Last week my wife was given a pair of RES Hatchlings as a gift. I'm guessing from someone who did not know that they can be a lot of (setup) work to keep as pets.
Luckily, Growing up, I had a couple RES for about 5 years and know a thing or two about them. Unfortunately we had to give up the RES I had as a kid because they outgrew the tank and we couldn't get a bigger one.
I don't plan to have that problem this go-round, I want to have these two 25 years from now.
Meet Gryff and Puff
They are roughly 2" long and I have them in a 30 gallon tank, so they have plenty of room for now.
...Of course I'm keeping an eye out for a 90 gallon tank for them to move into next year.
The two of them were in a small plastic carrier tank for about a week before we could bring all the supplies together for the 30gal.
During that time, they did not have proper water temperature or lighting. I feel bad about that, but at least they were fed and water was changed daily with dechlorinated water since it was such a small tank without a filter.
Gryff is currently giving me a bit of a scare because he is so lethargic, but I think it could just be adaptation to the new environment.
I'll give him a few more days to acclimate before I really start to worry.
He does eat and occasionally will swim around the tank. He was actually the brave one who swam laps around the new tank right after moving.
Anyhow, for my first post on the forums, I just wanted to introduce Gryff and Puff!