My yellow bellies?

[Doogle]

Hi guy's just purchased two yellow bellied turtles; they are great fun to watch, however they are so small they can't swim very well, I take it this is normal? I bought them a turtle dock too however they don't use it, is this normal? They seem to prefer to hang out on top of the filter and poke there heads out the water, water temp is 80-81; any reason why they'd do this?

Cheers

 

[coura]

Yes its on the normal side, maybe they are still getting used to their new home. Get some real aquatic plants like Anacharis or plastic plants and let them float, wich the litle ones will use as resting and hidding places. Also it would also help to decrease the filter flow and to lower the water level a bit. A good water level for them small like that is 7cm high. Make shure you have a good uv lamp, never bad to remenbar.

 

[CTU2fan]

Also they can be pretty skittish, I wouldn't be surprised if they do use the dock when you're not looking/not in the room.

I have a large male and he still usually dives back in the water when I pass by. He's gotten better though, I've recently moved my turts from a big rubbermaid to a tank and they're a lot less jumpy.

 

[Louie]

Hi guy's just purchased two yellow bellied turtles; they are great fun to watch, however they are so small they can't swim very well, I take it this is normal? I bought them a turtle dock too however they don't use it, is this normal? They seem to prefer to hang out on top of the filter and poke there heads out the water, water temp is 80-81; any reason why they'd do this?

Cheers

Yellow bellys are nice.

I was on a turtle site while back and they seem popular in UK.

 

[coura]

Yellow bellys are nice.

I was on a turtle site while back and they seem popular in UK.

Unfornatly they replaced res as the "all pet shop and flea market" turtle in europe, after import res was forbiten Lets hope people dont dump them anywhere like they do to res.

 

[ceeej31]

the water temp seems a little on the high side to me, its warm enough that they might not feel the need to come out and bask

 

[Louie]

Unfornatly they replaced res as the "all pet shop and flea market" turtle in europe, after import res was forbiten Lets hope people dont dump them anywhere like they do to res.

Oh I see. Here regular RES are "banned" (every summer they are sold by Miami beach outside) but the more expensive morphs are not . A $5 RES might get released in canals but the couple hundred $ plus RES won't not to mention they aren't purchased without thinking it out

 

[CTU2fan]

Unfornatly they replaced res as the "all pet shop and flea market" turtle in europe, after import res was forbiten Lets hope people dont dump them anywhere like they do to res.

How silly to ban the RES and not the YBS when they are virtually the same animal, only different subspecies.

Mine is getting really big, he's over 9" now and still growing it seems, lucky he wasn't a female. And always begging, whenever I pass the tank he begs and gets me wet.

 

[coura]

How silly to ban the RES and not the YBS when they are virtually the same animal, only different subspecies.

Mine is getting really big, he's over 9" now and still growing it seems, lucky he wasn't a female. And always begging, whenever I pass the tank he begs and gets me wet.

Actualy I kind of liked it I didnt have acess to the others and now plenty of new species. But yea they are bred way to much and for this ones I dont feal the same way as I feal about ig breeders in south america, people should really swich to much rarer species that would indeed benefict from all the extra breeding, can you imagen people breeding animals like Graptemys flavimaculata like that? Or some asian turts? Thouse would be out of the endangered species list in no time and alos could be very profitable!

 

[CTU2fan]

Actualy I kind of liked it I didnt have acess to the others and now plenty of new species. But yea they are bred way to much and for this ones I dont feal the same way as I feal about ig breeders in south america, people should really swich to much rarer species that would indeed benefict from all the extra breeding, can you imagen people breeding animals like Graptemys flavimaculata like that? Or some asian turts? Thouse would be out of the endangered species list in no time and alos could be very profitable!

Yes very true, I would love to see more of the exotic turtles being bred. And yes the sawbacks which are just fantastic looking turtles.

Here in the shops I see RES, YBS, western painted, Mississippi map, stinkpots, and Florida softshell...and that's about it. And the sliders in particular are such a poor choice for the novice keeper that I wish they weren't so common in the stores.