Yayy!! a turtle!

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Regarding cutting his head off, wouldn't have thought so. Best not test the theory though:D
I had a Chinese water dragon once, couldn't find my tongs to feed it so used my fingers...DOH
Little devil took a nice slice outta mu finger and didn't let go for about 5 mins. Then went nice and septic! Lesson learned
 
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I totally agree! and now you say so I'll get a better place for him but where could I buy a UV light??
 
Cool, most pet stores (in the UK anyway) sell them. They're basically the same as your standard aquarium light fitting...the T8 tube type. It's just a different colour bulb, usually a blueish colour. But they're specially supplied for reptile use.
Check out those links, they'll tell you exactly the best type of UV. The second link looked the best to me.
Have fun, hope I didn't offend, or take the edge off the excitement.

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LOL...oh yeah it blead. Don't compare the dragon to your turtle too much. Water dragons are true predators and have razor sharp teeth, pretty sure you turtle will have a beak (of sorts) albeit quite sharp. I might be wrong, but guess it would bruise more than cut.
She wasn't aggressive, just hungry and thought my finger was food:) She use to spend an hour a day just wandering around the living room, would even jump up onto your leg for you to scratch her neck. The key is, treat them with respect, they're essentially wild animals (even if captive bred) and need to be treated as such.
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you should just google turtle care. or red eared slider care. or both. there's a LOT of info out there and probably more easily accessible/faster than waiting for responses from people.
 
wow your right but still if anyone has any important info turtles that i need to remember it would be nice if you shared this
 
MAny turtles are omnivores, but some are carnivores and some veggies. The specific care of your turtle is totally dependant on what sort he is. If he is a red eared slider (terrapins as we call em over here) are omnivores.
I'm pretty confident though that pellets shouldn't be his complete diet, he may need suppliments also like calcium or vitamins.
Have you looked at those links yet, there's some pretty important info, like having enough water to fully submerge. My LFS keeps them in a plastic pool 2ft deep, with rock piles to bask on. The pool has a basking light (red spot light) with a UV tube suspended over. Saying that though, they've got a young croc in a small aquarium with about 3" of water:( , and keep green anolis lizards in a desert set-up, so what do they know!!! Research is the key, and ideally before acquiring such a pet.

Obviously in your case that wasn't possible as you didn't buy it, so get googling (don't necessarily believe the first link you find though, make sure the info gets repeated). Maybe join a reptile forum also. There's lots of knowlegable people out there.
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do you know how large a RES turtle gets... they are terrible pets and pests (at least here)

as for cutting its head off absolutly not. everything lets go eventually... rubbing alchol on the nose will usually make them let go.... hold its head under water... if that doesnt work... its gunna be a painful waiting process... also be very carefull about washing your hands when handling..

be prepared to buy a 150 gallon tank (or a pond)...

thats all i have .. if you have any specific questions im sure i could answer them..

-Brad
 
I did sum reserch and they grow to a maximon of 12 inches. Thanx 4 the advice guys. Ima buy a bigger tank for him when I have enough money though. But I don't about the place where he can get out on land that won't cost too much. Like should I use a floating peice of land, a place of gravel or sand piled up or anyone has sumthing better???
 
oh and also are you suppose to use a declhorinator like you use for fish? I still didnt find the answer to this on the web.
 
your research of 12 inchs.. completely incorrect . ive seen RES that have been 18 inchs... shell length... i would use dechlorinator... and be prepared to do LOTS of water changes.. turtles are filthy animals....


-Brad
 
not trying to come off as a jerk or anything but. these are terrible pets.... they are the most released pet in north america and have nearly wiped out 3 species of native turtle here in canada. they are large... fast and ... lets just say all around "D bags" to the enviroment... and im not afraid to excersise my right to "terminate" these animals upon discovery in the wild....


that said. if you want to commit to this more power too you. i have many friends that have adult colonys in ponds (fenced of course) and they are intresting animals. like i said 125-150 gallons will be needed. great filtration. and some real dedication.

these little guys have one of the more painful bites i have ever experenced ... it tops the adult macklotts that got my arm... and thats a 9 foot python... so be very carefull when allowing the kids to play with their turtle... also when handling make sure to thoroughly wash your hands before and after. terrible parasites and bacteria live on these animals bodies.

good luck

-Brad
 
it sounds like there are tons of em' over at your place in my neiborhood there are none here except if you keep them as pets. well what landscaping could I use that won't cost much$$$$ for when I get him a new tank. By the way how often do they bite? I was holding him and let him run around in th hallway upstairs, he's faster than I thought!!
 
in my experence... they bite when being threatened.. its like any wild animal. you can only be 90% sure at best that it isnt getting ready to snap... at least thats the rule i was always taught.


anyways. in the only all in one encloser i built (water and land) i used stone that i bought for aquaria .. pellet sized and filled the tank with that to about where i wanted the water line. then i put a fine mesh to hold it in place. filled it with water. put a layer of eco earth. then put sand on top. worked well


-Brad
 
YEs use dechlorinator, the filter needs to be biological like your aquarium one. Also, my lfs's filter return pipe, trickles water over the gravel (land area) forming a kind of giant trickle filter, don't know if thats deliberate or not. The gravel looks porous, a bit like live rock rubble.

BTW, we got them living wild in the UK also. AFAIK they can't breed though as our winters are too cold.
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How large is he? Like others have said, it will grow a lot. My girlfriend's sister has one, and its grown from a couple of inches to almost a foot. Supposedly it was rescued from a Chinese restaurant. When they are small, they eat more meat than vegetable (crickets I think work well) but now all he eats are turtle pellets and veggies. LOVES baby carrots.
 
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