[Viking55]

Patsy -

I have a turtle - red eared slider - that has been with me for 48(!) years. Bought two baby turtles in 1973, back when they were legal to sell, roughly the diameter of a quarter, named them Cheech and Chong (finally, a group seasoned enough to know who know Cheech and Chong were! My younger patients have no clue). Chong died years ago (pneumonia, a common cause), but Cheech is still kicking and is a good 8" in length.

My main recommendation is to make sure the turtle has a way to get out of the water and warm itself. Turtles, like other reptiles, are cold blooded, and need to warm themselves to raise their body temp and help digest food. That's why you see snakes, turtles, alligators hanging out in the sun. Also, keep the water as clean as possible, I use a couple of filters on my 80 gal tank. As far as a feeder, I too have looked and found nothing. When I'm gone, I leave his food in an open container in his dry sunning area. I'm not certain if he comes and gets some food chunks or not, but so far, so good. I used to have fish in the tank with him, but he hunted them all down and ate them. I've learned to get cheap fish (Molly's, guppies). Then again, that's food for him when I'm not there to feed him. I feed him dry dog food. Over the years I found that to be the least messy and the least expensive (I've tried frozen brine shrimp, minnows, night crawlers, hamburger, commercial turtle food, etc), and turtles are omnivores. The dog food soaks in the water getting soft until he can swallow it down.

I plan on bringing Cheech down to TV with me when I move there permanently. Who knows how long he is going to live?

Gary (DeLuna)