turtle facts and fallacy

Fishnut · July 02, 2007, 04:15:03 PM

Just to make sure everyone is crystal clear on identifying a red eared slider, here are some pictures of the different types of turtles that the inexperienced has mistaken for a slider.

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littlelil · July 02, 2007, 05:37:28 PM

Thanks everyone! I've been very keen on reading what everyone has to say. I am very sensitive to animal cruelty, as i work with veterinarians as a full-time job. i assure you, I will do the utmost very best for my turtle and will not let it suffer.... oh, and i JUST watched Happy Feet.

mr. turtles will be in a 20 gal for 1 year.... i am still skeptical that he'll grow from 1.5" to 6 within that period of time. The water level will be at LEAST 3-4 times it's length for the majority of it's time there. I have newts in a 10 gal and the water level there is 8". Isn't the absolute minimum water level supposed to be 1.5 times it's shell length? see, they'll be just fiiiiine in a 20 gal for a year.

the pond i'm building will be about 30 gal of just water + the land surrounding it... so it'll be like, moving from, well i believe they're kept in a bowl with 20 other RESs at the store, so, from a closet to... bill gate's mansion (does he live in a mansion?) to an apartment for a year

Oh, and I saw a turtle in the canal. I didn't get a close enough look to see if it was a RES, but it seemed very out of place. It was stuck in some area (that little loop area along Central Park on Bank St.) where there was NO way of getting up on land, so he kept swimming and swimming.. as far as my sight was, there was no place for him to get out or stop swimming. I hope the guy ddidn't end up drowning

Fishnut · July 02, 2007, 05:58:11 PM

I sincerely hope you do what's best for your turtle despite a few people telling you that a tank that size is not necessarily the best. It makes me sad that you undermined the advice on the growth potential of the turtle. 30 gallons of pond is no mansion for an adult RES.

I decided a long time ago that I wanted nothing to do with the vet practice or the pet shop industry. I had aspirations to be a vet for as long as I can remember until I actually worked with one and discovered the amount of disturbing BS that goes on out there. Then there was a plan to open my own pet shop until I realized that's where all the BS begins. A lot of pet owners don't really care about the pet, just about the fact that they want it and are determined to be right, despite the advice given by people who truly know what it's like to care for the non-fluffy, un-commonly kept critters.

Bad pet shops who do things like keep turtles in a bowl only do that because they don't care and people keep shopping there. As long as the money keeps rolling in, they'll keep up their bad pet care practices. Perhaps if we all stopped shopping at the places that do things like that and shop at places that take care of the pets (it costs more to care for pets, so the price will be higher) we won't have to see things like RES's in bowls.

If anyone is interested in reptile or amphibian ownership, there's a FANTASTIC little reptile shop on Montreal Rd. They have great quality creatures, bugs and the guy who runs it (I think he might be the owner) is REALLY knowledgeable. I pretended to be inexperienced and asked a lot of questions to see how he answered.

littlelil · July 02, 2007, 08:28:27 PM

Fishnut, I think you missed the first part of the thread. I'm only putting the baby RESs in a small pond for a month or two. I will be buying a house in about a year and then likely moving the turtles to a 60-100G or so tank. I never intend on leaving them in antyhing less than 20G for more than one year. I don't doubt that RESs can eventually grow to be abotu 12", just not within 12 months.

Insane79 · July 22, 2007, 11:59:22 PM

I have 2 beautiful rescue RES that I got from the reptile zoo. We currently keep them in a 120gallon tank. We've had them for about a year and half now, and I can attest to how darn fast they grow. My female has maybe doubled in size. I'd bet she's done growing now (she hasn't grown in some time now). She's about 12 inches or so. I've never actually measured her because I don't think it's worth the stress on her. My male is about 1/2 her size (which he should be). They actually look really funny side by side cause of the size difference. He's hardly grown. I'd bet he was nearly full grown when we got him. So they grow, and big at that. We were extremely educated on their care before getting them (spent 6mths preparing for their arrival), but we weren't totally prepared. They require an insane about of care. My electricity bill has gone up substantially since adopting them. We have 2 canister filters on the tank and of course there is the lighting (although different kinds exist now). The tank has to be drained and the filters cleaned constantly. We've had a few alarming outbreaks of horrible water quality. We came close to buying a water sterilizer, on top of the massize filtration we got going on. Although, I must admit, adding a few choice fish (that need to be able to tolerate the water conditions) has helped. They help keep the tank cleaner and provide a tasty snack to the turtles once and awhile (and a good work out for the turtles, the fish get fast the longer the live in the tank). Although it ain't cheap when you have to restock it (especially when the catch the expensive fish that are supposed to be too fast for them). And don't even get me started on their feeding. Balancing their diet and keeping them trim (it's so easy to make a turtle fat) is actually work. Not like opening a can of fish food and feeding your fish; more like feeding a kid!

But enough about my turtles... the take home message is they are a lot of work and a lot of care. But also very rewarding.

But to me the bigger question is what's the hurry?
If you are buying a house in a year, why not wait? They'll be for sale then too. Or wait the year and buy a beautiful rescue turtle. Somehow with the ban being lifted in Ottawa, I think they'll be a steady supply of rescue turtles. There is no pressure to buy now and house in something that will be mediocre at best.

Best of luck

Fishnut · July 23, 2007, 01:23:20 PM

Hi 5 for you Insane79!

I'm glad you're doing all you can for your turtles. I hope everyone reading this thread has learned about turtles and the importance of doing things right for the turtle and not for themselves.

As a tip (if it's possible), I used to house my 10 rescues in a large tank. There was a hole drilled in the bottom with a valve and a hose leading to a drain in the floor, so that when I wanted to drain the tank I just opened the valve and drain the water out. I could also hose it off, scrub and hose it off again. I used to do that once per week and also had a filter in there.

estuary · July 23, 2007, 07:03:00 PM

6 months old size of a quarter at christmas the get big fast
not a res but just to give you idea you NEED a bigger tank

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featherfin · July 25, 2007, 12:45:38 PM

i've seen a bunch of little red eared sliders around the ottawa river. most are about the size of a toonie or bigger. the may be breeding! .i have contacts with the ottawa riverkeeper and i'm a riverwatcher i could see if she could do anything about the turtle population.

littlelil · July 25, 2007, 02:06:28 PM

Can RESs survive through the winter here??

oenology · July 25, 2007, 02:41:24 PM

this is featherfin not oenology

i don't know but they could have been dumped in.

estuary · July 25, 2007, 07:41:23 PM

Quote from: featherfin on July 25, 2007, 12:45:38 PM
i've seen a bunch of little red eared sliders around the ottawa river. most are about the size of a toonie or bigger. the may be breeding! .i have contacts with the ottawa riverkeeper and i'm a riverwatcher i could see if she could do anything about the turtle population.

ill take a couple if you start catching are you sure there RES?

estuary · July 25, 2007, 07:44:29 PM

Quote from: littlelil on July 25, 2007, 02:06:28 PM
Can RESs survive through the winter here??

i am no export but res hibernate it is possible

featherfin · July 26, 2007, 08:47:37 PM

quite sure they have tiny little patches of red on their heads. i actually didn't know that they were bad at the time i saw them. i saw only about four little ones, a couple of weeks ago. they just sat there on rocks. i let them go. i thought they were supposed to be there. but i can try cathcing some in the weedy areas around the river. i saw them at a swampy area down river. do you know where the aylmer marina is? the aylmer beach is right beside it. if you go to the end of the beach (away from the marina) there is a small marsh that tends to collect turtles. i saw them there. i also saw what might have been one in the canal at the entrance to the locks too but i'm entirely sure what it was. it was bigger. i'll contact you estuary if i find more.

estuary · July 26, 2007, 10:15:42 PM

i cought two full grown RES at dows lake last year they were side by side had one in each hand didnt know what they were girlfriend made me let them go

estuary · July 26, 2007, 10:22:21 PM

Quote from: featherfin on July 26, 2007, 08:47:37 PM
quite sure they have tiny little patches of red on their heads. i actually didn't know that they were bad at the time i saw them. i saw only about four little ones, a couple of weeks ago. they just sat there on rocks. i let them go. i thought they were supposed to be there. but i can try cathcing some in the weedy areas around the river. i saw them at a swampy area down river. do you know where the aylmer marina is? the aylmer beach is right beside it. if you go to the end of the beach (away from the marina) there is a small marsh that tends to collect turtles. i saw them there. i also saw what might have been one in the canal at the entrance to the locks too but i'm entirely sure what it was. it was bigger. i'll contact you estuary if i find more.

ive been told no more tanks that means no more turtles

Fishnut · July 26, 2007, 10:56:42 PM

Check out the pictures I added at some point in this thread. It has clear pictures of the difference between the RES's and the native turtles.

So if you collect any released RES's, what do you plan on doing with them?

featherfin · July 27, 2007, 06:43:51 PM

if you mean me fishnut i will catch the ones i can and hold them until i can find someone who would like some. i am also going to find out ways to get rid of them in a humane manner. if i find more i'll put up a post.

Fishnut · July 28, 2007, 06:08:17 PM

Sounds great! I'de love to know how many you find. Is everyone in favour of the ban being lifted? I'm not. There are enough unwanted RES's around and in the wild already. Why bother allowing stores to sell them again? This will just increase the problem of re;eased RES's. Any other opinioins?

featherfin · July 28, 2007, 08:38:36 PM

you mean RES are banned? i didn't know that! there's a pet store that i visit occasionally that sells them. i rarely go there because all the animals are sick or dead. i'm going to find out the name of the place to warn people not to go there. if they sell them, does that mean they are illegal? in fact i noticed that the turtles were RES when i told them that there were five dead turtles that looked to have been there for about a month. i also contacted the Ottawa riverkeeper the other day and got a few numbers to call about the turtle population.

they are : CREDDO (819) 712-4925 and Invasive species group 1800-563-7711

please feel free to call them for more information.

i also want to know if there is anybody who would like adult turtles if i find any.

estuary · July 28, 2007, 10:40:24 PM

Quote from: Fishnut on July 28, 2007, 06:08:17 PM
Sounds great! I'de love to know how many you find. Is everyone in favour of the ban being lifted? I'm not. There are enough unwanted RES's around and in the wild already. Why bother allowing stores to sell them again? This will just increase the problem of re;eased RES's. Any other opinioins?

me personly i am glad the ban was lifted i now have two red bellies.
res in the states inhabit same places as painted turtle so why couldnt they live here wrong choice for export. i love my turtles if the ban was still in place i would not have them. last year i cought two res at dows lake at the time i didnt know they were not a native turtle they were caught when the ban was still in place these turtles were full grown several years old i do feel that they should be regilated or taged so if you release them they know who let them go like asian aros