My lovely turtle <3

[Sylph]

I just feel like posting pics of my "baby" Sora . She's 3 years old, 8inches and is my big ol' baby :3 - iPod photo quality , plus she was moving... ohwell :tongue: .

   

   

   

   

   

[azulai]

She's beautiful!
I have a 6 yo male. I'll post pictures later. I'm studying right now. mile:

[scraps345]

I want a turtle!! but I have 5 kitties that I take care of already. Are turtles hard to take care of?

[TheDeac]

Lol properly yes than can be a pain keep in mind those Lil turtles you buy get 15+ inches in diameter lol they are native to where I live plus I'm a avid herper (mainly lizards) but I love keeping them have a pond out back with two 10 in adults one male one female they hatched out a lot of baby's last year lol

[Sylph]

@Azulai- maybe they can be long distance buddies . And she says thanks, took forever for her to "gather" her beauty >.< Lol.

@Scrap- Generally no, Sora was a rescue turtle and came to me with a few shell diseases when she was 1 1/2, so she required some extra care and love
Turtles basically need 10gallons of water per inch of the shell(8=80, but I need to find a bigger size ), a heat lamp and uvb lamp. A pump/filter is usually a requirement, but some people don't mind changing the water every week :/ . Also, a water heater is kind of a must, but where I live it's usually always warm, so I don't really need it. :p

Also, depends on the turtle. Sora is a Red Eared Slider, so she's amphibious(most turtles are) and needs to come out of water for atleast 4-5hrs a day. But say for instance, if she were a Musk Turtle, she wouldn't need to, as those types of turtles are generally fully aquatic and wouldn't do well on land. They're actually very nervous on land and would probably die from stress. And since they don't come out of the water, they don't really need the uvb light, but are extremely messy, so a filter is a must! :o .

It depends on the type of turtle you have. I always suggest to people who ask me, to either start off with a land turtle(like the Eastern or Florida box turtle) or a Red Eared Slider like Sora, as these species are very hardy and sociable and easy to handle/raise.

Tip, whatever you do, don't get a pile of turtles and mix them, as they are naturally territorial and aggressive because of this, even if they seem nice. 2 turtles can go their whole lives being ol' chums, and then one day, you can find one of them is missing a tail :x .

Hope you enjoyed my turtle lesson :p . I used to have 20 in my old outdoor pond, before I moved . Sora was the youngest of them. So I've become quite 'enlightned' on "turtley knowledge" lol

[Sylph]

Lol properly yes than can be a pain keep in mind those Lil turtles you buy get 15+ inches in diameter lol they are native to where I live plus I'm a avid herper (mainly lizards) but I love keeping them have a pond out back with two 10 in adults one male one female they hatched out a lot of baby's last year lol

Omgosh, R.E.S usually lay like 10-20eggs per clutch :x . You must've been swamped. I had so much, I had to sell my babies, and donated some to the Zoo. A ratio of 1male:2females wasn't the best idea in retrospect, but it reduced aggression, so >.> .

(I had a few skinks before. They native here, but have become rare now)

[TheDeac]

Lol yea I love them I have a lot of native turtles around here if they are native to your climate i think they are a pain yours is awesome looking tho!! I'll stick with my lizards lol :-)

[Sylph]

Thanks :3 , she's blushing (or maybe that's her red ears? :p ).

We don't have many lizards here. Common lizards,Skinks and an imported Crocodile(giant lizard :p) that's like 50+ I swear! :o . We actually don't have much animals outside the "norm" like cats,dogs,horses and chickens.

It's a blessing and a curse(well to me anyway :p), cause on one hand, we have no animals that can; poison/eat/maul/trample or terrorize us, but then on the other hand, there's not much diversity here :/ , so lucky you. :p .

[Scotty]

Turtle soup

[TheDeac]

Haha right now I only have a bearded dragon sold the rest but I'm getting a tegu in june