Urgent Care :: Hasn’t eaten in a week...

[Gurdy7]

How big is your turtle? 2-ish inches
How long have you had it? 6-7 days

What is the water temperature? Currently around 82
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? No
How much water is in there? 3 1/4 ish deep
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? Yes

What is the basking temperature? ...
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? A bunch of flat rocks
Is there a UVB light? Yes?

What have you been trying to feed it? Freeze dried shrimp, worms, mini turtle pellets, strawberry leaves
When was the last time your turtle ate? NEVER since I got him!

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gallons
Is the tank near a window? Not directly but a few feet away
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Yes... in the living room

Have you read the Basic Care section? I’ve read everything I could find
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? He is not eating, sometimes a little white spot appears on his shell when he goes to bask (which is most of the time) but I rub it off with my finger. I did put a calcium bone thing in there so I’m not sure if something is really wrong or if the bone is rubbing off on him. He has trouble swimming and instead of going on the rocks he sometimes tries to swim straight up to get out of the water. He rubs his eyes a lot and sometimes I see bubbles coming out of his nose. How do I get him back? We don’t really have enough money for a vet so anything that I can do at home will VERY helpful.
*side note, there is another turtle the same size in the tank, but he eats the shrimp and worms (not the pellets or leaves) he seems healthy but is it ok to only feed him worms and shrimp?

[steve]

For now, I would keep him separate from the other turtle. And keep in him a quiet area, free of distraction and noise. Maybe even cover the sides of the tank. Avoid unnecessary interaction and handling. Anyone with access to the turtle should follow the same rules. Concentrate on getting him to eat first. I would try some live feeder fish (minnows) and you can hold it by the tail and let it wiggle in front of his face. They are more carnivorous at this age and this should be very enticing to him.

[Gurdy7]

Ok so I got my old 5 gallon fish tank and put him in there with a couple of rocks and draped a towel over the sides and back. I put a worm, a bit of shrimp, and a small piece of lettuce in there to give him options. He ate the worm and shrimp!! Thank you so much! How long should I keep him separated? The fish tank doesn’t give him much of a place to bask since it is tall and not wide.
Edit: I did try to hand feed him, but he wouldn’t let me hold his tail and he wouldn’t open his mouth in reaction to the squirming worm. Thankfully, the other advice worked!

[steve]

When I said hold it by the tail, I meant hold the fish by the tail. As for separated, keep it up until he eats regularly and has more of an appetite.

[vishgaur]

Mine didn't eat 15 days, 16th and 17th day he ate normally and on 18th day he went to sleep and never got up, died. Well. It was the last turtle I named (BUBBLE). I now have 2 RES turtles and not named them because I still miss Bubble a lot
Bubble was an Indian Black Pond Turtle and very beautiful one.

My RES didn't eat for some time too. I gave them shrimps instead of pallets, they ate like crazy. I kept giving shrimps everyday and they stopped eating pallets. I was like [!!!]! I starved them for 5 days (just gave them fruits and veggies that they never ate). Then I gave them pallets that they took another 3 days to eat. Now they eat pallets, greens and shrimps (shrimps strictly twice or once a week) and I feed them 2 times a day (30 pallets). It is NOT MUCH! People who says so don't know a lot.

Bubble died due to RI.
My RES caught RI, I healed it. I now know what to do.
My other RES lost eyes (completely blind, no eye balls when I forced opened the eyes) for a month, now the eyes are normal and back. I'm so happy for this. As I said, now I know what to do. He had swollen eyes, caught cold and RI altogether.

You should not worry about days, you should worry about what you are giving to them. They won't starve in a week or two but you need to change the food. Buy pallets (even if you have them, sometimes their smell changes or they just rot down and turtles won't eat poison for sure), buy shrimps and vitamin supplements and give it to them one by one (one food 3 days, then switch to the other food for 3 days if they don't eat. If they eat then stick to what they eat for a week and slowly add the other foods). Now give them a mixed diet (like 10 pallets to each turtle in day, 4 shrimps at night and vitamin supplement food in afternoon). No this is not overfeeding, they need to eat!

Don't give a damn to people asking for tank size and all, it doesn't matter at all!
I never had any tank in my home. They can live without it.

[Solhus]

How did you heal them from RI??

Sarah