All Turtles Message Board

gardan69 · Level 1 Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

We have a RES and a YBS, both small. The RES is a little bigger than a silver dollar and the YBS a little bigger than the RES. We had 3 RESs to begin with, but a neighbor boy stole the same baby RES 4 times and on the 4th attempt, we never found him. Then one just died on us last night, we're thinking he ate himself to death. So, we're down to 2 now. We have them in a large (50 gallon) outdoor pond with a little fountain and a board where they can get out of the water and sun. Problem is, they are so shy! The minute they see you they scram for the water. How do you tame these little guys and do they eat themselves to death (pig out)? We also have 3 larger fish (the longest being about 5 inches) in the pond with them, they don't seem to mind the turtles in their pond at all. Should we take them out and play with them to get them used to us?

dixieee · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:47 pm Post subject:

welcome to the board Smile

a baby RES and YBS?? reminds me of myself Very Happy

the outdoor pond is perfect for them now but do u have some space for winter? they're too young to hibernate and need to be kept indoors..anyways summer just started so let's worry about now Smile

the turtles are shy and u have to make them get used to u..yes play with them, handle them, hand-feed them and they'll begin to notice u and by time will come running when they see u

for the fish, u have to worry about them and not from them cz turtles will try to eat them..still too early though cz ur turtles are tiny and they won't eat what's bigger than them

good luck with ur little guys Smile

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

gardan69 · Level 1 Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

I'd heard that if you get the turtles as babies and put them in with the fish, they get used to the fish and won't want to eat them. Kind of like they're all in the family...they won't want to make a fish dinner. Is this true? How big can I expect my RES and YBS to get and how long does it take them to get to their maximum size?

gardan69 · Level 1 Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

We started with Eddie (after a slow speaking guy my husband works with), the baby RES. Got him two friends (baby RESs as well), a tid bit bigger, named them Ed and Edd (or Double D), as in Ed, Edd and Eddie, the cartoon. Anyhow, our neighbor boy stole Eddie 4 times and we never did find him after the 4th kidnapping. When we went camping last weekend, my son found the baby YBS and we brought him home. Since we were at Jellystone camping ground, we named him Yogi. We found Ed dead last night, on the bottom of the pond, belly up, swollen neck, could he have eaten himself to death? So now we're down to Double D (Edd) and Yogi.

dixieee · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 3:37 pm Post subject:

maybe he chocked with something..i'm sorry for ur loss

the RES and YBS will grow according to their gender..they might reach up to 14" but that'll be after a long time Smile

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

gardan69 · Level 1 Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

Since there was a lot of soggy reptile sticks left about 5:15 am and my husband checked about 7 am and they were all gone, we're thinking he pigged out too much. As far as Eddie who was turtle-napped by the neighbor boy 4 times, we never did find him. It was hot and dry and we're hoping he found some water or shade. We're trying to protect Yogi and Double D (Edd) now. How often/much should they be fed?

booboo · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:34 pm Post subject:

i would say about 6 to 8 reptile sticks dependeing on the size of the sticks and around 3 times a day but 2 is also fine

dixieee · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:45 am Post subject:

2 times a day is enough..6-8 sticks? i think this is too much booboo

u can give them like 3 pellets/day (not meal) and keep some veggies or plants in there so if they feel hungry they will find something to eat
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

gardan69 · Level 1 Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

Reptile sticks are 1/2" long. I thought they could go long periods (a month or two) without eating, don't know where I heard that from, but I did. But feeding them more than once a day seems like overkill. I only have 2 left, Double D (Edd) and Yogi, so should I just put 3 - 4 sticks out in the evening after I've fed the fish. The turtles like to grab on to the stick and dive, therefore, losing the stick. The fish sometime will come up and grab it from them. I guess I need to start trying to feed them outside the pond, maybe in a little dish. This would hopefully help with their shyness too.

dixieee · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 3:30 pm Post subject:

i guess they go that long when they're hibernating but if it exceeds 2 weeks i think it's the problem
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u