New RES owner

[Nicoled]

Hi all! I live in northern Canada. I have a five year old redfoot tortoise named Dovey.

My husband knows my love for the shells... So today he rescued a red eared slider for me. I couldn't be more excited! As far as I can tell, he's healthy. Unfortunately, he needed a new home because of a divorce. Enter my family!!

"The Captain" came with a living tank (that I feel is too small) and a feeder tank. I have a larger tank in the shed that I am going to haul in and set up very soon.

Is he a boy? Age estimate?

I would love any and all advice from fellow RES owners. He also came with four different types of pellet foods. I am used to giving my tortoise fresh everything, so I'm hesitant to feed him this. There is also frozen food and worms. I have been researching online all day and it seems everything is contradicting.

I appreciate any help and advice you're willing to give!

 

[Nicoled]

Forgot to ask about the filter. He came with an Exo Terra turtle filter fx200. Will this be sufficient for this tank? For a larger one?

Thank you

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

to me that looks like thats a male florida red bellied turtle not a red eared slider. first pic is a florida red bellied turtle, second is a red eared slider.

 

[ascott]

Hi...may we see a picture of his head...from the side please

 

[Nicoled]

Wow, is this species much different from a RES?

 

[Nicoled]

His nails are very long... Is this an issue?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

View attachment 100902
His nails are very long... Is this an issue?

i know only a bit about turtles. long nails are common for male turtles, nothing to worry about.

 

[Nicoled]

i know only a bit about turtles. long nails are common for male turtles, nothing to worry about.

Thank you! I read some arguments on a website... Some say it is dangerous and to take them to a vet to clip, others said it's for mating... Females like longer nails. I think he looks great.

 

[Nicoled]

The feeding is very different from what I've found googling. RES are omnivores while the Florida Ref Belly is mostly herbivorous. I had another person tell me he may be a painted turtle.
He's been with the family I got him from for two years, they treated him as if he was a RES and they fed him turtle pellets and freeze dried protein. Will this have an adverse effect later in his life if he is not a RES?
What are the thoughts on manufactured food? My redfoot gets ONLY fresh... Sometimes from outside in the yard, but since we live in Canada, most comes from the produce section.

 

[Blakem]

You have an adult male red eared slider. The nail length for this species is one possible determining factor of its gender. I think the other is the tail length.

 

[Nicoled]

I have now been told he's a Northern Red Bellied Cooter. Opinions? I'm very confused now... I hope I don't screw this up. :/

 

[Blakem]

It's definitely a RES. I'm pretty confident.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Yes, I agree with RES! I have an adult male, but he's colored very special, but his nails are very long, and he has a thick, long tail. He is also a couple inches smaller than my girls!
That does look a little small! It could actually work okay for a bit if it was filled up more, but bigger is always better! I would totally recommend using something different for basking, when I had rocks, my female RES's shell took it badly, and her nails got ground down What type of light is that? Do you know how hot his basking spot gets?
That looks like a TurtleClean filter (I have one ) and I can tell you it won't keep that water clean for long! It always best to get a filter double the size of your tank, to keep it clean! All the turtles here get pellets (the bulk of the diet, actually) suited for their stage of life! (hehehe, the sliders get adult pellets and my painted turtles are still growing a bit, so they get a mix between juvenile and adult) yummy chicken, sometimes pork, meal worms, earthworms, and they LOVE crickets! Can't forget those veggies, either! They chow down on all sorts of aquatic plants, and lettuces!

 

[zenoandthetortoise]

Hi all! I live in northern Canada. I have a five year old redfoot tortoise named Dovey.

My husband knows my love for the shells... So today he rescued a red eared slider for me. I couldn't be more excited! As far as I can tell, he's healthy. Unfortunately, he needed a new home because of a divorce. Enter my family!!

"The Captain" came with a living tank (that I feel is too small) and a feeder tank. I have a larger tank in the shed that I am going to haul in and set up very soon. View attachment 100898 View attachment 100897

Is he a boy? Age estimate?

I would love any and all advice from fellow RES owners. He also came with four different types of pellet foods. I am used to giving my tortoise fresh everything, so I'm hesitant to feed him this. There is also frozen food and worms. I have been researching online all day and it seems everything is contradicting.

I appreciate any help and advice you're willing to give!

Hi Nicoled,

I realize you're getting a lot of conflicting info, but I would say you have a redbellly. First, I've never seen a RES with a reddish plastron. Second, redbellies like other cooters have a pattern-less plastron, unlike RES. Lastly, RES do indeed have a red 'ear' of color.

Redbellly like other cooters are much more herbivorous than RES. I still provide Mazuri pellets, but also omega-1 veggie rounds. I also binder clip greens and sink them for foraging This is my peninsula cooter munching a squash flower (her favorite). Collards and mustard greens are also appreciated. Regarding filters, I just use big enough to keep the water moving and do weekly water changes.

 

[mike taylor]

Get a picture of his head poking all the way out. I believe you have a red belly . Totally different fron a red ear slider .

 

[Nicoled]

 

[Nicoled]

 

[Nicoled]

I was also given these. Are they sufficient? I am going to change his bulbs this weekend (I don't know how long these ones have been in use) but I don't want to use the wrong bulbs.

 

[Nicoled]

I feel like I'm bombarding everyone with questions. Curious about food now. I'm really uncomfortable giving pet store food. The Captain came with this food, he's been eating it for at least two years.
Is this good for him if he is a cooter? I am always stocked up on leafy greens and whatnot for my redfoot. Should I be giving that to this guy as well? How much and how often?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

i still don't see RES can someone point out the features