It'a autumn again, which means my two turtles will go into their hibernation soon!!! And they eat less and less now!!!
You can see from the picture above that Pumbaa is dozing with his head buried under the water and his nose bubbling!!!
The picture below is how Pumbaa sleeps!!! He even remembers to stretch his leg while dreaming!!! ~~ Haaa~~~
While I want to say something about Timon here because she is soooo cute!!!
I usually let her out of the container every night so that she can get to her niche to have a sound sleep. What's unusual is the next morning, she will craw out with a eager attempt to find some water!!! As if saying:"Hey, Agnes, I want to poo and pee and have my morning drink!!!" I know that because every time I put her into the water, she poos immediately!!! See, she is a turtle who pays much attention to her tursonal hygiene!!! Just like dogs and cats who are trained to poo at certain place, my Timon does it without my training!!!
Another thing about Timon which stands her out is that she seems know that she can sleep in her niche every night!!! One night, I bid goodnight to them, and I thought I would pick her later after my finishing my own things. Timon might think I wouldn't pick her that night, and decided to make noise by strenuously crawling in the container!!!
As I've said in my previous posts, my turtles have something, especially the Timon!!!
Here is the Timon vs a shrimp!!!
See, she has no appetite for it!!!
This is Pumbaa!!!
Red eared sliders are aquatic turtles, which means they spend about 95% of their time (even sleeping) in the water. The rest of the time is spent on their basking area...drying off, warming up, and absorbing UVB. Here's a great link to proper care for RES.: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
ReplyDeleteRES do not really hibernate unless they are wild or kept outside in a pond...and that's done buried in the mud beneath a body of water. You can force them to hibernate if kept inside (by lowering their tank water's temp very very low) but it's not healthy for them.
Now if you decide to put your turtles in a deep tank of water, keep in mind that they may not be able to swim right away. Don't worry though...they'll pick it up quick. Just start with shallow water, and slowly increase the amount of water in the tank as you notice their adjustment. The bigger the tank, the better...especially with multiple turtles.
I wish you luck with them! Sounds like you really love them!
Well, I will take your advice^^ But the winter here is frozen sometimes!!! I think the freezing water will be too cold for them, won't it???
ReplyDeleteIf kept inside, hibernating them is a risky thing. In the wild, they do not hibernate in the water....they do it in the mud under the water, which actually helps with keeping their temperature the way it should be during hibernation. If kept inside, you should have a water heater keeping the water temp anywhere from 73 F to 78 F at all times. They are fine year round without hibernating inside....only thing is you may see a decrease in appetite and activity level because they can still sense the seasonal change outside. They won't hibernate correctly if kept inside and you force them to do it. It could cause Respiratory Infection. Whatever you do, do not keep them in water that is too cold. RI can be deadly if not diagnosed soon enough and you don't get them on antibiotics.
ReplyDeleteThat link I provided is massive and can get boring to read the whole thing, so if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help!
I have a Yellow Belly Slider (Prue)....which is a close relative to RES, and their care is the exact same. I've had her for 2 1/2 years in a 90 gallon tank filled most of the way with water, a water heater, a good filter, an above tank basking area....I can say it's so easy to spoil them!
Thank you^^
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