I used to have a RES. I enjoyed her very much, but she didn't start out as mine, and she went back to her first owner (my bro-in-law) who can take care of her now (he wasn't allowed to while in college, so Ziggy lived with me).

I haven't had ziggy for a while now, and I really want a turtle. I don't however, want an RES. The only real reason is that Ziggy was 12" long, and I don't want something that big. She was crowded and I don't have the ability to propperly house anything that large. I would like another water turtle (Ziggy almost never left the water) who loves to swim, but is 7" or less as an adult.

I've been reading a lot online, and looking at breeder's websites. Some of the turtles that look promising are the Spotted, the Miss. Mud, the Miss. Map, the Yellow Bellied, the Texas Map, the Eastern Mud, and the Eastern Painted. However, evey site has different adult size ranges, some claiming between 3-4" for one turtle, and others claiming 6-10" for the same species! Likewise, one site will say a turtle loves to swim, and another will say that the same species only likes to soak, or doesn't like to swim much if at all. Then again, one will say they eat mainly meat, while another will say that they eat mainly veggie. It's gotten SUPER confusing.

Can anybody help? I want a small, swimming turtle that I can feed the same kind of stuff I used to feed the RES (since it's easy to come by, and the RES never EVER got sick, and diet had to play a major role...that and my keeping the tank clean).

A spotted would be perfect. I've been keeping them for years. They are very nice looking, will stay within your size range. However they are not the best swimmers. They do not require a deep water tank (I have mine split 1/2 water 1/2 land) they like to bask but will only eat in the water.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Asian leaf turtles, Cyclemys dentata, fit your bill pretty well also. They're not too big and love the water. They're not very colorful though, and they need CLEAN water, but they're cute and tolerate cooler water well.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

what about a leather back turtle

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Don't be jealous the voices only speak to me...

www.herprecon.org

Sure Dev and you will be donating the 50,000 gallon Salt water tank right?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!