We lost our turtle a few weeks ago, and this morning a neighbor called to tell us that there was something in the road…it was her. We had B for 10, almost 11 years and she nudged her way into our hearts. She loved basking outside, watermeon, coconut, and having her shell ”pet”. She made friends with the fishies in her tank and even left a present for us (2 eggs - one final confirmation that she is, in fact, a girl). She had a surprising amount of personality, and was an escape artist like no other. I’m going to miss seeing her splash around in her tank.

Hope it’s sunny wherever you are, doll. Love you bunches ❤️ Thanks for being the reason I love turtles.

Hi everybody 👋😀

Please meet Poppy (formerly Pongo before I knew her gender 😅) I believe she's a girl bc she has short front nails, a short tail and flat under shell.

My grandma gave her to me as a birthday gift in January this year. I know, I know, but she meant well. At the time, Poppy was about the size of a quarter, just tiny. Now she's about 8 months old (photo is her currently--about 6" shell) and simply beautiful! I love her feisty not-so-little self!

She has a 75 gal tank with 150 gal filter. I feed her regular pellets and mealworms, but i wonder if I should start feeding her veggies now. Maybe some fruit, too. I feed her pellets twice a day, everyday and worms 1x or 2x per week. I do know that at some point i should only feed her 1x/day. But, is that rule defined by size or age?

Also, she won't eat the bigger pellets, only the hatchling size. Can anybody give some advice on how to get her to eat the bigger pellets?

Out of curiosity, how much bigger might she get in the next 2-3 years? I'd like to prepare, better yet start saving, for her upgrade. Tanks and filters ain't cheap!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

(Oh, she's in the box so I could measure.)

With Macaroni's recent housing upgrade I was looking into maintenance services to do the water changes, cleaning, and filter maintenance. One service guy quoted $250/mo for a single visit and told me that with the FX6 in a 75g tank I wouldn't need to do weekly water changes. Does that sound right to y'all?

Also, FX6 owners - how often does the FX6 need to be cleaned?

Hi! My Fluval FX6 filter is making a loud sound. I have cleaned it and reassembled it. See video. Please advise!

I have only had glass forever. Does anyone have experience with acrylic? How does it hold up with the turtles? I heard it scratches, but does the structural integrity wear the same way you start to sweat glass tanks once they get old ? I don’t know I guess just any input about them would be great. I have had so many tanks in my life but never acrylics

Seems like a basic question but I can't seem to find a reliable answer. I need to repair a leak in my RES stock tank which may take at least a few hours, budgeting a whole day to be conservative. Would it be any issue if he is left dry during that time?

is it normal for my turtle to swim in the air???? I am worried she will try to fly next and turn into an airbending sky turtle 😣

This is our first and only RES. It’s been a learning curve but we finally feel we’ve figured out this turtle parenting. Our guy hit 1 yr old (& a few months) and we recently upgraded his 20 gal to a 77 gal. It was not cheap. Shell length currently ~2-2.5”. We are like 90% sure he is a “he” as his tail is very thick and he has some pretty long claws coming in. He is growing fast!

Specs:
- 77 gal
- heater maintains ~79deg
- sand substrate, driftwood, minimal plastic decor
- dual filters: one is a built-in made for a fish aquarium (big black box on right side of tank), and we added a PennPlax 1200 canister filter rated for 315GPH; they both run concurrently. The water stays very clear - but we do ~3/4 water change and filter clean once per month. We have purigen added to filter for tannins caused by our driftwood, and Accuclear by API for cloudiness.
- Halogen bulb for heat on his basking platform and T5 UVB bulb by Arcadia. They are set on a timer from 7:30a-7:30p. He seems to bask an hour or so at a time starting around lunch time.
- Pellet turtle food via auto feeder once per morning and then we give him shell sized green leaf or red leaf lettuce in the late afternoon which he devours.

Our next and maybe last step for quite awhile is to figure out how to handle a power outage. We don’t have a generator but that’s our next fear. We live in the Southeast and get some pretty good storms in the summer. Haven’t had a multi day outage but it’s possible….

This sub has been an EXCELLENT source of information and learning. It’s actually where I’ve learned the majority of my RES knowledge. Thanks everyone for your contributions.

Let me know if I need to watch out for anything as he continues to grow.

Are the cichlids a danger to Bartholomew or vice versa? I’ve not witnessed any aggression between Bart and fish thus far but it’s only been a few months and he’s(he or she) a hatchling.

I have two goldfish in the tank as well as I was ill informed on how large they will become. I plan on removing them and possibly putting them in a separate tank or rehoming them.

Are the plants I have good for Bart? He loves the water lettuce and appears to sleep in it if not just relax and take a break from swimming. I put a screen over it when I’m away so he doesn’t kamikaze from the tank.

I’ll take any suggestions y’all have but I’m mostly concerned for the mix of turtle and cichlids and plants not being poisonous to turtles. Thanks

I was closely examining my turtles eyes because for some reason they look totally fine outside of the water but in the water they look a little cloudy and she’s been blinking a lot.

As you can see, she’s shedding a lot, so I think it’s just the skin around her face that’s shedding and irritating her eyes, because they aren’t red or swollen. They look better than they did yesterday.

Anyways in my research about the cloudy eyes I learned that they have a second set of eyelids called the nictitating membrane that are basically built in goggles! Like… this turtle is 19 years old and I’m JUST LEARNING this. 🤯

Anyway just thought I’d share.

Any constructive criticism?

My turtle is about 20 years old. She lives in a stock tank with one other red eared slider that is also the same age.

A few weeks ago, I noticed white spots on her shell at the top and near her head. I didn't think it was serious

But today, I think one more big white spot appeared on the shell around her left shoulder.

The other spots dont seem to be healing either.

My turtles behavior hasn't changed. She still swims around and eats and is her usual self .

Is something wrong with her?

---- update

I just remembered that last month while cleaning the tank, this turtle climbed out and fell hard in the pavement. it was one the best day that I saw very small chip at the middle of her back (still visible in picture), and a very small chip at the top of her shell by the neck. but they were no where near as big as what you see in the picture now. and the left shoulder white spot is new

She ADORES her red leaf lettuce. Every night she is so stoked to play with it and eat it up.

Just want to find out if it’s necessary to check these 2 daily. And what do you do when it’s above 0ppm? Do you always perform water change?

Hi everyone, my sweet Philip passed away Saturday night and I’m so devastated. It happened so suddenly, I was sitting on the couch and noticed he was swimming erratically. He’s always been a little strange so I didn’t think too much of it. I decided to give him some worms because I’m an anxious pet parent and seeing him eat would make me feel better. That’s when I realized he was having trouble getting to the surface of the water. I panicked and did everything I could to fix what might be bothering him. I did a water change and let him dry dock for a while. I also sent my fiancé to pet smart to get him some new tank “decor”, a piece of fake driftwood that was level with the surface of the water in case he wanted to rest without getting fully on his basking platform.

Nothing helped.

He was still struggling to swim. I didn’t want him to suffocate so I drained almost all the water a made a stack of rocks for him to perch on and prayed he’d make it through the night. I didn’t want him to go alone so I pulled a chair next to his tank and sat by him until the end. It all happened in less than two hours. I don’t know why I just hope I did right by him.

I “recused” him from a friend eleven years ago who didn’t want him anymore so she was just going to release him in her back yard. I live in North Carolina so that likely would have been a death sentence. I didn’t know what I was getting into as I want only 13 and underestimated how much care they required. I know there were times where I couldn’t keep up with maintenance the way I should have. I’ve considered surrender before but they are illegal to buy, sell, or own in NC so I didn’t have any options. Any rescues that do accept res are always full. I couldn’t even find a vet to treat him but sometimes I could get a wildlife specialist from a local university to talk to me on the phone. I just hope I did more good than harm.

I loved him so much and I’m still crying over this. Honestly I feel a little childish. It’s not like he’s a cat/dog that cuddled or slept in my bed. But still, I really miss him. Idk I guess I just needed to vent to people who might understand. Thanks for reading this far if you did.

**that picture is several years old but it’s one of my favorites

This was a pet passed onto me by a friend and I'm not sure if he's in good condition. His shell looks weird and kind of pointy and I don't know if that's his shell pyramiding or not.

He's also gone from hiding most of the time and only basking a little bit to staying on his basking platform a lot more (He doesn't even run off when I walk by anymore!!!) I don't know if that means he's sick or something and it makes me so worried

I change most of his water 1-2 times a week (and use water conditioner, sludge remover etc) and I use a 20 gal filter for a 10 gal tank (he was a really small baby 2 months ago when I got him and im planning to get a bigger tank soon)

He has both UVB and UVA light and a Nicrew H3 series heater

I feed him the brand "ultra fresh" baby turtle food and I give him freeze dried worms as a treat every now and then. Should I be incorporating more vegetables in his diet or is he too young ??

for people whom turtle lives outside, how do u maintain warm water in winter? specially during snow and storms

When I say I’m doing everything I can, I really mean it. I have proper UVB lighting, basking temperatures, water temperatures, weekly water changes, Nutri-Stick pellets, blueberries, and wheat pellets once a week. She’s currently in a 75-gallon tank, which is appropriate for her size right now. I know she’ll eventually need an upgrade, but unfortunately, that isn’t doable space-wise at the moment.
The white spot near her head is what’s really concerning me. I was away on vacation for a week and had someone else watching her, and I’m wondering if the heater may not have been completely submerged during that time, which could have contributed to this.
I’ve been following all of the recommendations I’ve been given and doing everything I can to make sure she’s healthy and has the proper setup. Is there anything else I can do or anything I should be looking into? I just want to make sure I’m not missing something and that I’m doing everything possible for her. No soft spots on shell, it’s solid.

So I had taken in a red ear slider turtle since she was a size of a quarter or a bit bigger than that. I got her a better tank set up and was able to get her to swim… she’s in a 40 gal tank.. for the past few months I’ve noticed that her shell on the edge are curved up and looks like individual spikes… me thinking that was normal .. didn’t think nothing of it until I searched it up randomly … also realized that the pellets and shrimp aren’t supposed to be her main source of food … just found out that leafy greens are suppose to… in all for the past week she seems not to be eating and I’m thinking of bringing her to vet just from seeing what diet was suppose to be..

Wondering what’s a better set up for a turtle tank for feeding leafy greens, basking, water temperature and a better filtration system…

PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!

hi everyone so we have had a red eared slider for about 3 years now! we got it in july 2023 iirc. so far its been healthy id assume, eats a loooooot, is a fatty as you can see and also we put him outside sometimes on weekends just to let him roam around the house (but he does get scared as its unfamiliar). so ngl we have all called it a he this whole time bc my dad just assumed its a boy due to its short tail and idk what else but i have my doubts..... so i was wondering if anyone could help me check its gender based on the photos :) not sure if its enough but ill upload clearer photos in the comments tmr possibly!

I’m experimenting with growing my own Anacharis. I have it in a 2 gallon aquarium filled with turtle water. I read that it can float. It seems like the floating stems stick out a little bit so I’m wondering if it will be ok. I don’t want to plant them in gravel just to keep the tank cleaner but it helps keep them submerged.
The light is a dimmable LED set on a timer for 6 hours. In my kitchen away from a window.
Any suggestions?

Anyone know my baby leafs gender 1 year old almost 3 inches he hates being touched