Feeding and Nutrition :: new turtle won't eat

[dcbs]

hey i'm new here and i'm a new turtle owner. i recently got a RES and set up my habitat and all, but my turtle won't eat. it's been about 4 days since i got him and he hasn't eaten anything. any ideas?

[tissigirl]

He's probably still stressed out from his new home. He can go quite a while without eating and still be fine.

What are you feeding him? We might be able to make suggestions on other things to try that might intice him....

[missibsu]

Tell us a little bit about you set up. What size set up do you have? What are the water temp and basking temps? Do you have a heater? If the water temp is too cool, then the turtle won't eat. If it's too warm though, they will tend to over eat. If the water temps are correct, then it could be that he (or she) is still adjusting. Mine began eating at about four days, but then it took me that long to figure out that they weren't supposed to be in that little lagoon thing either. What kind of food are you offering? You might try worms or guppies that move. Or you can try soaking the pellets in tuna juice.

[sarah]

Like tissigirl up there said, a lot of people complain about their new turtles not eating for a few days. Give it a couple of days and if you see no improvement THEN you can start to worry.

(I'd still give missibsu her info though. Just incase )

[missibsu]

Give me my information or what?
You make it sound like I'm going to go after someone if they don't do what I say!

[sarah]

Hey...You never know...haha

[marisa]

dcbs, try feeding some bloodworms (you can buy them frozen in cubes in places like Petsmart) or cut up an earth worm (you can get some at Walmart). Once your turtle is eating, switch over to a reputable pellet like Reptomin Baby (for small turtles) and offer other foods (smelly ones are good) as treats. (Check the list in the Feeding Forum.)

[steffali]

just leave the food in his tank, he'll eat it, had the same problem with my second turtle, but after a while he got used to the tank and the food..