Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hi everyone! Meet Donnie!

[Mikey82]

Hi all! Just wanted to introduce myself and my little Turtle friend. His name is Donnie, short for Donatello my favourite Ninja Turtle growing up. (or Donatella if he ends up being a she lol) I'm not new to RES ownership but I'm new to proper care of RES(thanks to this site!)

I had previously owned one about 10 years ago and sadly he passed away due to my lack of knowledge of RES care and neglect RIP Lil Guy . I was in my early 20s and was more concerned with having fun/partying and not realizing that these cute creatures need more care than just dumping food in and turning on a light. I had always felt guilty about letting him suffer and always wanted another one. Well fast forward to just a few weeks ago and me and the GF decided to get a RES (kind of impulsively though lol)

We went and bought one of those all in one kits, "turtle" gravel and our little Donnie. Big MISTAKE! I should've never purchased the starter kit and not got talked into buying the "turtle" gravel. After some internet searching I came across this site and realized this kit would not be adequate even for a young RES. So right away I got a new filter, heater, large river rock and larger tank. I'm so grateful for all the awesome info on this site and it has really helped me become a better RES keeper. I want to keep buying him stuff its so hard to stop lol ( I think I've been trying to compensate for what I had put Lil Guy through lol ) Anyways, here are some specs and pics of Donnie and his new home.

My setup :
35 gallon tank( I want a larger one already though lol. My stand can hold up to a 75g so just waiting for a deal on kijiji to pop up)
Fluval 306 ( Probably going to get the FX6 when I find a larger tank or maybe run a 406 with the 306)
Aqueon 300w heater( a bit overkill for the current tank size but should be enough of a heater when I upgrade to a larger tank)

If anyone has any advice or constructive criticism please let me know. I'm always looking to improve my tank setup for him!

Here he is hanging out with his own reflection lol He likes resting here a lot. I think its because he blends in with the darker coloured rocks. I even have a hard time spotting him sometimes because he blends in so well

His favourite sleeping spot. wedged inbetween the heater and filter intake


Thanks for looking!

[steve]

Welcome Donnie and keeper! Looks like you are off to a great start and are very committed! My only concern is if that piece of wood is real wood, then you probably don't want it in water.

[Mikey82]

Welcome Donnie and keeper! Looks like you are off to a great start and are very committed! My only concern is if that piece of wood is real wood, then you probably don't want it in water.

Thanks! Yeah its "Faux" wood lol I think its made from slate.

[steve]

If it's hard and textured, it might be resin. They make very good platforms as long Donnie does not bite.

[Mikey82]

Yeah that's probably what its made out of. He uses it as a place to hide when hes scared. What do you mean by bite? like him biting the shelter?

[steve]

Yeah, biting it. It's very hard and could chip his beak if he goes at it a lot.

[Mikey82]

Oh ok. haven't seen him do it yet but if i catch him ill monitor it for sure!

[steve]

Sounds good!