Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: New member and new rescue Turtle Owner - North NJ

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Post Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:16 am   New member and new rescue Turtle Owner - North NJ

Hello Everyone,

So as of Wednesday I have taken custody of two beautiful Red Ear Slider's from a Co-workers daughter. They were purchased together in 2011 and I am pretty confident they have not been properly cared of most of their lives. I have had some real work to do in a few short days....

They are around 7 years old and they are only about 4 & 5 inches long, from what I have read that seems a bit on the small side for their age so I am thinking their diet was never that consistent.
I am most concerned about their diet, I know how often they SHOULD be fed for their age, but since they were neglected I am trying to figure out the best way to get them stronger. Any suggestions would be VERY welcome.

It seems they have been kept in only a few inches of water most of their lives so they are not really used to deeper water so for now they are only in about 8 inches of water (I know it sounds cruel) but these 2 are happily zooming all over the place now but they REALLY need something to prop themselves up on to stick their noses up out of the water. as they seem more confident in the water I am gradually going to increase the water level and just monitor them well.

I was only given the turtles in a small container, some zoo-med turtle food ,a 30 gallon tank and a small float dock. Since then I have gotten them some sand, some pieces of slate to prop up on, a water filter, UVB Bulb /heat lamp, and my daughter insisted on a pretty tank background and I have a new turtle basking dock on order from Amazon. Overall i think they are MUCH happier than they have been in the past. Any additional tank accessories recommendations would be very welcome as well.

My family and I are really enjoying them so far, and I think they are liking us too....? Any time one of us walks over to their tank they swim like hell over to us and just go nuts.
I have been am working next to their tank and they have been hanging out in the corner closest to me and just watching me.

I have been scouring Youtube and Google on Turtle care but again if anyone can offer me some essential advice or advice on treating neglected turtles I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks All! look forward to talking with you!
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Work Buddies.jpg
Current Tank Setup.jpg
Davidd
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Jul 27, 2018
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:24 am   Re: New member and new rescue Turtle Owner - North NJ

Hi David!

They look pretty good for their age, I don't see anything wrong in the pictures posted. They look like males, so they usually stay smaller and they don't always grow to full size. For their diet, I would focus on getting them a good pellet. Omega One is one of the best currently and I would probably offer them an amount that is roughly 1/3 the size of their heads. Try introducing some veggies to them as well. Does any direct sunlight reach the tank?

Since they are males, they will likely need to be separated at some point. Not always but a vast majority of the time... so you might want to keep that in mind and keep an eye out on any aggression. Good luck and welcome to the forum!
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:16 am   Re: New member and new rescue Turtle Owner - North NJ

Hello Steve,

Thank you for the reply! Yes they seem overall in good health, from what I have been reading about Turtle illnesses they don't seem to exhibit any symptoms.
When I received the turtles I was given a container of Zoo Med Turtle Food (growth formula) so I have been using that for now. I will look into the Omega One pellets, Thank you for the advice!
My co-workers couldn't offer me any insight on how often they were fed. Her gut feeling was "whenever my daughter remembered to feed them" so I am thinking that they might be slightly malnourished. The local pet ship guy has experience with RES so he said maintain that food since it has a little more protein in it than an adult/maintenance pellet.

My real question is how often should i be feeding them at this point? Since they are 7 they are adults and should be fed prob every 2 - 3 days BUT since they were starved a bit some people have said a small portion every day is good ....Any additional info would be very welcome at this point. I am going to try to give them some lettuce today, see how that goes.

So they have been together since they were hatch-lings and they seem to be used to one another. Since I got them I noticed that around 9 - 10 seems to be their witching hour, I think they get a little tired/grumpy and I noticed them fluttering their claws for a minute or two. Last night I turned off their light around 9:30 ish and instead of fluttering they just went to sleep. I don't see them exhibiting any other signs of dominance or aggression towards each other during the day, in fact they seem to end up laying next to or on top of each other when basking so I hope there wont be an issues but to your point I will keep a close eye on them and separate them if need be.
I have a new turtle dock coming that should provide them with a little more room to stretch out, so we'll see if that helps some.
Davidd
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Jul 27, 2018
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:20 pm   Re: New member and new rescue Turtle Owner - North NJ

Oh and to answer your question Steve, They are next to a window so they do get some sunlight during the day (not direct sun) but definitely some sunlight. I also have a UVB bulb shining on them during the day, as well as their heat bulb.
Davidd
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Jul 27, 2018
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:24 am   Re: New member and new rescue Turtle Owner - North NJ

You can feed them everyday, just reduce their portions and avoid overfeeding. I usually feed my RES some veggies/lettuce in the morning (they'll then bask and digest) and then give them a few pellets at night. The sunlight issue is mainly heating up to the water too much and causing algae problems. The glass filters out any UVB from the sun.
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steve
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