General Care Discussion :: just bought turtle-the way he acts makes me think hes dying

[michelelisa]

hello i just bought a turtle a couple days ago.. i've put his pellets apples and carrots and lettuce in his food bowl but he will not eat.. and he just lies around now hes not in a big cage at all.. i have to go buy one tonight.. and i take him outside in the sun b/c i dont have a uvb light yet.. i will be getting that either tonight or tomarrow.. im just wondering.. is there something wrong with him.. or is he just acting like this because its a new enviroment.? thanks Michele

[missibsu]

Well, part of it could be environment, and adjusting. Part of it could be water temp and his set up. What kind of set up do you have? Other than a ten gallon, do you have a heater? filter? What do you mean by food bowl? My turtles don't have food bowl, their pellets just float on top of the water. There really isn't any way to contain it.

[cam722]

Welcome to the forum michelelisa.. I think part of the problem is that you are trying to feed your turtle out of the water. RES need to eat in the water because they don't have saliva and their tongue is fixed. Another part could be as missibu said an inadequate environment and adjusting. Check the water/basking temperatures as these are critical to a new turtle eating.

[marisa]

How big is your turtle and is he a RES? If you have a hatchling/really young RES, he may not be interested in apples, carrots and lettuce just yet (but offering, especially red leaf or romaine lettuce is good) and since he's new, he may need time to adjust to feel comfortable enough to eat. Try a good pellet, also a cut-up earthworm and something smelly like a bit of tuna or sardine packed in water.

[michelelisa]

ok i just bought a 10 gallon tank today.. and i started putting his food in the water.. he is a res and i messured his shell its 4 cm from top part of shell near the head to the bottom near the tail.. i think thats how much water u put in the tank right? i have 3 1/3 cm in it. now i forgot to pick up a thermometer so tomarrow after work im going to the pet store and getting that.. i dont have a heater or a filter that i will be getting tomarrow also (pay day tomarrow) i thnk that right there is why he acts the way he does.. and hes probally scared. in the tank i have a bunch of rocks but there flat and smooth and i got 3 bamboo plants real small in there.. and i bought some kind of plants that grow in the water so there in there.. i want to buy more things to put in his tank.. just not to sure on what to get.. when i go to pet store tomarrow im going to ask someone.. im also considering getting another res tomarrow i fell like hes lonely.

[sonyj]

You should fill the tank up with water as high as you can without giving him room to escape over the top. RES are aquatic turtles and love to swim. Focus on getting him the proper setup, basking area with heat bulb and UVB bulb, correct basking temp and water temp, filter rated 3x's tank size, water heater, etc. Be sure that any rocks placed in the tank are larger than his head or he may eat them and become impacted. I'm not sure about the bamboo being in the tank with him, but any aquatic plant safe for aquariums will be fine to put in with him. It would be good to keep either fake plants or real plants in the tank for him to hide in and rest on since he is small.

After he has the right environment, just give him a few days to adjust and he should be fine. RES aren't social creatures, but very solitary by nature. If you get another RES, you must remeber that you will need two complete set-ups should they not be compatible later on. And considering that in the long run with one RES, you will need at least a 90-120 gallon tank, it would double with multiple turtles.

[michelelisa]

ok well im gonna write all this down and go to pet store and get everything i need tomarrow... im not going to fill up the water till tomarrow when i have a heater .. what should i use for him to bask on? it needs to be up at the top of the water so it needs to be something big right?

[sonyj]

Most people use the basking docks made for aquatic turtles that float on top of the water, but others make their own. There's some great examples if you take time to look through the photo gallery section of the forum.

Just a word of advice, be careful when asking around for help inside pet stores though. 9 times out of 10 pet store workers will give bad info/incorrect info on what your turtle needs. Be sure to read the main site info if you haven't already. That will help you out a lot in knowing what to buy, and don't hesitate to ask if you have questions.

[missibsu]

Sounds like you are off to a good start! Let us know how things progress after you go shopping tomorrow. And if you have the opportunity, take some pics of your new set up...we love pics. And speaking of...I am not sure if this has been mentioned in another post, but your avatar is way too big. 80 x 80 pix are the rules. When it's bigger it makes reading the posts a pain the rear, lol.

[steve]

michelelisa, I removed the avatar, but feel free to use one that is smaller. The rule is 80x80, but a few people have it a bit larger.... for now

[missibsu]

talking about me, huh Steve, lol. I didn't set mine up. Blame turtle boy. Mine would have been like Michelelisa's. Seriously though, he said he would change it if need be, so just let me know.

[steve]

Not necessarily about you

Michelelisa, did you find out what the water temperature is?

Here is some basic info (in printable form):
http://www.redearslider.com/res-guide.pdf

[michelelisa]

hey i now have everything i need here is a picture :

[missibsu]

The picture is small, but from what I can see it looks like a good start. Just remember he is going to outgrow the small tank very quickly. Also, do you have a screen between the UVB light and the basking area? I can't really tell, but if you do, it does the same thing as glass and it will filter out the UBV rays.

[michelelisa]

i dont have a screen on the top - how long can i keep the uvb light on for him cuz he likes it alot