Urgent Care :: new turtle owner confused

[rheanna]

Hi,
My boyfriend and I bought a baby (1" wide shell) RES in Chinatown in NY three days ago. We thought he was the most adorable thing ever. Since we bought him, he has been carried around the city, transported by subway, and then flown across the country to where we go to college. Neither of us had any idea what was involved in the care of a turtle - we assumed based on what the man who sold him to us said that we had to give him some lettuce to chew on and he'd pretty much be happy. Then we started reading information online and realized that there was a lot more to it than that. Today we bought a big tank with a heater, and a platform to sit on with a lamp above it. We have been trying to feed him ReptoMin baby pellets, and also bought the tiniest feeder goldfish we could find, but he still hasn't eaten anything. Is he just too freaked out to eat? He seems to be much happier in his new tank, and has been swimming around happily. I know nothing about turtle behavior, so I have no idea whether to be very concerned that he hasn't eaten. Any advice from veteran turtle owners would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Michelle

[Turtleboy]

im no veteran turtle owner but i think it takes a while before he gets used to the new environment and everything, also you mentioned you had a lamp above it.. do you have a uvb light thingy as well? you should have your water temperature at around 80F ish and the platform should have a temperature of 90F ish... also i've read somewhere that feeder goldfishes could carry parasites or something.... and that you should feed them the rosey feeder fishes (Sorry i dont remember the exact name) so in short if you have everything that a turtle needs to stay healthy he should eat soon when he's adjusted himself (or herself) to his (or her) new home!

[fishandcandy]

The feeder fish are called rosey red minnows.
He might just be freaked out. Give him some time.
Have you read the care sheets on the site? Another good site is Austin's Turtle Page.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm

[cam722]

I'd say the poor little thing has been stressed out with all the travelling and just needs time to adjust. I'd give him some space and privacy for a bit. Keep offering the pellets.

Goldfish are junk food. They are too fatty and can carry parasites. You don't want to offer your turtle too much protein as it causes problems with their organs and pyramiding of their shell.

What size tank do you have and how much water is in it? Hatchlings really benefit from having plants, either real or fake, so that they can hide and use them to rest on.

[marisa]

He's been through a lot of changes (I hope he wasn't in any drafts/cool breezes during any part of his travels), so it will probably take a little time for him to relax.

What is the temp of the water and basking area? I'd keep the temps a few degrees higher for a few days (water 80F or near it, basking area around 90F). You might want to soak the Reptomin Baby pellets in the water from something smelly like the water that tuna is packed in and see if that doesn't help get him eating. Rather than the fish, try small pieces of a cut up earthworm. They like smelly foods and the movement of live prey. Give him some privacy as well. You might want to put something around the tank where the basking area is (a cardboard screen, for example) to give him privacy when he basks. Let us know how he's doing.

[rheanna]

Our turtle started eating the Reptomin pellets today
His water is up to 79 and he seems much happier.

[Koaru_chan]

Ours like blood worms and were eating those voraciously (we did the same thing as you, fell in love with baby turtles at China town --LA and brought them home...) our 8 dollar turtles turned into $308 turles pretty quickly.....
But the problem is, ours have been eating and just now stopped......
So now I don't know if the blood worms are a good idea or not...

[marisa]

They're not good on a regular basis. From what you said they ate in your other post, their diet is not a balanced one.

[fish21]

glad your turt is eating now. be sure not to over feed hahah. (i made that mistake when i was new.) you were right he just needed a cool down time to relax. how big of a tank did you get might want to turn the water temp down to 75 just my prefrence. and the basking site to 88ish. good luck with your new turt.

fish

any questions dont hesitate