Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: New turtle mom to two RES

[Joddog]

Hello! New here! I am a new owner of two rescued RES hatchlings. They were found in the waste water treatment facility and couldn't be left there, so now they are in my care. I've had them for just over a week.. And have never had turtles before! Their names are Zeus and Aphrodite... Although they are way too young to know actual gender. Aphrodite measures 1.5 SCL and Zeus measures 1.25 SCL. Zeus is too skittish to get a picture of, but here is Aphrodite enjoying the basking platform.



I'm going to have lots of questions! Look forward to meeting you all!

[Joddog]

Here are both of them together.

[steve]

Welcome to the forum! They look super cute. Have they been eating? What have you been feeding them?

[Joddog]

They eat really well! They eat ReptoMin pellets once a day and have access to fresh greens all the time. Right now it's kale. They eat quite a bit of the kale. I offer carrots and green beans on occasion as well. They aren't too fond of either. Lol

[Kansasslider]

Congrats and welcome. They look happy

[steve]

The seams look a bit thick, you might want to cut back on the protein or re-evaluate their diet.

[Joddog]

How would I cut back on protein? I don't give them any extra.

[Kansasslider]

He means cut back on the pellets.

[Joddog]

What would be a good amount for them?

[Kansasslider]

I'm not sure if you have read this?
http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

I switched to Omega One. It's better than Reptomin. Comparison of the ingredients made up my mind. I can't really tell you how many to feed without knowing how many you feed them now. Then again my Diamondbacks are little pigs so I'm not sure I can tell you anyway

[steve]

I will probably revise the pellets page... but I would consider using slightly less than whats recommended there if there are shell issues. Also Omega One is great, I usually get mine at Petco.

[Joddog]

I cut down their pellets to two a day each, plus they have kale in there as well. They have been eating considerably more kale. When should I know if it's helping with helping them not grow too fast? Will their seams get smaller or will they just eventually catch up to their seam size?

[steve]

The seams fill in to become scutes... sort of like growth rings. In the picture, they're growing faster than the scute. Is there anyone else around that might be sneaking them food?

[Joddog]

Nope. One kid isn't here, the toddler isn't big enough to get to the food, and my husband doesn't like them.