Baby RES turtle and new owner!

Kaitlynn

Kaitlynn

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
61
Location (City and/or State)
Minnesota, USA
My fiancé and I got a russian tortoise hatchling awhile back and love him so much. But I never expected my fiancé to share the love that I have for these amazing shelled species. Well tonight, we went to a county fair and played a tossing game they had (you usually win a teddy bear or a goldfish or something like that). My fiancé threw the ping pong ball and he made it to the center container (grand prize). Wow right? The guy handed us a plastic bag with water and a tiny baby RES turtle. All I could think of was how cruel to carelessly practically hand out helpless baby turtles to careless and ignorant people, even little kids. My fiancé immediately said we are keeping him and giving him a home he deserves. So now we have a new addition and need some advice. It is currently midnight as we are getting home so we are going to put him in a Tupperware container for the night with access to some swim able water and dry ground. Tomorrow we are getting him his own tank and a landing and obviously his own lamp system. I don't dare simply google RES care because of all the misguided info I could have gotten into with my Russian tortoise that way. This forum has helped me a lot with my RT so I know I will get the advice I need and what's best for our new addition. I have taken a picture I will add as well. We decided to name him Spike.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    765.3 KB · Views: 48
AmRoKo

AmRoKo

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2013
Messages
711
Location (City and/or State)
Florida
I hope you enjoy your new family member! But yeah I remember the last time I went to a fair and there were carnies that had RES and little bunnies as "prizes" I had never seen that before, I always thought it was a bit weird to use real animals instead of fake for a prize. :/
 
Jabuticaba

Jabuticaba

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,744
Location (City and/or State)
Winnipeg, MB
Is that still allowed? That's just so cruel! But I'm glad he ended up with you guys. Keep us posted on his progress, please.


May, Aussies, & THBs
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES
 
mike taylor

mike taylor

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Messages
13,452
They are breaking the law . You can't sell or give turtles away like that . There's a four inch law . The only way around the law is for teachers education purposes
 
Redfoot NERD

Redfoot NERD

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
3,665
Location (City and/or State)
Tennessee
I'll try to answer your question.

Kaitlynn - you don't need to spend a fortune to provide all the needs for this little one!

1 ) since these sliders are so cold tolerant you don't need to heat the water.. that will only make fungus growth easier to happen.. and you don't need to spend the $$ for a heater.

2 ) they are good swimmers so don't worry about them drowning in more than 6 inches of water. I really like corkbark for them to bask on.

3 ) get a submersible filter from Walmart.. [ black and are a round cylinder type with open top where the filter pad drops into.. no tubes - water comes in thru slots in bottom ] they're only $20 [ maybe rated at 20 gallons of water? ] I've used these forever!

4 ) some kind of light may be the most expensive thing for him.. and will be the only thing you really need to get at a so called pet store. I seldom get anything from a petstore because they [ try to ] sell you stuff you don't need.

5 ) Reptomin from Walmart will be fine too. The smallest size will last a long time and feed only one or two of those "pellets" once a day! Any not eaten in a few minutes scoop out right away!

I would get a plastic tub about 20 gallons or so to start.

This is simple and a little one like him will be fine in the simplest set-up to start! The less you have in the tub the better!

He just needs water to swim and eat in and a place to bask... and that's it!!!
 
Last edited:
Jabuticaba

Jabuticaba

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,744
Location (City and/or State)
Winnipeg, MB
@Redfoot NERD thanks for the advice! Not that I have turtles, but always good to know and share. The no-heater point makes perfect sense!


May, Aussies, & THBs
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES
 
Kaitlynn

Kaitlynn

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
61
Location (City and/or State)
Minnesota, USA
Redfoot NERD said:
I'll try to answer your question.

Kaitlynn - you don't need to spend a fortune to provide all the needs for this little one!

1 ) since these sliders are so cold tolerant you don't need to heat the water.. that will only make fungus growth easier to happen.. and you don't need to spend the $$ for a heater.

2 ) they are good swimmers so don't worry about them drowning in more than 6 inches of water. I really like corkbark for them to bask on.

3 ) get a submersible filter from Walmart.. [ black and are a round cylinder type with open top where the filter pad drops into.. no tubes - water comes in thru slots in bottom ] they're only $20 [ maybe rated at 20 gallons of water? ] I've used these forever!

4 ) some kind of light may be the most expensive thing for him.. and will be the only thing you really need to get at a so called pet store. I seldom get anything from a petstore because they [ try to ] sell you stuff you don't need.

5 ) Reptomin from Walmart will be fine too. The smallest size will last a long time and feed only one or two of those "pellets" once a day! Any not eaten in a few minutes scoop out right away!

I would get a plastic tub about 20 gallons or so to start.

This is simple and a little one like him will be fine in the simplest set-up to start! The less you have in the tub the better!

He just needs water to swim and eat in and a place to bask... and that's it!!!
Click to expand...
Thank you bunches!! This was super helpful :)
 
Kaitlynn

Kaitlynn

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
61
Location (City and/or State)
Minnesota, USA
Redfoot NERD said:
You are welcome.. a lot easier than those "scientific" volumes that is out there.. huh?

This is not rocket surgery or brain science......................
Click to expand...
Yes!! I felt the same when I got my russian tortoise. I felt that I needed to know certain things that didn't even turn out to be useful or even the right information cause of how outdated it was. Now that I have owned my tort for awhile I realized I was stressing over the little silly things and it gets easier, especially with help! :)
 
Yellow Turtle01

Yellow Turtle01

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
7,707
Location (City and/or State)
OH, USA
when I first got my russian, I freaked out when he pooped in his water dish! :oops: he does it everyday, on schedule!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Nicoled
New RES owner
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
Yellow Turtle01
Yellow Turtle01
Tortoisekatie
Thinking about getting a turtle,
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
TortsNTurtles
TortsNTurtles
M
  • Locked
RES SHEDDING?
Replies
6
Views
2K
daytripper
daytripper
omgdoubletacos
  • Locked
New baby RES!
Replies
3
Views
1K
dmarcus
dmarcus
M
  • Locked
Our RES Rescues
Replies
12
Views
3K
evin
evin

New Posts

Top