No turtles today...
Well, I went to the Reptile and Amphibian show today with Natalia, shopping list in one hand and wallet in the other (I expected to spend a lot of money so I transferred some to my checking account). Unfortunately most of the show seemed to be aimed at land reptiles - mostly snakes, then lizards, then a few tortoises. I saw a few frogs and one guy was selling aquatic turtles, but didn't have any Reeve's hatchlings this year. Saaaad panda.
However, they did have a lot of supplies there I could use. I walked out of the reptile show two hours later with a water heater, water thermometer, land thermometer, basking platform, hiding place, fake floating water plants, basking light, light hood, light stand, turtle food sticks, a can of dried snails, a calcium supplement, and a tiny plastic feeding tank (so their regular tank doesn't get dirty). Most of the aquariums were actually non-water-tight terrariums, so I couldn't get that there.
There is a place in town that had a booth at the show but has even more stuff at the store, Reptile Specialists, so I stopped by there to pick up the rest of my supplies (20 gallon long aquarium, aquarium background, water filter, hatchling food, and some more cute fake plants) and next door at the aquarium place I got some feeder guppies so my turtles can have a nice live snack when they arrive (but only if they work for it!) The guy at Reptile Specialists was impressed that I had a shopping list and wanted me to buy more reptiles from them (because I had done my research and was clearly going to be a good reptile owner, I presume, since the "buy more reptiles from us" was a response to catching me crossing items off my list)
So, I don't have turtles yet, but I have everything set up and waiting for them. There's a site online (Endless Exotics) with good reviews that has baby Reeve's turtles, and if I order them by 6pm CST I'll have them the next morning before 10:30. I plan to order them Tuesday, then, so I can skip music history if needed to be here when my turtles arrive on Wednesday. (not Monday, cause I have class Tuesday from 8 to 12:15 and a critique!) Careful if you google "Endless Exotics" though... half the results are turtles and the other half is porn.
This is where the tank is now (our dining room). Later, when I have another half a room to live in (when Adrienne goes to study abroad next semester) I'll move the tank to my room.
Side view of the tank. You can see the little fake plants, the floating basking platform, the hiding place on the right (they like to have a place to hide) filter on the far left, and water heater under the basking platform. Also notice the natural background!
Overhead view. Stuck to the right side of the tank is the water thermometer.
I think the hidey place I picked out is super cute. Also, if you see the white thing hiding behind it and in the reflection, that looks like a little turtle. That's the calcium supplement that slow-releases into the water, or the turtles could chew on it.
All the floating plants drifted over to where the filter is. The white cord you see on the basking area is the thermometer probe for the land thermometer.
Closeup of the filter on the left and the water heater in the middle. I'm not sure at this point that the water heater is doing much.
Do you see the guppy? (and its three reflections?) There's about 7 of them in there now. When I put the turtles in, the guppys' days are numbered. The turtle diet should be 25% prepared turtle diet, 25% live food, and 50% fresh veggies and fruits (like romaine lettuce and cantaloupe). Also, having fish in there gives them some good exercise chasing them around.
However, they did have a lot of supplies there I could use. I walked out of the reptile show two hours later with a water heater, water thermometer, land thermometer, basking platform, hiding place, fake floating water plants, basking light, light hood, light stand, turtle food sticks, a can of dried snails, a calcium supplement, and a tiny plastic feeding tank (so their regular tank doesn't get dirty). Most of the aquariums were actually non-water-tight terrariums, so I couldn't get that there.
There is a place in town that had a booth at the show but has even more stuff at the store, Reptile Specialists, so I stopped by there to pick up the rest of my supplies (20 gallon long aquarium, aquarium background, water filter, hatchling food, and some more cute fake plants) and next door at the aquarium place I got some feeder guppies so my turtles can have a nice live snack when they arrive (but only if they work for it!) The guy at Reptile Specialists was impressed that I had a shopping list and wanted me to buy more reptiles from them (because I had done my research and was clearly going to be a good reptile owner, I presume, since the "buy more reptiles from us" was a response to catching me crossing items off my list)
So, I don't have turtles yet, but I have everything set up and waiting for them. There's a site online (Endless Exotics) with good reviews that has baby Reeve's turtles, and if I order them by 6pm CST I'll have them the next morning before 10:30. I plan to order them Tuesday, then, so I can skip music history if needed to be here when my turtles arrive on Wednesday. (not Monday, cause I have class Tuesday from 8 to 12:15 and a critique!) Careful if you google "Endless Exotics" though... half the results are turtles and the other half is porn.
This is where the tank is now (our dining room). Later, when I have another half a room to live in (when Adrienne goes to study abroad next semester) I'll move the tank to my room.
Side view of the tank. You can see the little fake plants, the floating basking platform, the hiding place on the right (they like to have a place to hide) filter on the far left, and water heater under the basking platform. Also notice the natural background!
Overhead view. Stuck to the right side of the tank is the water thermometer.
I think the hidey place I picked out is super cute. Also, if you see the white thing hiding behind it and in the reflection, that looks like a little turtle. That's the calcium supplement that slow-releases into the water, or the turtles could chew on it.
All the floating plants drifted over to where the filter is. The white cord you see on the basking area is the thermometer probe for the land thermometer.
Closeup of the filter on the left and the water heater in the middle. I'm not sure at this point that the water heater is doing much.
Do you see the guppy? (and its three reflections?) There's about 7 of them in there now. When I put the turtles in, the guppys' days are numbered. The turtle diet should be 25% prepared turtle diet, 25% live food, and 50% fresh veggies and fruits (like romaine lettuce and cantaloupe). Also, having fish in there gives them some good exercise chasing them around.