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Petri's New Home:


Hanging out on the Counter:


And in my hand:


This is my RES Petri. I received him without warning (and without any sizable donations), so I'm pretty much just getting by with what I can for now. Which means I'm filterless . The tank is only 10 gallons, but it was free, so Petri's not complaining. And it's definitely a move up from the Critter Keeper he was living in before. Hopefully we'll be getting a bigger tank soon (also free ) from a friend.

Very cute. If you just read through the forum. There is a section that tells you how to set up your tank, feeding, filter sizes, uva & uvb etc.... This is a great site for information. If you still have questions. Ask away. Good luck!

Also can he/she get completely out of the water to bask? They need to be able to be dry when they bask.

Cute turtle..

I have one question and one comment. The question is, where did you get that basking dock? I've never seen anything like it.

The comment is about letting the turtle walk around on your counter. You do realize that turtles carry salmonella don't you? Therefore, when you let it walk around I hope you are cleaning the counter properly before using it for anything else. Just not sure if you were aware of that

That dock looks like an upside down soap or sponge holder to me. In addition to salmonella, you wouldn't any soap/detergent residue going back into your tank.

steve wrote:That dock looks like an upside down soap or sponge holder to me. In addition to salmonella, you wouldn't any soap/detergent residue going back into your tank.

That's what I thought it was too, Steve. It's an interesting concept to use it like that but my first thought about it was that I'd be afraid of drowning if the turtle for some reason swam under it and then couldn't swim back down. Maybe I worry too much, but I'd be careful.

Yeah it's definitely an upside down soap dish. I have a soap dish in Veronica's tank that she sometimes sleeps in under water.

My biggest concern would be the plastic under the heating lamps if I were using that for a basking dock.

The basking dock is a shower organizer thing from Walmart. It cost about $5. It has a rock on top that is completely dry and he has no problem swimming in and out from under it. I was going to cut the front off but he uses the squares like a ladder to get up, so for now I'll leave it.
About the counter - I do know that turtles can carry salmonella. This is a counter that isn't used for anything (except turtle photos) and I do rinse the counter and the turtle afterwards.

I think that shower organizer is pretty clever. And I initially wondered how he got on it. Clever turtle, using the squares as a ladder (but watch for when he gets too big to do this). You could also cut out the front as you were thinking, and attach a ramp.

You have no filtration and all those rocks? What size tank is it (10 gallons)?

I also don't see any heaters/thermometers/uvb...

marisa wrote:You have no filtration and all those rocks? What size tank is it (10 gallons)?

Yes, a 10 gallon tank and no filter. But at least it's not too much water when I change it. I've been doing a 50% change every other day and I'll be emptying it at least once a week. I'm feeding him in a separate container, which helps, but I think with the change in housing he decided to start growing. Or shedding at least.

steve wrote:I also don't see any heaters/thermometers/uvb...

The thermometer is on the side where you can't see it. And luckily I live in the desert, so his water stays in the 70's and he can go outside in the sunshine to get his UVB.

No matter what size tank and what amount of water, you need a filter rated 3x the size of tank to insure the proper water quality that your turtle needs.

I didn't mean to imply that I wasn't getting a filter. Even a 10 gallon tank is no fun to empty all the time.

yea, i've gone through it, before i got to this site, i once didnt have a filter, and every day, i would have to lug that thing to the bathtub and empty it, than get 3 milk jugs, and fill it to about 3", and even 3" is heavy, i cant imagine how much it weighs with that much, i'm guessing around 40 lb

she looks round.