Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hello from Massachussetts

[painted patience]

Hi, I recently inherited my son's 2 female RES ( he is in college ) and bought a baby eastern painted. I am on one other forum and wanted to see how other ones are run. This is new stuff for me and I have been getting alot of useful info.
We just had a blizzard yesterday and schools are all closed today but it is sunny and beautiful with about 15 inches of dazzling white snow on the ground - by tommorrow I'll probably have had enough of the stuff.
My tank is 40 gallons long and I have partitioned off a small portion at the end for the baby. Whenever I put the baby " Tony " in with the big girls , he loves to swim around but they end up nipping at him, once one grabbed his little tail. He is alittle over an inch in shell length and they are 4-5 inches. He can see them, and they can se him ( still try to snap at him). Hopefully I can put them together when he gets bigger.
All in all I am enjoying them, alon with the tropical fish that I keep.
I have three grown children 19,22,24 - who don't live at home - and one grandson, Roman ( 17 months ) , who lives nearby. I will post different questions as they come up on the different areas. Hope to read about all of you soon !
Painted patience

[sonyj]

Welcome to the forum. It's good that you've separated the baby from the larger turtles. It's never a good idea to keep turtles of different sizes together as the larger ones have been known to harm the little ones even to the point of death.

Just an observation, a 40 gallon tank is very small for the amount and size of turtles being kept in it. Recommended minimum tank size is ten gallons per inch of turtle. Just for your big girls you need an 80-100 gallon tank now. And their home needs to grow with them, so as you upgrade remember to go as large as you can. A mature female RES will end up being between 10-12 inches. Keeping this in mind now and going as large as you can will save money in the long run. (and another consideration is mature female RES also need a separate nesting area to lay their eggs in)

[marisa]

Hi and welcome. Where in MA are you (I'm in CT). That blizzard sure was something--I've gotten more than my quota of snow for the season.

I've got some Eastern Painteds myself, one of which is a baby as well (so cute, aren't they?)

You need to get Tony his/her own set-up, at least until he's more the size of the others. And then you'll need a pond...

[painted patience]

I am thinking my son will want his two RES back eventually. They are two girls , so no need for nesting areas. If Tony is a boy - would he try to mate with a RES ? Hope he is a girl too I guess.
The 40 gallon is 48 inches long, so right now they have plenty of room. Does the 1 inch /10 gallon rule apply if it is a long rather than tall tank ?
I live near the RI border about an hour 1/2 from the cape. 54 degrees today, expected to be in the teens this weekend. New England weather !
Thanks

[sonyj]

... They are two girls , so no need for nesting areas...

Umm, if they are girls, then yes they will need a nesting area upon maturity (5-7 years or 6-7.5 inches). Female RES lay eggs regardless if they are fertilized by a male (just like chickens ). It isn't natural for RES to lay eggs in water, therefore if a nesting area isn't provided when needed they may try to retain them inside their bodies. This can lead to serious health complications.

[marisa]

I think you have a good ways to go before worrying about Tony and his sex life. Some sub species can mate, but the chances of the resulting eggs being fertile/viable, I don't know.

The 10-gallons of tank per inch of shell length guideline is just that (a guideline). A tank that's longer and wider rather than taller is better, however, because it has greater surface area and more horizontal swimming space. There are good alternatives to tanks (stock tanks, for example), that would give your son's RES the larger space they're eventually going to need (if they're 4-5 inches each now, something twice the size of what they've got would be the ideal).

Yes, this is crazy New England weather. (I just don't want any more snow!)

[painted patience]

I guess I have some reading up to do on nesting areas. I had no idea they would lay eggs if there were no male around ( duh !! ). They are close to 3 years old now. When would they be ready for this area ? How would they be acting ?
Lots to learn...

[painted patience]

ps . do you like my signature ? My daughter did it for me. At the top are lady and Mrs. Burgess ( used to be Mr. ) Mrs.Burgess always perches on top of Lady and looks very protective if I get too close by .Tony ,the baby painted, is at the bottom.

[marisa]

Not for another few years/another few inches in shell length. For future reference: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Nestsites.htm

Very creative signature.

[painted patience]

Thank you, very interesting ! I will file it away for a later date. ( Much later I hope ).

[steve]

hi, I like your signature as well, but currently it's not allowed.

from http://www.redearslider.com/forum/post_rules.php#3

Signatures may not contain graphics, links or commercially-related material.

However, please feel free to post this and future creative in the photo gallery. Thanks.