she wants to play with it SOOO bad is it ok to take it out and let her touch it. I am aware of the bacteria and washing hands and all, hell when I was a kid I would pick the up and pick my teeth at the same time. LOL Just wanted to ask. I havent let her yet but want to know its safe.
brandymady@yahoo.com
Thanks,
brandy
I just bought a red eared slider and I am completely committed to him being happy. But I have an issue with him. He never wants to get on his log to bask and I’m scared that his shell will get soft. What can I do?
hi,
im a owner of two red ear slider baby turtles im 14
my question is if anyone has a tank bigger than 20gallons for sale and live around los angeles county
Its in Canal Street in NY China Town
HELP HELP
I have a res. and she does not seem like she is not growing much anymore, she is still very small. Now she is on her rock a lot and doing a “yawn” sorta motion, almost like she is taking breaths a lot. Now she has not eaten in 3 days. What does this mean?
We got two turtles about 2 months ago maybe as babies from a well known petstore in Canada. One turtle is twice as big as the one I am having the problems with now, and is very active and loves to eat. I really don’t think she’s being bullied as I have a 60g tank with lots of spaces, plants, proper lights etc. I am really worreid about her. If someone can offer advice or tell me what this is, can you please tell me? Is she suffering in anyway? Help.
Melissa
Do all china town have Bim Sum or u live in philadelphia or near it if u do replay so i can go there to buy one too all shops like pet smart monster pets are way to much china town dont give a shii as long as u buy ^_^ reply plz
I got mine in Chinatown in NYC too. They were just floating around this little tank amoung a table full of junk and I had to rescue them! Turns out the vendor had a bucket full of them under the table and as I walked away scooped 2 more into a tank and sat them back out. I paid $10 for 2 plus food.
Thank you so much Denise for all of your advice! I have had my 2 RES for 3 years now but never knew how to properly take care of them. I had the tank, filter, food thing down, but I wanted them to be happy and healthy. Your specifications have really helped me in creating a happy home for my turtles!
Help!!
My red eared slider is laying eggs and she does not have a mate!!
Is this normal? Does it mean ‘she’ is a hermaphrodite?
I am going out of my mind cleaning out rotten egg shells from the tank. It is killing the filter which is a very good system so far this year.
The turtle is 6 years old and seems fairly grown to full size 12+ inches.
Will she require a special birth control procedure?
I would appreciate any information. I bought her in NY from a Chinese woman.
I have three turtles and I keep them in a large rubbermade container with a basking light and heater as well as 2 or 3 filters. I can not take care of them anymore but I really don’t want to give them away to someone who will get bored and starve them after a month or two. They are red ear sliders and are about two to three years old. Two of them came from my cousin and one came from chinatown. They are great turtles but I want to give them to someone who has room for them. Email me if someone in the Boston area wants them and can take care of them the right way. Thanks bobak@comcast.net
Um – although I do agree with the horror of turtles being sold in Chinatown and other various “turtle mills” I have owned turtles all my life and don’t see the problem with rescuing them. It’s really rude to yell at people who were trying to save another living creature.
Plus – the largest recorded turtle was 11.4″…not much larger than a small dinnerplate.
Acting like the total and complete end all be all authority on a subject and critisizing others is not the way to go about things. For every one of your resources that says turtles don’t like playmates – there are ten others that say they do and vic versa.
Studies have shown that turtles actually ENJOY being handled by their human – as long as it is with care. RES are very social creatures.
Do to risk of bacterial infection proper hygiene must be maintained by washing hands before and after contact with ANY reptile for that matter and NEVER letting children play with them.
I dont mean to be cruel but really – get off your soapbox and realize that somebody other than yourself might know something.
what else can i feed my turtles besides fish and pellets. minds is picky like she will go past some fish and won’t eat pellets
I think it is so funny that people pay to much for the actual turtle. I live in Georgia and I got my slider turtle for nothing. My mom found her on the side of the road. We see these turtle on the road all the time.
Make sure you have a heating light for proper nutrition. You can give them lettuce, little shrimps, pellets, or sometimes feeder fish.
Try feeding her baby shrimp.
I have 7 baby red eared sliders in one tank, what are you going to do about it?
The most important thing is a basking spot and a light, then comes a filter and a tank.
Your baby is probably scared and adjusting to its home. We had gotten two babies a while back, and in no time they were basking, and eating fish. They are about a year old now.
WHAT ABOUT TURTLE FOOD!
I have a 4 month old painted turle that i found her name is cookie becase i found her when i was eating a cookie.I did have another painted turtle but it didnt like to bask so it die of a soft shell desis( i dont know how to spell desise).
I got my turtle for nothing too. so ha!
What the heck is a red neck water turtle!Do you mean a red eared slider.WOW!!!!
are you sam dart?
hey!who said that they wernt geting anuf care krystell!And why are you worried about other peoples pets.
You too! We have a single female red slider living by herself who has never mated. Suddenly after ten years she has started laying eggs. The worst thing is that she maybe eats some of the eggs she lays. Also I think other ones she lays go rotten before we find them and perhaps disintegrate. That makes the water unbearably smelly!
Does anyone have any idea what is happening and what to do about it?
I would apreciate comments from anyone with experience of this happening.
If his eyes are closed and his mouth is open he is dead. My baby read ear slider just died today. He also stopped eating and never went in the water. But I had one turtle that might have intimitaded him. R.I.P timmy.
I bought one baby red ear slider. He was totally blue. His shell was very very soft to begin with. I bought a bigger cage, but when we got another turtle, the blue one stopped eating, and never got off his rock. Then I bought an aquarium. Not sure how many gallons but it is relatively big, the blue one got very pale and stayed incredibly small. The other one got a lot bigger. The blue one started opening his mouth than closing it again several times. He died tight after. Just today actually. I tried new food and everything. He has been sick and I new it was coming. I miss him. Anyway I still have one more. The aquarium will be big enough even when he grows full size. He seems healthy. He eats right, his shell is nice and hard and he is very playful. But, even before timmy died, he wouldn’t come out of the water. He still doesn’t. Help? Also I’m worried about the effects of timmys death on him. His name is kodak by the way. Any suggestions?
correction: the rock has a plant behid it(plastic) and some leaves hang over it. I put him on the rock and he goes right off
My turtle kodak has three small white spots running down his spine. Is this normal?
Look into the Wikipedia and it will tell you why your female trutle is laying eggs without a mate.
I am digging a pond for my turtles, I want to know if anyone who has their turtles in apond and what is it like having the turtles in the pond. I have few questions in mind sucn as do turtle leave the pond and come back to it? Do you have fish, tadpole or plants in your pond?
I would like to hear some fed back. Thank YOu.
Gah! i’ve read all this stuff and its shocking how ppl have like.. aarguements about this like.. dude.. im planning on getting a turtle, and though i might not b able to afford all the ‘fancy’ stuff that is what you would buy to keep a turtle as happy as possible, i will be able to have a big enough tank, and the basking light and area, and i’ll be able to provide food… like sometimes people worry too much. i mean.. yes we love animals.. and some people are super obsessed, but i think that everyone has their own way of taking care of their pets, i had a cousin before who like had this huuuge turtle, and liek when it grew he left it in this big hole.. thing.. and it died.. because he didnt take constant care of it, and it ate some weird stuff (they like dropped garbage there and stuff) so the point is, if you will be able to take good care of it in any comdition then you can be sure it’ll have a long, happy life, but if you liek keep it in a like.. super tiny tank, no basking area, and feed it like once a week then yeah its gonna die.. so like dont criticize other just because they dont buy all the stuff that some people buy for turtles.. if the turtles are alive then thats what matters.. and if they’re playfull and happy then like.. you dont have to liek spend sooo much money on them.. yes, turtles might be like complicated to take care of, but only if you like dont do it right, or if you worry too much like.. ok the feeding, yes do give it different foods.. not too many pellets (yes, its true.. its like feeding it fast food) give it like veggies and worms and stuff that they’d eat in the wild.. but you dont have to buy like 5 million different lights (and i dont mean 5 million litteraly) or like i know some ppl said like not to touch them… it has been PROVEN that turtles do liek to play with their owners.. you just have to be careful not to hurt them.. and to the pond guy (wthe guy building a pond) i used to have a turtle b4, it was in a little pond (first time i had it in a pond) and like i lived in some sort of rural area with trees and stuff like that.. so liek i left it in the pond and then came back and it was gone.. like it never came back.. so well i would say leave space for them to walk out of the pond, but like they should be kept in an enclosed area so they wont run away.. and to the person who made this porst.. the pictures are awesome.. and it seems liek you take good care of your turtles, because they are healthy and still alive.. and to everyone else.. dont criticize others.. if they dont take good care of their turtles dont say “oh you idiot thats not how you do it, you’re so stupid lah blah blah” just be like “well i think you should do this and this because if not then it might die” or something.. dont go.. because thats just rude.. so yeah.. oh and btw.. its not wrong to buy turtles at chinatown.. if they are there to be eaten (as in liek buy them and cook them) then you are helping them by buying them, because you’re saving their lives 🙂 umm ok thats it lol.. im getting my turtle soon, hopefully 🙂 and i’ll make sure its happy and healthy by taking care of it in a way that i can afford… OOH! and by the way, another reason why people dont buy all that stuff (like they dont spend 500$) is because they cant afford it, they can afford like minimum stuff.. and as long as its like a tank, food, and basking area, the turtles will be fine! you dont have to buy a whole bunch of things.. you can buy a filter if you want.. liek if you’re not able to change the water every 3-4 days or so.. but you dont HAVE to buy it… soo yeah.. its like if you talked about a software.. the ‘minimum requirements’ allow it to run normally, but if you want it to run like the best it coudl then you install or update to the better ‘recomended requirements and/or settings’ turtles dont need to be treated like royalty, they just need to have a home, where they are treated nicely, they are fed, and where they are loved and taken care of. 🙂
Mike
I am grad found the all most same weird thing that happen to my femail RES. Acting exactly same.. stratching her two hands out and eye was closed and shaking the hands. But my turtle live only herself, when she is doing this thing she put little stone was always between the her hands. First time I was shock, I thougnt she was sick. I think my turtle is a mate…. Her size is 9″ over…
Without male, she can not laid eggs?
I totally and completely 100% agree with mike!!! I don’t have much money, and my turtles condition is great, and I have a light,a rock, water, and food. And that’s it. But he is very healthy and doing just fine.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
i used to work with hawaiian green sea turtles (300lbs), about 20 lived in an enclosure, twice a week we would drain the whole thing and give each one a scrub down. most of them liked it, a few ddnt.. depends on the turtle.
ha ha, im chinese.
they dont eat turtles that are an inch long, they want big turtles like almost fully grown, and mostly snapping turtles. they like selling them to tourist because its an easy buck. 10$ for two.
maybe you need to clean out the filter, and get some water plants and snails??
although your turtles might eat your waterplants and snails, but if you feed them regularly they might not.
Well said !
my turtle thomas just died recently, and be4 that he was opening and closing his mouth constantly, like he forgot how to breath of something or his throat hurt, and then he quickly started to stop eating and moving and then died shortly after that, now my other baby turtle has it “Arwin”, hes doing the same exact thing with his mouth, opening and closing
is this a disease?
is there some kind of medicine for this?
and is it contagious cuz i odn’t want arwin to die from it to 🙁
I have a question… I have 2 RES and I’ve had them for about a year – year 1/2. They are currently in a 20 gal. tank and have been wonderful. We just got them a new platform they love to dive off of. My question is… One of them (as of yesterday) has silvery type of spots on his/her (yet to figure that out) shell.
Also, we only have 1 lightbulb for them and I see everyone talking about UV lights, basking lights… I was told by the petstore it was the same thing… What about a red light? What’s that for?
hey where in china town (as in chicago) can i find me some turtlesss??? i want them for my dorm!
Hello,
I am 11 years old. And I also have 2 red ear slider turtles. But I also have 2 painted turtles. I am not sure how big my tank is, but I am sure it is between 10-15 or 16 gallons. They are just babies. I got the red ear sliders just yesterday (check date) and I got the 2 painted turtles about 2-3 months ago. Onlt two are eating (my sisters) and mine are not eating. I have a concern about that. Please help. My love of turtles is very large. Very, very, very large. And those who love turtles should understand. Please reply.
Thank you.
By the way. They are only like about 1 in a half inch long…
and I am not excalty sure when I got my painted turtles. I apologize
Hi!
I have 2 Baby RES Tilly and Squirt. I bought them at a pet store they were only about a 1/2 dollar in size when I got them. The were bought for educational purposes so please don’t get all in an uproar for me having them, I noticed some previous comments were not so nice.
I have a UV light because it is needed to strengthen their shells. I have a basking light with a ceramic log and rocks so they can get out of the water as well as other things for them to climb on. I also have a filter to help keep the water cleaner. I bought them in July and with in the past 2 weeks the tank has gotten very green. I know its algea, and i read on some pages that its a natural thing and that ponds get algea in them all the time. The only that changed is I added the basking light. It was warm in the house and they were by a window so they were plenty warm, but getting into the winter they need it.
They’re being fed pellets, red worms, wax worms, Grasshoppers (it hopped into the tank and before i could get it out they snatched it up) and an acuatic plant I cant remember the name of it at the moment.
They LOVE being held I place my hand in the tank and they crawl into it. I have a few questions though:
1. What can do to keep the algea from getting so bad? Is it just the addition of the lamp or is there something else wrong with it?
2. Why is one turtle almost DOUBLE the size of the other?
3. How can i tell if they are male or female? Ive read that it is easier for you to tell when they are a little older.
Any other little tips or suggestions would be great I love the little guys! Thanks!
Love em=]
the tutles are very active…
they are so tiny and cute…
there my favorite color…
there practically…
mine=]
i have 2 baby red eared sliders and a feeder fish that is about 3 cm long that is a minnow. ive hade it for 1 month and they havent eaten it
please my turtle is not eating what should i do ???????????????????????????????????
What are you feeding it? It might not like what you are giving it. Mine like some vegetables and hate others.
I have four slider turtles!!!!!!!!♥
my goal is to open up a reserve for all the turtles who need a home
I’d like to ask something. I have a red eared slider, I noticed just this morning that he’s shell was beginning to get soft around his back legs. what should I do? Should I keep him in the water or on land?
thats bad its called M.B.D. give him calcium supplements my yearling(lizzie) used to have it its going away . if you catch it fast you can cure it but if not your turtle could die . I give mine cuttle bone its suposed to be for birds tho it works great for turtles . leave your basking lamp on longer hours like 12-14 (look on the internet for more details) Metabolic bone disease iguanas can get it too so be precise and type in for red eared sliders
what did you name yours?
well!people who think chinise are mean are terrible!I happen to be chinse and I have 3 turtles and they live in a nice big pond in my back yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I right now have a Male RES. My cousin had this turtle for three months and kept it in this tiny container with almost no water and didn’t feed it. I am happy to that Sheldon(the turtle) is now in a 75gallon tank, plenty of swimming room, proper lighting and heating, and good filtration system. I was reading the blogs on this site and many people in the world don’t have the knowledge of what it take to have a Res as a pet. It wasn’t easy for me in the beginning but, I got the hang of it.
I agree I fave seen people wondering why there red eared sliders arent breeding when the turtles are only a month old
dont they know hatchlings cant mate?
have not fave sorry!
how come when i put my finger near my turtles face he just loves to chase it and when he catches up to my finger he shakes his two little hands? it like twitches sorta. if u need a pic just ask.
a pic would be helpful do you mean your turtles claws twitch?
as for chasing your finger thats not that odd . do you mean in or out of the water ?
is it normal that my turtle is on his basking rock all the time? He never goes into the water, and if i put him in the water he swims right back to his island. How much water should be in the tank? should his eyes be closed all the time?
Hi Guys
I need your help please. I am not sure what to do or who to call but I have to do something.
I went to to my usual nail salon today and saw they had baby turtles (the ones with red ears) I already have one & went to look at them to see them because they are so cute. He had 2 of them per tiny plastic home.
He then took me to the back and I literally cried! He had anywhere from 10 to 15ish turtles in that one small tiny plastic home. The water was nasty, the turtles were on top of each other. It was so cruel to watch! I had to run out thats how disgusted I got.
I know this isnt legal but I dont know where to turn to or who to call. They cannot stay there like that, its just sooooooo wrong.
Please help!
OH MY GOD… I cant believe i was taking care of my turtles so badly!!! =( i h8 mistreating animals and omgomgomgomgomg i think my turtles are really mad. I bought them 2 for 5dollars at china town (like everyone else) and i never really took good care of it. I kept it in a wide but shallow plastic container from ….the 99 cent store. I put a lot of rocks and one big one from the beach in it. I dont change the waters too much and…. i put two of them together in one. I only fed it tablets. And i think they were babies. They were ike 2 inches when i bought them or something. I bought them cuz they looked so sad on the streets in china town..
WAHHHH i h8 animal abus.. i should start changing their enviroment now.. but im so bz with my school work… oh god… Im so terrible.
Recently i ran out of pellets, so i asked my friends what i should feed and they told me to feed lettuce. I did but i was worried cuz i thought it might be bad for them. SO i researched today and found out that they are almost as omnivorous as humans.
I have a few questions
1. Can i use tap water? ive been using drinking water this whole time (espring water)
2. I always leave them in the shade. For sun, I’d have to put them in the balcony but its too cold. what should i do?
3. There aren’t any vets nearby, what should i do?
4. Can i really give them raw meat that we always eat?
5. Do i have to seperate them? They look fine with each other.. They dont fight excpt for food and even with food, they only run away from each other.
6. Do they really need so much swimming space?
7. Do i need to replace the water EVERYDAY? cuz i do it every 2 weeks, or when the waters dirty.
8. one of my turtles are small with a pointyish sharpish back while the other ones bigger with a really flat back. Is one female and the other male. Their shell shape looks really different. And if they are female and male, how long will it be till they mate? They’re like over 1 years old now.
9. If they mate and let out eggs, where do i take the eggs? i really dont want to take the responsibility of eggs cuz i know i’ll mess up.
10. PLEASE HELP ME! NOT FOR MY SAKE BUT FOR MY TURTLES!
1 yes you can use tap water but too much clorine (cant spell) isint good by some chemical to get ride of it at the nearest pet store
2 you NEED a ubv light for them or they WILL get a disease and die if they dont already have it METABOLIC BONE DISEASE and others check the back of there shell by tail if its soft they do also get a calcium supplement like birds cuttle bone you NEED it (surprised they lived!)
3 post eny syntomes they mite have on here and I will anser the best I can I have done a lot of reserche and you dont need to worry about that yet look out for WIERD SWIMMING,PUFFY EYES OR EARS,ODD LUMPS,SOFT SHELL,FUZZY SHELL, SHELL ROT, RUNNY NOSE AND WEESING
4 NO RAW MEAT they can eat cooked chicken and beef and lots more but you should stick to pellets because the diet should be a perfect ballence and will cause problems if not since you probaly cant get all thats needed since your gone a lot or dont have time pellets are great DO NOT OVER FEED not more than the size of there head excluding neck (since your turtle is about a year old feed every 2 days
5 keep an eye on them it is not necesairy to seperate them tho it is preferable they can bully for food and fight you dont need to worry about them mating if there female and male for at leased 4 more years so you should be good
6you should have them in a 20 gallon tank if using tank about a foot by 2 foot enclosure should be good for 2 more years maby a little more they grow a inch to a inch and a half a year so ask your self how much room you think they will need and wether you want to replace in 2 years or get a bigger enclosure to last you longer
7 get a filter and you will only have to replace half the water half way through the month the whole thing at the end of the month
8 the shell dosint determine the sex and it will be 5-7 years till the female can mate 3-5 for the male so no hope for babies yet!the female has to be 6-7INCHES males have long claws and females short ones (should be a big diference) females are biger than males. the hole on there tail is different females is right were the shell ends and males further down the tail
9 dont worry about eggs check the gender of turtles and if they are female and male you can seperate them or see what hapens in 5 years
i just bought a turtle from canal st (china town) last night it was 5 dollars but i had to give it clean water cause the water she gave me was dirty and it didnt eat anything but today its eating and always trying to climb out his tank lol its so cute im trying so hard to keep it clean i have another tank just so he can eat his food in there so he wont dirty the tank he sleeps in im washing him in warm water and a soft sponge to prevent diseases before i put him back in his tank everytime and i also wear gloves because i googled the diseases turtles can carry and humans can get it if contacted so i am very careful…other than that he is soo cute! i also want to why isnt he playfull.. when i come around he gets scared and he always trys to climb out his tank idk if that means if hes hungrey or ge just wants to get out and walk around..he also likes staring out the window a lot lol
Hey Ver…………..email me at joannaw1982@hotmail.com
ok jo
I have 2 baby red eared sliders. Bought from times sq. Probably originally from chinatown. I need guidance. Anyone in NY or anyone willing to email back and fourth, shoot me an email.
I want Bill and Ted to live long happy lives.
My email address is: itsmabelsilly@gmail.com
Thanks a million!
I got my little turtle a couple of years ago in Chinatown, and he has not grown at all really. He is still about 2 inches long. He is a tiny little thing. Someone told me that if you keep them in the same size bowl/tank/aquarium and don’t keep changing the size of their environment, they will stay the same size. That seems to be the case with my turtle. Can someone comment on this? Thanks! This chain is very informative 🙂
the size of enclosure dose not afect the growing of turtles like it dose fish a turtle will keep growing dispite the lack of room but turtles dont grow all that fast red eared sliders grow a inch to a inch and a half a year starting at about a inch lenth the more veggies you feed them rather then meat the slower they grow so if you have feed lots of veggies before the turtle was a year old instead of mostly meat then your turlte will grow more slowly
hope this helped!
Wondering if anyone is interested in buying 3 large Red Ears Slider Turles. One has a 14 inch shell the other two have 12 inch shells each. They are getting too big for our tank. My daughter received them for her b-day several years ago. Please contact us at feltlhome@yahoo.com. Also if anyone know if there is an organization we can donate them too, ie. zoo, aquatic center, etc. We have them to find a new, good home. Thanks
please refer to redearslider.com for more information on how to care for your red ear slider that you bought from chinatown.
I’m normally not one to blog, but I just wanted to say to everyone on this forum with a god complex, get off your pedestals and give people a break. No one treats their turtles or any of their other pets perfectly but as long as your providing the right kind of habitat and food and loving them nothing else can be done. I know from personal expirience making sure your turtle has the right environment (filters, tank, variety of food, heat lamp, basking lap, basking log, heaters) sometimes doesn’t matter. I know because when I came home to my dorm this evening my turtle was dead and she had all those things she was just unhealthy when I brought her home. She showed no signs of illness other than lethragy and even that was improving. I got on this site hoping to find some reason for her sudden death other than being a lost cause from the beginning but rather I just found a lot of bantering. The best of luck to those who are not so perinoid and hypocritical they can’t except anyones way of doing things but their own! Also for those critisizing this poor guy for buying Chinatown turtles would you rather them to have sat in those little portable containers until they starved to death?!
Nice . Advice form other poeple is not always a bad thing.
IMPORTANT TO ANY ONE WITH A RED EARED SLIDER:
I HAVE READ A LOT OF FORUMS AND POSTS WITH PEOPLE WHO GET THESE TURTLES AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEM…IT’S HORRIBLE. IF YOU HAVE A SLIDER THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
1. THEY NEED TONS ON WATER TO SWIM IN, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE TWO TURTLES IN ONE TANK. THEY ARE TERRITORIAL AND NEED ROOM TO LIVE.
2. THEY NEED BASKING AREA WITH A LIGHT ABOVE THEM FOR HEAT
3. WATER HEATER NEEDS TO CONSTANTLY STAY ON. THEY CANNOT CONTROL THEIR BODY TEMPERATURE SO IF THEY ARE COLD, THEY WILL GET VERY SICK.
4. FEED THEM ONCE A DAY, THE FOOD AMOUNT SHOULD BE THE SAME SIZE AS THEIR HEAD. DO NOT STARVE THEM BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT WILL KEEP THEM SMALL AND CUTE.
5. THEY EAT 20% VEGGIES (SHAVED CARROTS, STRAWBERRIES, BOK CHOY, SPINACH, LETTUCE), 80% MEATS/PELLETS/COOKED CHICKEN, WORMS, GOLD FISH, ETC.
6. THE NEED 12 HOURS OF DAYLIGHT AND 12 HOURS OF NIGHT.
I have had turtles for close to 40 years. 1. Over feeding a turtle is not good. 2. Under feeding them is not good either. Aggie, I don’t know if you still following this but turtles can get respiratory infections. I don’t know if your turtle had swollen eyes or runny nose (sometimes hard to tell in aquatic turtles). Lethargy, is one of the indicators. I agree some people become over cautious and smother with what they believe is care for their animals. So relax, get another turtle (but not from the same place), and just enjoy them.
red eared sliders are great 🙂
i have two turtles(chloe & speedy) that i bought in chinatown about 2 years ago. Speedy ate most of the food but i made sure chloe got some food. Now i have noticed that chloe is biting speedy on the neck and wont let go until i hit on the tank. What is wrong with chloe why is she biting speedy? Speedy doesn’t really bully her he just likes to eat all the food. Why is she after 2 years becoming so nasty? I couldn’t believe she had him by the throat. I don’t see any marks on him so what does that mean that she is biting him? Any input would be helpful.
You will have to seperate them, thats why its aways better to only get one turtle. because if they start bitting or bullying you must seperate the turtle. speedy will get bitten and can be injured by chloe if you dont. you can put them in seperate tanks or if yours is big get a divider witch will do the trick.
hope this helped!
Is it possible to keep a red eared turtle small…in a healthy way? my son was given one from a friend returning from Hilton Head and not sure about keeping it if unable to provide a healthy environment.
i have a tiny turtle i had it for a couple months now and it didn’t get bigger. my friend has the same kind of turtle and we got our turtles togather at china town and hers is like 3 times bigger then mine but they were the same size when we got them???
Females grow to be much larger then males so its quite posible that hers is a male and yours is not witch would explain the faster growth rate
feeding your turtles more protein can speed up there growth rate and also a little warmer of water like 80 85 for the first year.
if your water is colder and your feeding less protein then this could be a reason. or the turtle could be stressed.
Hope this helped! 🙂
OK serious, everyone needs to calm down. Yes. Turtles are alot more work than they seem and many people do not understand that when they find them in a small pet shop in Chinatown (which is where I found my two turtles Don Vito and Squirtle). When the owner brought them out I was horrified. He kept them in a small bucket and there were about the size of silver dollars and there were about 20 of them. I went with a group of friends and we all bought one turtle each. Sadly 2 out of the 6 died because they were not keeping the tanks warm enough.
I took the others because the others had grown tired of them and wanted to release them into the wild. This is probably the worst thing you can do. Not that the Red Eared Sliders will die, they are actually considered an invasive species, meaning that when they are introduced to an area that is not their natural habitat, they cause competion and sometimes other species of turtle can become extinct because YOU got bored of your turtle.
I keep my two turtles in the same tank but I do not recommend keeping more than 2 in a tank. I used to keep them in the same tank with 2 other turtles that were my roommates but Squirtle did not get enough food. Now that its just to two of them they do fine.
Don Vito is more aggrssive, and you may see your turtles do this if you have more than one in a tank but they flutter their fingers in each others faces and it can be one of two things: one could be trying to assert dominance over the other or they could be starting a mating ritual. Not that big of a deal, well atleast to me. I really dont care if you feel that your turtles need to be seperated, and I’m not here trying ot force my opinion on you but I just want to provide you with some info that I know i was looking for when i just got my turtles.
In terms of feeding I feed bother turtles 6 times a week and leave one day as a fasting day. I feed them just what the bottle of pellets says which is as many pellets that they can eat in 2 minutes. Once a week i try to give them some veggies but they dont really like them. As a treat, maybe once a month, i give them some type of meat, either a hotdog bit or a meal worm. They LOVE this. the added protein will help them grow too. The only problem that i have with the hotdog is that now they think my fingers are hotdogs…
Also turtles can go up to a month without food and they have Super Slow metabolisms so dont go too overboard and dont worry if you forget to feed them one day.
I have had turtles bite other turtles during feeding time but this was when I had 4 turtles in one tank. What we did was pull out the turtle that instigated and put him in “time out” (just a little seperate containter outside of the tank will do). He would go back in after all the other turtles finished eating and he would not get anything to eat. They learned pretty quick from that.
I got my turtles in chinatown too :3
honestly a big part of the reason I bought them was to get them the hell out of there. They had to travel eight+ hours with me back homeon a tour bus and let me tell you it was FREEZING. Thankfully some of my friends lended me jackets to wrap them in and I cuddled there tiny tank as much as I could to give them warmth. They’re doing very well about a month and a half later. Turtles are actually sort of hard work and I’ve rearanged my room a bit so they could get the sunlight they needed but they really are great. my one male gucci(cause of all the fake merchandise around that area) gives me this annoyed look when I watch them, it is too cute, I always laugh at him and I swear he gives me this even more annoyed look after that. My female Rolex (same story as Gucci) is more shy but they’re starting to warm up.Beware: those little buggers can eat ALOT. I feed mine up to twice a day to make sure they get there fill. I’m pretty sure you can’t over feed them so why not?
good luck with your turtles(:
yes you can over feded them!!! you should only feed them once a day a portion no bigger then there head. and when there over a year old feed them only once every two days! if you over feed them they will become fat and there organs will fail.
also the uvb rays they need canot travle through a window so your turtles probably have a shell disease by now. they MUST have a Ubv bulb to keep them heathy , the sunight through a window will do nothing but warm them.
Hope your turtles as heathy! you just need to get them a ubv buld ASAP and feed them a lot less. Hope they will be ok.. :S
hey.. I had my turtle about three years now and and I put a black telecope fish in side the tank and he was doing find then a couple of hours my turtle was attacking it is this good
no, thats not good. take the fish out of the tank, turtles eat fish ( and any bottom feeder snails) so your fish wont last.
I tried putting a bottom feeder in with my turtle when he was little not even two years old, turtle tanks get dirty kickly and they need big aquariums so Im sure you understand my thoughts opon buying a bottom feeded to help. 😀 anyway he didint bother him for a week so I stoped paying close attention. but one day my bottom feeder was gone and my turtle was Really fat. dont leave the fish in there. 1. your fish will get eatten. 2. It could make your turtle sick . and 3. your turtle will be fat wich warps there shell and can cause organ failure if there not put on a “diet”
If I were you I wouldint risk my fish and my turtle death. Hope this helped! 😀
Hello Chris: Keep in mind that most aquatic turtles view smaller fish as protein in their diets. By placing the fish in the turtle habitat, you’ve basically told the turtle to chow down! Turtles will also eat small tadpoles, frogs, etc if given the opportunity. These additional pond creatures are like a dessert for the turtles. Lastly, PLEASE make sure they have an appropriate heat lamp as well as a suitable ultraviolet bulb in a secondary lamp for proper shell development. I personally have eight Sliders (5 years) who live outdoors in a pond for the summer months (late May through October) and then are moved indoors for the long winter. Indoor care requires much more attention so be sure you know what you’re getting into before starting. Good luck!
lol , somehow Connie can give the same advice and make it sound more inteligent 😀
Paige – you said you got your turtles in Chinatown – I’ve been thinking about getting a turtle as well. Do you know if they still sell them there? And if so, would you be able to tell me the specifics like what street , etc.?
Thanks!
Maili- I didint get my turtle in Chinatown so Im sorry I cant tell you where to go. maybe ask Connie? I got my turtle at a pet store. Lots of pet stores have Red eared sliders around here (no Idea where you live but maybe its the same) There not as cheep as the ones people seem to be getting in Chinatown. Where I bought mine the red eared sliders are 35$ each. 🙂 sorry I couldint help.
I was wondering why something was happening to my sister’s pet. We got this red ear slider turtle from Chinatown at least 3 yrs ago. Recently, as in this morning, it stopped moving. It moves only a little bit and at random times but at other times it’s at a complete standstill. It just sits there. It also only pulls its head up and yawns sometimes, not a lot. Usually, when we get near it to pet it, it hides in its shell. But, now, it doesn’t. Like I said before it just stays there. It hasn’t eaten since this morning either and it still won’t eat. I’m just wondering what is happening to it.
Hello Emily: Sorry but you haven’t supplied enough information for an adequate review. Has anything changed in the turtles habitat, environ, diet? How large is he, how often is he being fed? Is he still basking? Has anyone examined his skin, shell for any unusual sort of texture such as cuts, bumps, lesions? Any discharge from the mouth or eyes? Any sign of a parasite invading his living space? I’m sure once you share more info viewers will be in a better position to assist. Without knowing more info, I would suggest a broad spectrum antibiotic be administered ASAP if a trip to the local Vet is not feasible.
hi, i’m lily,
I just purchased a female red eared slider a week ago. But I do not know what is wrong. My turtle is really passive and it doesn’t move around much. Practically, it just sleeps all day on the basking rock I’ve prepared. I’m really worried for it and am stumped with what’s wrong with it. Can anyone please help me as I’m really worried and don’t have a single idea of what to do?
Hello Lily: I’m happy to help if able. Please refer to the message I left for Emily on 7/10/2010; much of the same concerns need to be addressed by you if any of us are able to assist in the care of your turtle. In addition, where did you get your turtle and how old is he? Did you observe him at the store for a while before purchasing? Did he show any signs of lethargy before purchasing? As soon as more info is rendered I’m sure someone on this site can help.
hi i am ashley. i just got a baby red ear slider a month ago and i want to give it a name but i dont want to name it until i know for sure if it is a boy or girl. can u help on how to figure out if it is boy or girl?? how do i tell ?? i just want to know how to tell if it is girl or boy but i dont knkow how and am very confused. thanks!! please email me at:
monkeyqueen1990@yahoo.com
cant beleive I think I just Xed that!
I got my RES turtles from someone who could no longer take care of them. Funny thing is about 2 years ago I bought 2 of them from chinatown for my nephew and they ended up having to give theirs away. I’ve been doing a lot of online research on discussion boards, professional sites about aquatic turtle care, and books. I got some great books on amazon.com some for as low as a penny each plus shipping & handling. To echo the sentiments of some other posters here is what I’ve learned from my research:
1-the turtles sold in chinatown are in fact illegally sold. the U.S. Govt outlawed the sell of baby slider turtles in the 70’s because of salmonella outbreaks. baby sliders more commonly carry salmonella. sadly the majority of people who purchase the turtles in chinatown….eat them! hence the reason they’re kept 20 in a tank, cramped, etc. the sellers just found another way to make money selling them as pets too.
2-RES turtles are just as much work (if not more) as having a dog, goldfish, or any other pet and it requires an investment of time and money. you should really study how to care for them and price all the items you will need to keep them happy and healthy. My recommendation would be to buy the tank, filter, lights, and basking materials BEFORE you get your turtle(s). the most expensive thing is the uvb light. they range between $16 up to $24. they are essential for your turtles health and wellness unless you are able to have them outside in direct sunlight for several hours daily. Until my uvb light came, i kept a large plastic storage container (like 24 inches long by 15 inches wide) on the porch complete with basking rocks so they could get adequate sunlight each day. thank goodness my partner works at home because you have to monitor the water temperature and we had to keep cool water on hand for when the water went above 80 degrees. we used an umbrella to shade them from the high noon sunlight which we felt may be too hot for them. to keep they’re regular tank cleaner longer, we feed them in the outside container too since they are messy eaters and they tend to poo a little while after eating.
3-they need variation in food just like humans. we feed them fresh fish (which we get 10-20 for just $1 at the pet store) and lettuce, carrots, berries. be careful with bananas as they cause runny poo. we have pellets but we’re trying to use them only as treats (like the human equivalent of ice cream).
4-tap water is not good for them! you need to by filtered water or water conditioner. we use water conditioner for their container outside and a aquarium filter plus water conditioner for their tank inside the house. there is a great conditioner tablet called ReptoGuard that we swear by. it’s a medicated sulfa block and it not only conditions the water it also keeps the turtles healthy by preventing against infections and salmonella (plus other health benefits). they aren’t expensive at 99 cents each on average they’re well worth it.
3-turtles have personalities and they like when you look at them and talk to them. our turtles watch tv (at least we think so). they come to the side of the tank where the tv is and they appear to be watching. they also come out the water when they hear us talking. we haven’t had to separate them as of yet but we’re prepared to if they start hurting each other. right now they seem to be playing or mating (i hope it’s not the latter, lol, 2 turtles is plenty for us as is).
4-you need to be diligent in changing the aquarium filter and tank water at the required intervals. unless you start out with a 75-100 gallon tank you are going to have to upgrade as they grow. check out freecycle and craigslist where people sell and giveaway all kinds of things.
That’s all i can think of for now but if you have a question feel free to email me. anicolej@gmail.com
Hi I got 2 red eared turtles from chinatown on thursday, they are so cute one of them is active always moving around and the other just looks around does not move much.
But I am wondering how do you know if it is male or female.
We named them Mikey and Jackiy. 🙂
I just purchase two red eared slider and I do not know what is wrong. My turtle is really passive and it doesn’t move around much. Practically, it just sleeps all day on the basking rock I’ve prepared. It also only pulls its head up and yawns sometimes, not a lot. It hasn’t eaten since three weeks. Now very very weak alike die. Is it too late, if i bring a broad spectrum antibiotic be administered ASAP?
Sorry, following a long absence, I just reviewed your message. You mentioned 2 Sliders — are they both exhibiting the same symptoms? If they are housed together you will need to provide the antibiotic for both turtles. It will take a bit of time (days) for any noticeable change; in the interim, provide as much info as you can (housing, diet, age, etc.) and please refer to the message I left for Emily on 7/10/2010. Happy to help if I can.
Beverly on August 31st, 2010 11:41 pm
the turtles need to be about a year old to be abble to sex them . Males have long claws and long thick tails were as Females have short small tails and short claws. Females are also bigger then males.
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/fall01%2520projects/reslidersex.JPG&imgrefurl=http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/fall01%2520projects/reslider.htm&usg=__fDO-ID8L9HlNSlfKAvkM2uKEnyc=&h=369&w=549&sz=55&hl=en&start=21&sig2=9ydiPK5gIr41q-5l2Tj49w&zoom=1&tbnid=DxeTB-cQ30ylTM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=136&ei=jMmSTI7qJ8ufnAeai93DBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmale%2Bred%2Beared%2Bslider%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1341%26bih%3D516%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C400&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=391&vpy=102&dur=598&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=132&ty=98&oei=iMmSTIrvGob6sAOolfW_Cg&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:21&biw=1341&bih=516
Male on the left, female on the right
hope this helped!
I live in Canada and today I went to a place called Pacific Mall for the first time, They were selling fish and RES at a small table at the mall. I purchased my red ear slider and now I deeply regret it. I was told nothing about the care for this turtle and now I feel terrible about making such an impulsive decision, I am doing my best to help the little guy ( his name is Franklin) lol. I would like to get all of the things that he needs but I know it may be a while before I can get everything necessary. I feel like my care for him will be inadequate…I also feel bad about not knowing it is illegal to purchase an RES under 4 inches, mine is probably 2 inches at the most. I am really scared for him right now he is sleeping (or at least I think so) in the corner of the tank on the makeshift basking rocks I prepared for him. There is a little bit of steam on the part where his face is which is why I am confident that he is still alive and well. Also he hasn’t eaten anything since I bought him, should I be worried? Or could it be that he is still nervous from the change of habitat?
In any case that I absolutely cannot give him the care that he needs and am unable to find him suitable care, does anyone know what I can do with him? Could I maybe take him to a pet store???
If any one has any constructive comments or answers to my questions it would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve had a RES for over 10 years.. I guess i didn’t know anything about her. because i keep her water warm in 80 degrees water temp, as well as her basking area. She eats mostly pellets and has grown to quite the size. She out grew 20 gallon and 55 galloon tank and now reside in a 120 gallon aquarium. She is about as big as the female slider gets, and may possibly find her way into a garden pond setting. My garden pond is approx. 10 foot long and 4 to 5 foot wide and about 15 inches deep. around a rock wall setting. I’m thinking I might need a lot of mud for her to hibernate in the winter. My question is what other types of things I should know before putting her outside? she has been indoors most of her life. I’m sure she can survive the winters in the midwest, since she was found by a friend when she was a juvenile. any advice will be appreciated. Thanks
Hi, I was given two baby RES for my birthday, which were bought in chinatown. Although a very thoughtful gift bc I LOVE turtles. I have now grown to feel terrible about having them. When I first got them one, that I named Petey, seemed to be frightened by his new home. He was and is still very inactive although I’ve had them for about 4 months. The other turtle, Pablo was very excited, seemed perfect and swam a lot.
But I cannot afford all the proper equipment to take care of them. I kept them in the same little plastic tank for a while with an office lamp that surprisingly sufficed. And I fed them the pellets they came with. Bc the tank was little I cleaned it everyday and put warm tap water in for them. It seemed to be good for them.
After a while I noticed pablo would seldom open his eyes, his eyes looked fine so I didn’t worry much. Then they started getting puffy and white. He never opens them and he found it hard to eat bc he couldn’t see the food. Petey grew and pablo stayed the same size 🙁 I saved up some money and bought a light that was supposed to give off heat and imitate the sun from petco (it gave off absolutely no heat so I went back to the other light), a basking dock, and a bigger tank, all from petco. This was very expensive for me bc I am only seventeen and my family does not have extra spending money, but I felt much better. I should add that pablo adapted and now eats much more bc he’s learned to find the food by its scent, he seems perfect, he is extremely active, other than the fact that he doesn’t open his eyes.
But then I started doing more research and I’m pretty sure pablo has pneumonia 🙁 he sneezes, has the puffy eyes, and blows air from his nose, this all makes sense bc I don’t have the proper heating equipment. I think petey is sick too bc I’ve never seen him swim, he walks along the bottom of the tank and stands on his back legs to get air. And he also sinks when I put him in the tank. I also asked the guy at petco about all of this and he said that they hibernate so I shouldn’t be worried, but he didn’t seem very knowledgeable at all; more like he was guessing.
I feel terrible that I can’t be a better mom for them, because they really are like my babies. I give all I can to them but I know its not enough without a proper heater, filter, calcium tablets, and uvb light. I’m scraping together some money for a new addition to their home but I can only afford one thing. Should I get the heater? Or the filter? Or the uvb light? I’m also worried bc the tank I got them, which is big for them, but is actually a lot smaller than normal tanks; the basking dock which I got in the mini size was actually too big for the tank (not the actual dock, but the bars that fasten it to the tank walls) so I’m worried that the heater or filter will also be too big. Tanks are very expensive and I KNOW I could not afford to get a big real glass one. What should I do? :'(
I really hope I don’t have to give them away but I am prepared to do so if it comes to it. I just don’t know whom I should give them to?
i have 2 RES ones (I think) red and a male and the other is a female and is white. The male has been trying to mate with the female but the female is aggressive towards him. Will they ever mate? is a floating rock okay if they DO mate or does it have to be sand only? Is there anyway to make the female mate with the male? Please help me!
You should hope they DONT mate if you dont already know what to do. Its posible they do mate but you can google the proper enclosure and tempetures for them including the time of year and piriod of time you should keep them together to get them to mate. They also have to be old enough. you will also want to check and see if there both red eared sliders first. I suggest you keep them in seperate enclosures if there showing agression towards one another. Also if you have your heart set on matting them and manage to do so, you should google all your female needs to lay her eggs, its alot more then simply sand in the tank and you also need to incubate them after. this should get you started, although you will want more information on a place for your female to lay her eggs,
http://reslider.free.fr/backup/breeding.html
Hey i just bought a water turtle from myrtle beach and i dont know if its fresh water or saltwater
what does it look like? can you descride the turtle in detail of even better upload a picture? then maybe we can figure out what kind of turtle it is 🙂
I have an RES and he is very small. I got him from a mexican lady in downtown Phoenix on a field trip. He came in a small tank with a little palm tree and I plan to keep him in here till he gets bigger. I feed him every other day and I gave him some salad which he seemed to enjoy. He seems to enjoy being held and getting attention. I’ve kept a little bit of water just so he doesn’t dry out but should I put in enough water so it goes over his head? I have only had him for a week but I don’t see why I have to buy that special UVB light because in the wild don’t turtles bask in the sun? Would it be okay if i just left him in the sun with some shade and a basking rock in his tank? Please let me know if I’m not taking care of him properly. Thanks(:
You NEED a ubv light because the suns uva uvb rays does not travel through windows. You can put him outside during the summer but it will be too cold during the winter for him ( not sure where you live but it will probably be too cold) if your leaving him ouside during the day in the summer make sure you have some sort of systeme with a screen covering the top but still letting the sun through because birds will eat your turtle if they can. You also need alot more room. Red eared sliders need to swim around so you probably want water about 3 times his hight (min) more water the better though. they LOVE to swim around. you also need to start buying cuttle bone for him/her , you can find it at any pet store (OFTEN USED FOR BIRDS) just put some in the water and he will nible at it when he wants to. make sure you get that ubv light though, red eared sliders cant live without it. your turtle will develop shell rot and metabolic bone disease.
Also, if your turtle less then a year old you should feed him daily. only for the first year though. DO NOT OVER FEED. they will eat and eat and it could kill them. only feed portions the size of there heads.
hope this helped!
I was just cleaning my RES tank and I put him in hot water but it wasn’t scalding like i could put my hand in and i wouldn’t have to take it out. After about 2 minutes I checked on him and he wasn’t moving. He is swimming ok now but he won’t open his eyes. HELP!!! What happened???!!!
his skin is probably alot more sensitive then yours and hes not used to the heat. He probably burnt his skin and maybe his eyes they might be sore and thats why he’s not opening them. This is june third so he is probably better now. if not, it would be best if you brought him to the vet. maybe colder water in the future? 🙂 I hope he’s better!
Hes all better now thanks for the advice(: Sooo glad he’s ok!!
My baby red ear slider will ONLY eat his pellets! I give him salad and other foods he needs and then a day later will go to give him pellets and the food is still there, uneaten but he eats the pellets right away! What do I do?
Red eared slider hatchlings dont really eat veggies. You can just feed them the pellets for the first year or so then start giving them greens. Sometimes they will still ignore the vegetables but be persistant. You only have to feed them every 2 days when they are over a year old so when the time comes start offering vegetables in between, if they get hungry enough they will take whatever they get.
hope this helped! 😀
where do you get these baby red eared sliders????
I find it funny that there are people on here saying how you need to go out and spend a fortune on your turtles habitat and getting mad at people for buying them..#1.A turtles natural habitat is a frickin pond or a swampy lake area and they bask on rocks under the natural sun light..#2 If these people dont buy them for pets they are most likely going to end up as turtle soup as someone said earlier..My dad gave my son our turlte a little over a year ago..She is a lil bit smaller than my fist..She lives in a 10 gallon tank and has a floating land(from petco.. it has the suction things to hold it on the wall) for now..when she get to big we will upgrade to a bigger tank..i dont use a sun lamp during the summer its to hot so I just open the window and the sun light peeks in on her tank.She seems to enjoy it..I do not use a heater at all..She eats Tetrafauna ReptoMin select-a-food..I feed her every night .. mini green sticks and and the mini krill/shrimp. She eat while we eat dinner 🙂 Shes been to the vet and is perfectly healthy per say the VET …A trained professional 🙂 (got worried when she stopped eating the same amount of food but the Vet said she was hybernating..I guess they semi hybernate ) We dont really play with her out of the tank..Usually just through the tank..She has alot of personality..when we sit down for dinner she start swimming all crazy and looks like shes really excited..She is loved and a very cute addition to our family..
Also my younger sister has 2 aquatic turtles and 2 land tortoises…All for of them love, love, love vegetables. Ours on the other hand wont touch them..Been trying for about 6months now..Any ideas other than keep trying?
Oops..meant four 🙂
I think my turtle is sick! HELP. I bought her at Santee Alley in LA for about $5, along with some pellets. I kept her in the plastic tank she came with in preparation for the larger aquarium. I’ve had her for about 2 months now and she was perfectly fine until now. I’ve noticed that she has grown a bit and I already have an aquarium ready for her but now I don’t know what to do. She is a RES hatchling. Almost 2 inches. She won’t eat. She keeps running across her tank frantically. She keeps making squeaking and crying noises. And she keeps opening and closing her eyes and then gulping. I can’t take her to the vet since she’s illegal so please help. Also, please tell me if you have any advice. Thanks.
i just got 2 for 17$ IN CHINA TOWN. THE WATER IS VERRY LOW YET THEY SEEM LIKE THEIR STRUGGELING TO KEEP THEIR HEAD ABOVE WATER S0 MY QUESTION IS : SHOULD I FILL IT HIGH AND PUT A ROCK SO THEY CAN CLIMB UP AND GET AIR, OR SHOULD I ONLY PUT A LITTLE LITTLE BIT of water. BUT WHAT I ALSO NEED TO NO IS DO THEY DIE WITH OUT WATER AND DO THEY DIE WITHOUT AIR? one other thing is they seem to justbang on the tank and try to climb on top of eqch other like they think they are going to get out too what should ido ? thanks
I have a hatchling RES that I found out was illegal AFTER I got him. I cant take him to a vet because I live NOWHERE near a vet specializing in turtles and hes illegal. I think he has a respitory infection because he swims lopsided and he cant submerge. I think he got it because his water heater would go on and off without warning and his thermometer was broken as well. A week ago he wouldnt eat, swim, and he was gasping for breath. But I have been dry-docking him and he eats like a normal RES, he swims just fine, and he doesnt gasp for breath. He has become much more active since I have dry-docked him, but he still swims lopsided and he still cant submerge. I dont know what to do ! He is my first RES and I have really just been learning as I go. Should I just continue to dry-dock him and hope he begins to swim fine?
wow “I feed my turtle four pellets a day” you pathetic little child. STFU and give your turtles to some who will actually care and speak proper English while you’re at it.
Punk kids.
I have a RES i got a little over 1 year ago. she was the size of a half dollar when i got her and she’s about 8-9 inches now.
I keep her in a 20 gallon tank, with large rock in the bottom. she has a basking rock and a 45watt reptile bulb on above it. i keep her tank heater on all the time at about 70 degrees.
i love my turtle to death and i just want to make sure shes in good care. comments above say that growning too fast is unhealthy, i hope that Frank has not grown to quickly.
i keep live guppies in her tank almost all the time (she doesnt eat any other kind of live fish that i’ve found, i think it’s just because shes picky, i hope thats not wrong), she also gets pellets and mini-krill each day. and i try to giver her lettuce and or carrots every so often but she seems dis-interested. she seems happy, but i just wanted an outside opinion or two.
When people walk past her tank she paddles back and forth against the front, and i dont know why. i feel like it means she wants to be fed, but i worry she may be distressed.
any suggestions, or constructive critisism?
Hello RES LOVE: best suggestion for you is to seriously learn the needs of a RES. I’m sure your intentions are good but your efforts are failing this creature in so many ways. Please google RES and learn as much as you’re able regarding habitat, feeding, temperature control, etc.
@ RES LOVE, I recommend you buy a turtletopper from petland discounts or look for one on craigslist. it will give your turtle much more space to swim, & it might encourage your turtle to eat any live fish even frogs or crayfish
hey i got 2 for 5$ from some street vendor, they are to small for pond turtle food, any suggestions?
Hey Josh.
I bought 2 in Chinatown for $5 also. I bought the pellets that they were selling too but the turtles wouldn’t touch them. The wouldn’t eat iceburg lettuce either – so for almost 2 weeks they wouldn’t eat. I then threw in a spinach leaf and romaine lettuce, and they gobbled it up quick. They LOVE spinach.
I made a makeshift tank from a clear rubbermaid bucket (big and square) and it works great – brick from Home Depot and some rocks. Would love to get a real tank with filter so I don’t have to change out the water every week.
Hello Jim: Just as an FYI, you might want to revisit making another tank. I too made a large tank out of a big, clear plastic storage container for a RES. It encompassed everything that a large glass aquarium (40 gallon) would have and the turtle really thrived in the environment for a long time. It was much wider than a traditional tank which also made it ideal for her to navigate the basking areas. If you would like more info, let me know; happy to help. Also made a turtle-topper for another tank. Same idea, worked out fine.
I just bought a turtle in China Town Boston thinking it was a mini turtle. I was horrified when I read these things. I now know that mini turtles do not exist. I will be holding on to this guy and hopefully raising it well. Moroni (My turtle) will not be going back into Chinatown to the lady who sells them like a knock of designer hand bag.
I currently have mine in a giant tupperwear container and I know now that I need to invest in a tank. Woopsies.
I am not an animal abuser and I’m SO glad I found this website!
Hello Liza, welcome to the site. Since your turtle is new, you might want to consider using a broad-spectrum antibiotic to counter any unknown illnesses or high bacteria count. Nearly all young turtles will have something happening so this is really a safety precaution more than anything else. Please study up on what your new little friend needs to thrive and the two of you will do great. Good luck!
Hi i am 13 years old, i am thinking about getting a turtle and i was just wondering if u can answer some of my questions?
1. should i buy a separate tank to feed it in? if so how big?
2.how big of a tank should i buy?
3. Can they be held allot?
4. how often do they need to be fed?
thank you so much!
Maddy.
Hello Maddy:
A lot depends on the type of turtle and age. A separate tank is not necessary; it’s really a matter of preference for the pet owner. Turtles can be messy eaters so some owners may prefer placing the turtles in another container for eating only. This may help to reduce some of the mess. Personally, I’ve never subscribed to this idea. My turtles eat where they live and have done very well for many years. Proper filtration of the water will take care of the potential mess.
In terms of tank size, again a lot depends on the turtle. Simple rule of thumb is to always purchase the largest container or tank that is financially reasonable. Turtles can and do grow quickly so you don’t want to have to upgrade the tank too often. To start out with, at least use a 20 gallon for a baby RES so it has plenty of swimming space. Also make sure you provide a filter, heater, an area for basking and an overhead light.
Again, some turtles will adjust to handling while some will be skittish. Regardless, always make sure you wash your hands and apply antibacterial hand sanitizer following handling so as not to transfer any harmful bacteria. Turtles can have fairly high levels of salmonella which can be dangerous to other pets (dogs, cats, birds) as well as humans.
Feeding depends on type and age of turtle. Baby turtles require food every day (as much as they can eat in 3-5 minutes) while adults 3-4 times per week.
Maddy, google the type of turtle you are interested in and get as much info as you can before you venture into turtle ownership. Turtles can live as long as people, many 30-40 years; I just saw one on TV that was over 150 years old and had a cannonball in its belly. The cannonball was from the US Civil War. Good luck!
its the middle of winter right now so its not very warm. my heating lamp cant keep the whole tank warm. i want to hold my turtle so she can share some of my body heat but i have a cold. my turtle is at least 2 years old (im not sure). if i take my turtle out and hold her, will it be dangerous if she gets a cold? (this is important because my mom wont let me go to the vet; i know my mom and she is serious). could i please get an experienced opinin?
Hello Emmy:
Just as a human shouldn’t handle a sick turtle (any more than need be), neither should a turtle be handled by a sick human. Colds are comprised of many dfferent bacterium and the turtle should not be exposed unnecessarily. Take your cold meds and wait it out. By the way, your body couldn’t possibly generate enough heat to sustain/satisfy your turtle. The turtle must have a suitable heat source such as a heat lamp or it will not survive in as healthy an environment as it should. If you are concerned about potential respiratory problems with the turtle over the winter, use a broad spectrum antibiotic as well as a heater and lamp. Lastly, make sure your pet is always supplied with calcium.
u cant put them in a pond if u had them in a tank because now they are not wild and will not hibernate in the winter and will freeze if u do i have 3 myself for about 6 yrs
i have two of them they are yellow bellied sliders though
I got red eardrum slider turtles from chinatown yesterday and I don’t know how to take care of them! Odontoceti know how if they go on saltwater or fresh so plz help me
Honestly, 10G is small for that many turtles, but they’ll be fine.
I’ve kept turtles for a long time, and though it’s not recommended to keep turtles in that small of a tank, people do it all the time, and they’re fine. It really does vary from turtle to turtle! 🙂
My vet does disapprove of that small of a tank, but I keep 4 turtles (RES and Painted) in a 60 Gallon WITH fish (This is a freshwater w 1/8th cup marine salt, 4 medium/youth Comet fish) and they’re absolutely fine. I supplement calcium dust onto their pelleted foods, breed guppy fry for a live supplement, feed them Spinach (The Comets and the turtles love it!) weekly, and scallops/salmon weekly to the Comets and turtles. I also have a correct lighting set up, and the tank is held at 80 degrees — Comets are technically NOT cold water fish. 1 of my RES are young at the moment, and had an ear infection when I bought him, which is why I keep my tank a bit warmer than average. (Normally I hold tank at 78) The heat not only fights ich in the fish, but wards off all kinds of health issues and helps healing process.
Liza! Before buying a tank, a large Rubbermaid/Tupperware will be fine as long as lighting, substrate, and filtration is added like any normal tank 🙂
hey guys! i need help! I have 2 8 months yellow belly turtles who look like they are 3 years old because i keep them happy and feed them a lot. so one day i see my turtles doing a mating ritual dance i think it is adorable and funny. Then i noticed that my turtle goes on top of my turtle in a mating position. Is that mating? Anyway’s i dont know which turtle is female or male? Is the turtle that went on top of the turtle male? Or the one beginning the mating dance male? Or could they both be females and that dance could be a sign of bullying? Help me out please!!! Thanks.
Also… what is the symptom of a pregnant turtle?
I live in San Francisco. Can anyone tell me where to buy a baby turtle in Chinatown? What street is it? Thanks!
Anyone know the street/location in Chinatown-Philadelphia, looking to buy some RES also. My 185g tank took its last lick from salt water fish (too demanding). I would rather have a few turtles in it.
I also have 2 RES and where i live, there the easiest to find and very cheap. I got 2 for $8. I too Want to Build A Pond.
@Sophie Mirkin, hi there.
That could be a sign of mating. Males are smaller than females and have much longer claws and tails. Their heads also usually more pointy. If you see the smaller one on top of the bigger one- most likely mating, but if it’s the bigger one on the top… it’s probably they’re just climbing.
@Other people, I wouldn’t recommend buying from ‘ChinaTown’. I’d rather buy from a reputable breeder where you can check the parents out, and check how the owner cares for them. That way you’ll know that the turtle you’re getting will be healthy.
Also, I’ve read a lot of comments here, about people not knowing what to do and they’ve already bought the turtle. You should RESEARCH before you buy ._.
My two little sons and I bought 2 adult red-eared sliders several tears ago and have enjoyed them a lot. The tank is not ideal as it’s just a 55 gallon aquarium but my plan is to find something larger for them. The female has laid eggs several times. We’ve had one successful hatch using an old chicken hatcher. You have to keep the hatching material really moist and keep a lot of water in flat pans in the hatcher but it works. We gave the babies away. We feed them 24 goldfish a week, all at once. The turtles finish them off in about a minute. When my sons were smaller they used to make voices for the turtles as they stalked the goldfish – “You can’t escape from me evil fish demons”, etc. They also eat a lot of Romaine lettuce and Wardley’s Reptile Pellets.
I got my two turtles in a 99cent store because they were so cute and I felt bad they were in such a small tank. For those who say its helping turtles when you buy them from China town or places that sell them cheap or on the street, ect, I realize now doing that is just giving these people more business. They might even keep them in bad conditions because soft hearted and compassionate people want to “save them” — whether they do that on purpose or not, it’s encouraging them when you give them business. They will only get more turtles to replace the ones you bought and stay in the business because there is demand for these turtles. Not sure if they are being raised for food. Sounds like racial stereotyping.
Hi. Beautiful turtles. May I ask you a question? Where in Chinatown did you buy these turtles? I fostered my friend’s RES for over two years and just gave him back to her. I became quite attached to the little guy and would like to be able to raise my own RES from a hatchling. I know that they’re illegal to sell and to buy but tons of people say that you can get them in Chinatown where they’re being sold as food. The problem is that there are SO MANY shops in Chinatown I have no idea where to look! Where did you get yours? Thanks.
my do0g and my best friends dog at the fish pelletes a whole thing of them is she going to die i read that someone sad that there cat did wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nonononononononono!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE HELP US.
What the hell is wrong with Saphira and Krystal
Krystell on May 14th, 2007 3:03 pm
OMG!! THIS IS ANIMAL ABUSE!!!!!! If you can’t take care of them properly then don’t have them at all! Getting the turtle is the cheap part but you need special equipment. I spend $500 a year to keep my turtles happy. And starving them? What kind of owner are you? I will be more than willing to take them in if you cannot take care of them of course.
Just my two cents
WTH
OH and then this girl
Saphira on October 26th, 2007 3:42 am
OMFG!!! what kind of turtle owners are you?? chinatown. OMG. those poor animals. they probably were not even taken care of properly! and the guy who sold them to you probably doesn’t have a f*cking idea what turtles need and that they are ANIMALS WITH MORE NEEDS than a dog or a cat!!! turtles are really difficult to take care of!!! i have like two turtles (yellow-bellied sliders named shirley and bubbles). i keep them seperate.
turtles want to be kept alone. they don’t need “playmates” as you call them! it would be far to stressy for them! the reason that you should keep your turtles in seperate tanks is: IF ONE OF THE TURTLES IS DOMINANT (THAT MEANS: WHEN HE IS THE BOSS IN THE TANK AND ALWAYS BULLIES THE OTHER ONE), THIS COULD CAUSE THE BULLIED TURTLE TO BE BULLIED TO DEATH!!!
never, never NEVER keep two turtles in one tank, if you don’t want one of them to die!!! @ the guy who bought 4 turtles just because they were cheap: you probably didn’t have the slightest idea that those little guys the size of a half-dollar can grow to be the size of a dinner plate, even bigger still!!! so please think twice before you get 4 babys just because they aren’t “so expensive”! for god’s sake…..the poor animals. and don’t let turtles get in contact with children (don’t let the kids take the animals out of the tank, it is better to just “touch the turtle with the eyes”…) turtles don’t want to be played with. THOSE ARE REPTILES AND NO FURRY ANIMALS SUCH AS DOGS, CATS, OR MICE, which love to play with their owner!
think about it.
Saphira on October 26th, 2007 4:03 am
and another thing. don’t keep your turtles too warm! only the basking spot should have a temperature of 35°-38° celsius. sliders want to be kept at a water tempearture of 25-28° celsius. higher temperatures would cause them to grow too fast, which isn’t good for their health! and don’t feed them too much PELLETS (it’s like eating fast food every day!!!! overweigt is very bad, also for turtles!!!) pellets contain far too much protein!!! this is also a reason why they grow too fast!!! feed them more salad or something similar. give them fresh or dried fish to eat. they also like slugs and earth-worms. and feed them waterplants that aren’t poisonous for your pet. or better, READ A BOOK ABOUT TURTLES because i have the impression that no one has informed himself about his pet…
so if you want your baby turtle to live long,
– don’t ever play with it out of the tank. don’t let it run on the floor. this only causes stress! (and the turtle also could catch a cold and die)
– always make sure you clean the tank and the filter at least once every week
– feed your turtle with the things it would eat when it lived in the wild (3x a week fresh fish, slugs, worms, salad, dandy-lions or unpoisonous waterplants every day). when the turtle is bigger than 5 centimetres, you can also give him nothing to eat once or twice a week. he really doesn’t mind (careful: when they are begging for food, it doesn’t mean that they NEED to eat immediately! hunger and appetite aren’t the same words…)
– never obandon your turtle in a lake (if you don’t live there where the turtle species comes from)!!! people often do such a thing. the turtles wouldn’t last long, especially in winter. they would freeze to death!!! or get run over by cars if they cross a street!! it’s better to look for a new owner who takes good care of the turtle!!!
hm….sorry i didn’t want to write in such a harsh way…but i just love turtles…and want people to see that they are more than just “a pet”. they need more care than people think.
She is fricken crazy
My friend has one of these and we let it crawl in her living room all the time and we never feed it slugs and worms and FISH WTH fish well thats all i have to say to these retarded strict turtle owners and you know which turtles should feel bad are the ones she taking care of if i was her turtles i would probally kill myself
Sry about my last comment i was just very frusterated about how some people were acting so HIgh about a turtle. I guess now i understand that they just dont want other people being mean to them because they like and enjoy them so much.
I have gotten eight in china town. One lived three years. Tow lived 8(well we dont know they couldnt fit in the tank which was huge and we had to let them go). Then my sis had a few and finally i was old enough to get one. He was so adorable but he wouldnt eat. I found out my sisters who she got at the same time was experiencing this too they died two weeks later. Never again will i buy a living thing from someone on the street
I bought 2 res turtles for $5 in China Town
I bought 2 res from Chinatown. . They are illegal becuase of the age, have to be i believe 6 months ols. The chinese don’t care about the living conditions. . Ljke 50 in a 1 gallon tank.. I don’t have a filter or usbbut I keep them by the window.. more than likely they die in those tanks so even though it isn’t ideal I still clean their tank once a week and feed them daily. I try to play with them a lot but I’m 25 and busy with stuff
I also have a turtle from Chinatown. I had bought two out of a kiddie pool on a sidewalk… The lady initially tried to sell them to me as food, “In 3 years you make good soup”. Thinking that over, I decided I’d rather have them as friends, Sampson and Delilah. Though Delilah passed away a few months after purchase, I had no idea I would still have Sam…. 11 years later! He is sitting next to me as I type, responds to his name, like to play chase, and doesn’t know he is a turtle.
I got 2 of these baby turtles from a night market in Taiwan and took them to US. They lived to be very big and so we released them to a big huge lake by us.
Now I am looking for more of these turtles for my son as pets. I have been in Chicago Chinatown many times but have never seen anyone selling them. Can anyone tell me where to go to find them in Chinatown? Thank you.
Hi! I’m 12 and just bought two RES turtles for 7$ in China Town. They came in a little portable container with a handle. I also purchesed pellets for them. I know it was increadably stupid of me to buy them but I assumed they were mini turtles which i now know don’t exist is there any cheap way to take care of them, as my parents refuse to spend large amounts of money on them(We don’t have much money)? Thank You
I rescued a baby red eared slider from Oakland Chinatown and kept it i a 20 gallon aquarium until it was big enough to move to my 300 gallon pond, The turtle is now 10 years old and is still thriving
Just to make things clear, It is not Illegal to buy turtles under 4 inches of you are using them for educational purposes and research, However, Chinatown is doing an illegal thing selling turtles under 4 inches.
A few years ago in Oakland Chinatown at a street festival, I fell for 2 baby turtles and was suckered into buying them, because the Asian lady selling them said they would never grow. Boy was a wrong, fortunately I had a turtle (He had been transferred into my backyard pond) before so I brought out a 40 gallon tank I used with the filter and stuff like UVB light so I didn’t have to spend a fortune.
Now almost ten years later both turtles grew up and they are thriving in my pond, A friend of mine works at a turtle tortoise rescue and they get tons of Red eared sliders from people who are unable to care for them. So please if you want a baby turtle, come to a turtle rescue and see what happens when if you do get one how big Red eared sliders grow