# Tough Decision...Honest opinion needed



## PowersSax911 (Jun 14, 2010)

I have to make a decision im not wanting to make. I might have to sell my Red Eared Slider....Im not very happy as im posting this, but a decision has to be made. Sell him or keep him.. 
Here's some useful information.

I'm 16: making money very hard to come by. The only way i make money is by weekly chores. Only 10 dollars a week. 

The upkeep of the tank: My filter needs to be cleaned constantly because he's nearly full grown. He destroys the tank, makes it smell bad. He also breaks things. Usual filter supplies (carbon, floss sleeves) cost about 30 dollars. I used to buy these every month when i had money, but i dont have a lot of it now so i buy it every two months. The water changes have been too much for me too handle because even with my canister filter, i have to change the water every two days and a water change for me takes about 2 hours. The tank also reeks because i have a miniscule amount of money to spend it on filter supplies 

Long story short is that i don't think i can keep him too much longer 
but if i have to sell him i will... I dont know who to sell it to if i decide to sell him. Last thing i want is a call from the owner saying my turtle died two days after i sold him, because he doesnt know how to take care of them. I have had him for five years now...Good Times they have been

Im asking for opinion whether i should sell him, or keep him until things get better. If i do sell him, is there a place i know he will live for the 40 years they intend to live for? Thanks. Any replies will be helpful Thanks again


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## Laura (Jun 14, 2010)

Red ears are the most common turtle in rescues. Im not sure you will be able to 'sell' him. 
But if you cant afford to keep his tank healthy and clean right now, then i think you should do what is best for the animal and re home him. 
Contact a rescue near you or find someone with a pond.
Sorry for your hard descion.


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## terryo (Jun 14, 2010)

That's a terrible decision you have to make. But as Laura said, I don't think anyone would buy him. Even the rescue's are over run with them, but they will keep him until they find a home for him. If you have a yard, you could get a kiddie pool for maybe $10 in K-Mart or some other store like that and just put a big rock in the middle for basking, and put a lot of water plants in there to help keep the water clean. It would be much easier to clean it with a hose once or twice a week. But if you can't do that contact a rescue near you. So sorry....


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks for the replies so far. I have looked in the kiddie pool idea, but where i live, it reaches 110 degrees for weeks. I guess constantly moving the pool wouldn't be so bad


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jun 14, 2010)

Rather than wait until things get better, take the bull by the horns and make things better:

Ask your neighbors/extended family if they need their lawn mowed/garage cleaned/gutters cleaned/car's oil changed/dog washed/dog exercised/children tutored/kids babysat/various other manual labor jobs...I bet there are a lot of ways for you to earn an honest $$$.


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 14, 2010)

That sounds good. Once i get a job, everything should be better. I don't care if its minimum wage or not, but any money is better than no money. I had originally planned for him to be outside, but i own a dog, two cats on the property. Including wild owls, bats and hawks. Maybe a waterland tub or a stock tank, and a little chicken wire action might help...


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## dmmj (Jun 14, 2010)

When I was young I did all type of jobs myself to make money, I worked with my grandpa in the summer with his gardening business, I babysat, I washed cars and trucks, I know times are different know, but a young go getter should be able to find lots of work, depending on where you live. I would wait to sell him and see what happensm even if worse comes to worse you can get rid of him quickly to a good home if needed. I house my RES's in a giant kiddie pool


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## harris (Jun 15, 2010)

What kind of canister filter do you have that you have to change every two days??


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## Kristina (Jun 15, 2010)

Another thing - your media doesn't have to be thrown out and replaced. You can just wash and re-use. Carbon is NOT a necessity - I have not used carbon in a tank for over 20 years.

Here is another idea - Feed him outside the tank. Get a storage tub, put water and the turtle in it, feed him, and then put him back. That will cut down on the mess and bio-load in the tank.

You can also get an adapter for a kitchen/bathroom sink that would allow you to run a garden hose from the sink to the tank. They cost about $3 at Home Depot. That would allow you to fill the tank much faster, and you can adjust the water temperature if it is hooked up to an indoor faucet. 

A short piece of hose can be used to siphon old water directly out of a window, and again eliminate hauling buckets. I change the water in my 150 gallon in a half an hour. 2 hours is WAY longer than it should be taking you.

If you have substrate in the tank, remove it. Barebottom will again reduce the mess and the smell. Anything that traps waste, get rid of it. 

As far as outdoors, check your local craigslist or freecycle and try to find an old bathtub. I see them sitting at the side of the road all the time. You can set it on blocks, and when you need to empty it just pull the plug and refill with a hose. But if the hose is cold water, you need time for the water to warm up before you put the turtle in so it doesn't shock him. Pick a place that gets 1-2 hours of sunshine and a lot of shade. Cover one end of the tub with lattice or a piece of wood to provide shade if you don't have a suitable spot. The deeper the water - the longer it will last before it heats up, even under 110 degree conditions. A kiddie pool is going to heat up FAST because it is shallow.


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 15, 2010)

I have the bad stuff going through my window but i have to haul the good stuff via hauling. What kind of attachement is the hose thing??


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## Kristina (Jun 15, 2010)

It is a threaded ring. You unscrew the screen on the end of the faucet, and screw in the adapter. If you ask at a hardware store, and take the screen with you, you can get the right size. Just tell them it is to adapt a garden hose.

(That screen thing has a name... Oxygenator? I am so drawing a blank right now, someone help me, lol.)

http://www.wikihow.com/Attach-a-Garden-Hose-to-a-Kitchen-Faucet


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 15, 2010)

Why not a python water changer? I need a new cleaner anyway so why not get that? Its only 20 feet from my room. Its on my dresser though so im not sure if that will be a problem. The water level is chin level with me...


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## Kristina (Jun 15, 2010)

Because you are saying how broke you are and a Python is like $50.  I was giving you a three dollar option.


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 15, 2010)

Well it will pay for it if it works as it says it does work. make me clean it more often knowing itll take me less time to do it


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## dreadyA (Jun 16, 2010)

A full grown RES probably won't be carried away by an owl or bats. Cats will be interested but probably won't do much.

I think the best idea is to just get a big kiddie pool and dump it out every 3 days. MUCH easier than hauling water into a tank in you house. By doing this, you dont have to buy filters every so often.
like maggie said, buy a kiddie pool, a lattice(to protect him). 20 dollars at the most??


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 17, 2010)

My sink can't unscrew the tip part. i tried but nothing.


I have a hose bib, water bib?, like 30 feet from my window. The faucet is sticking outside the house. it kinda looks like this. http://z.about.com/d/desktoppub/1/0/6/j/faucet1.jpg only problem is that it comes from our well. it is usually pretty clean and tastless and you can drink it.


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## PeanutbuttER (Jun 17, 2010)

I grew up with well water and used it for years with animals and had no problems with it. Make certain it's well water and not secondary water though. I think secondary water would cause disease but well water is probably just fine. After all, in the wild they don't live in pristine filtered/ultra purified water right?

When you say "usually pretty clean" does that mean it comes out different colors sometimes?


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 17, 2010)

no, i have never seen it change colors. i wouldn't use water if it was colored in the first place, but thanks for asking


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## Yvonne G (Jun 17, 2010)

I'd hate to see you have to part with your RES. I think you can look on the web, different sites give things away free (free cycle) and maybe you can find a cattle trough. You can set it up under a tree where it gets shade all the time. 110 degrees is pretty hot, but if you have enough water in the trough and its not in the sun, it should be ok. I keep my rescued RES in a rubber cattle trough. I use a cinder block as an island in the middle, then I fill the trough up to the top of the cinder block. That gives it about 8" of water and plenty of room to swim around the tank. The turtles can't reach the top of the water unless they're really big ones, and they climb up on the cinder block to sun. A kiddie pool is a good idea, but you wouldn't be able to have the water very deep and it might get a little warm. Where are you located? I have lots of tubs that I'm trying to find homes for!!


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 17, 2010)

central california. San jouquin valley.. epic fail on jouqion spelling fml


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## PeanutbuttER (Jun 18, 2010)

PowersSax911 said:


> no, i have never seen it change colors. i wouldn't use water if it was colored in the first place, but thanks for asking



Our well water would sometimes come out like a cloudy rust color. We'd just let some water run until it would turn clear again. 

Yes, in those days rust water was an inconvenient problem. To be fair, it was a shallow well so that may have made a difference.


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 18, 2010)

So i just did a water change and filter sleeve change, and the tank still stinks.  I talked to my parents about moving him outside with the kiddie pool and fencing and they liked the idea of not having him in the house. I don't know where to find a good sized kiddie pool without spending a huge amount of money. And the fencing, i hope, isnt to much, and too hard to find. Maybe a lowes or homedepot can help me out


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## Seiryu (Jun 18, 2010)

PowersSax911 said:


> So i just did a water change and filter sleeve change, and the tank still stinks.  I talked to my parents about moving him outside with the kiddie pool and fencing and they liked the idea of not having him in the house. I don't know where to find a good sized kiddie pool without spending a huge amount of money. And the fencing, i hope, isnt to much, and too hard to find. Maybe a lowes or homedepot can help me out



Kiddie pools I think you can get from Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Toys R us, Meijer, maybe a K-mart. Pretty much any store along those types should have something. You can always call to make sure so you don't waste gas money.

I think you'd want the hard plastic ones and not the inflatable ones.


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## PowersSax911 (Jun 19, 2010)

how high do the sides need to be?? i would assume high so he cant climb out. Does anyone have any pics of an ideal outside enclosure for this?


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## mightyclyde (Jun 19, 2010)

I live in Stanislaus County, which is just a bit from San Joaquin Valley. I saw kiddie pools at Toys R Us in Modesto... and the weather has been awesome here <just around 90F> so I think you could pull off getting him outside. One more thing: if you feel you need to find a new home for him, try finding someone with a pond here. A friend of mine just found a RES <large male> and gave him away to another friend who has a few in a pond in her yard. My point is, you may just find out someone you know has a friend who keeps turtles in their pond and is willing to take your turtle. You could make a point of checking out the pond before leaving your RES... any pet owner would respect you for ensuring a quality home for your turtle before leaving it in their care. Good luck~!


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