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Hi, I'm fairly new to turtle care (I've had my RES for about 2 months). Got him as a very small turtle, about 1.5 in diameter, but everything seemed to be going great. I hadn't yet purchased a heat lamp and it was still warm out, so he was doing well (I know I should have right away, but life intervened in several ways) and was out of town when it got cold. I got a light right away when I got back, but he already had most of the symptoms of a respiratory infection and wasn't eating. Put the light on him, and after a couple of days he seemed to have recovered. However, until today he still wasn't eating. I know that they can go a while without food, but given how small he is I was worrying. However, today I saw him eating! This is obviously great, but he's only eating small pieces of his food that have fallen to the bottom. Before, he would eat full pellets that were floating, or take them off of his platform himself and eat them in the water. Now, he won't do that but apparently will eat off the bottom, even though it's the same food as before. Has anyone experienced this or know why he might be doing this? It's not a huge deal, but it does make it difficult to give him some of his veggies, like lettuce, and makes the tank dirtier than if he was just eating the floaters. Thanks!

What are the water temperatures? And what kind of food are you using?

Water temp is 80F, maybe dropping to 78 at times overnight, but pretty constant. He's eating Exo-terra pellets, which he seemed very happy with up until his RI. Even now, he's happy enough eating them after they've sunk to the bottom.

Maybe presoak them a little in some water from canned tuna. Do you have a submersible water heater yet? It's fairly important for hatchlings.

I do have the heater, and I've tried the tuna water soak. He seems interested in the food when I do that, but won't eat it.

Try the Omega One turtle pellets. They have a great reputation and they hold up well in water. When I put them in, some sink right away.