AH-HEM! Announcement!!

[BeckaBlue]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/jonnbecka/57860914.jpg

[Lantern Light Mama]

Awe, we have a Red Ear Slider too! They are really cute but they can get pretty big. Our eats turtle food, minnows, snails, tadpoles, and plants from the lake. It gives hub a reason to get out and goof off. We never really named him though, we just call him turtle. :shifty

[MarynMunchkins]

:laughtears

Congrats on the new addition to your family! :giggle

[BeckaBlue]

kenz named him :grin

I was grocery shopping with nik and abs, dh took kenzie ou and that's what they came home with, lol! he says they almost got a parakeet instead, but kenz changed her mind last minute

nik loves him too, gonna have my hands full! nik's already picked him out a couple times! gonna get a new bigger cage in a couple wks probably, this is just the cheap temporary

[CandyLayne]

oooh! jaycie is gonna be so jealous!! there was a HUGE turtle in the yard a week or so ago and every day, she asks when he's coming back b/c she misses him. lol

[bostonsmama]

dh used to have 2 turtles! they do get pretty big, we were shocked! :eek i bought him one of them for his bday one year before we were married, we went back to the pet store where i got him to get our second one, but the guy said they made it illegal to sell them here now because they carry so many diseases? we obviously never got sick from calvin (;)) but we were really careful to wash our hands afterwards! i guess since they walk in their own feces when you hold them you can get salmonella or e.coli or something? just thought id make sure you knew that!

*but* like i said, we had them for years and never had a problem! congrats! we have a book somewhere (a super old little kids book) called "I have a turtle" i'll have to see if i can dig it up and send it to your kiddos!! (i got it at an antique store for dh when i got him his calvin)

and yes, we definitely named him calvin since our last name is cline (spelled wrong, i know but still funny, and we definitely had a dog before i went on bedrest named patsy lol)

[UltraMother]

I love turtles too.

[Lantern Light Mama]

Hmmm, now maybe turtle needs a name...Poncho, Pedro, or something. :heart Good luck with your new baby..teehee:)

[Senta]

hehe cute :)

[Tara]

So Cute! Are they easy to have as pets?

[Miss Priss]

:lol
Congrats! Glad he arrived safely. :giggle

[boonpnutsmom]

RES can get rather large. Rule of thumb for every one inch of turtle they need 10 gallons of tank. If you want more information on the RES care let me know, I have links to turtle boards. We have 2 Spiny Softshell turtles that given OPTIMUM conditions and food sources can grow to the size of 55 gallons trash can lids and weight close to 100 lbs. At the moment they are between 2.5"-3.0", and they are almost a year old. RES, like softshells, need lots of clean water. They love to swim, they need a basking area with a heat lamp (UVA Bulb) and also a UVB bulb for strong shell health. Our two little ones love feeder guppies, mealworms, veggies (there is a whole list of acceptable veggies to feed them) and also a low fat turtle pellet. Our two ones, are in a 40 gallon container and will shortly be upgraded to 100 gallons. Their filter is a Magnum 350 and rated for 150 gallons as they produce much waste. We also have 7 plecos in with them and numerous guppies, 2 comets and a HUGE gold fish that is no long considered food but a tank mate. They are awesome creatures and I have learned so much from the turtle board I am on and the wonderful people there have answered numerous questions.

[Garnet]

awwww......congratulations! turtles are so cute. i used to wear turtle necklace, earrings and bracelet when i was younger, and my grandads friend would call me mrytle the turtle.

[Close2MyHeart]

He's so cute!!! The kids must love him!!

[GodisGood]

Oh how fun! I'm not showing this to my ds's though! :giggle

[BeckaBlue]

dh spent most of last night reading on them. decided to go ahead and get his new tank today, jsut usiong a cc and paying it off w/ his next check. found out though it's illegal to sell them less than 4"! i dunno about other turtles, but this one is! because of the risk of kids putting them in their mouth and getting salmonella

my mom useta collect turltes knicknacks, cuz it was my dad's nickname, lol!

AW Jaycie! she'll hafta get some visiting in sometime ;)

[mykidsmom]

Ohhhhh, have I got a Turtle Tale..... They are cute, but if taken care of properly (and you can't afford a professionally built terrerium), a LOT of work.... But again, they are cute and pretty cool to watch. :P

[boonpnutsmom]

Yes they are illegal to sell anywhere under 4" BUT you can adopt them. There is a Chinese Softshell at the pet store by our house that I want so bad, but they won't let me rescue him or adopt him until he is 4" or greater.

[cannuke]

Congratulations! :tu

What exactly is in turtle pellets? I didn't know that they made special food for turtles! I guess I thought that they eat veggies and maybe little fish.

[BeckaBlue]

lotsa interesting things :/ wheat, fish, shrimp, potato, soy, and a million of those 'can't read' ingredients. we also have some guppies in the tank, and givin yummy lettuce too