I started the blog mostly centered around life as mom to my crazy Boston Terrier and sweet as pie Pit Bull. They are the most demanding of my time and attention, especially with all of their medical issues and training. The cats of course make many appearances as they are also silly and snuggly furbabies, they just require much less of the spotlight. But in my mom’s guest post she mentioned the other less known inhabitants of my house: my turtles.
About 3 years ago my younger sister moved to Hilton Head, SC for the summer. She and some friends just thought it would be fun to rent a little place by the beach for a few months during summer break from attending UK and work at restaurants or retail shops. My mom and some girlfriends of mine went down for a visit and I returned home with 2 baby Red-eared Slider turtles the size of quarters.
I will be the first to admit that I shouldn’t have bought them from the souvenir shop where the guy was telling me if I fed them every other day they would stay small. I knew that was a line of you know what but they were all in this aquarium in the middle of the store and I sort of felt like I was rescuing at least these 2. The only thing was, I had no idea how to properly care for 2 baby turtles. They send you home with them in this tiny little carrier with some food pellets and that’s about it.
So off to the pet store I went when I returned home to figure out how to keep these guys alive. They very nice guy at the shop I went to set me up with a tank, a dock for them to sunbath on (since they are semi-aquatic) and the proper lighting and filters. The tank needs to be kept at a specific temperature and then both a basking light and UVB light for shell health must be provided. It was then explained to me that baby turtles have a meatier diet and although the food pellets meet their nutritional needs, it’s good to also supplement with live food. I was a little horrified at first because the thought of throwing fish in the tank to their death was not sitting well with me. I actually made Chris do it several months later and didn’t even watch as the poor guppies were gobbled up.
I did do my research to find out the right way to continue caring for my turtles and provide them with the appropriate habitat and food supply and what to look for to make sure they are staying healthy. I got some pretty gravel to add to the bottom and calcium bars and nutrient rich treats for them. But as with any aquatic pets, the icky business of cleaning the tank is a necessity. I’m not ashamed to say I quickly made this Chris’s job. He would come over to my apartment and do the dirty work for me. I’m lucky he was willing to do this because it’s really not a pleasant process.
Fast forward 3 years and my turtles have grown so much I cannot believe they were so small when I got them. They reside in a 55 gallon tank in the living room which is soon to be upgraded to a 125 gallon tank to accommodate their size. They recognize faces and will actually beg for food by swimming up against the side of the tank. And they act like they are always hungry. Sometimes when we are sitting on the couch watching TV we hear them splashing around or dock diving. They really are neat creatures to watch.
It is nearly impossible to tell the sex of a Red-eared slider turtle before they reach sexual maturity. In captivity this usually occurs for males between 2-4 years and females 3-5 years. I just assumed mine were both male and I named them Mike Tyson and John Wayne because they were so tiny when I got them I felt that they needed some strong names. Comparing their features against what the guide I found online to determine gender, it appears I was right and they are in fact both male. People wonder how I can tell them apart but it’s pretty easy as they each have very distinct markings and color patterns on their shells and underbellies.
They make wonderful pets for animals lovers or maybe someone with dander allergies or who spends little time at home. But unfortunately many people get them from places like I did and then discover they do grow large and required a lot more care than may be let on and end up releasing them into the wild. Before you bring any pet into your home, make sure you know what you are getting into or be prepared to do whatever takes to care for your new family member.
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