AHHH HELP WITH MY TURTLE! PLEASE?
hey i just bought a baby red eared slider. hes 3 months old roughly 3 inches. hes still in the tank he has lived surrounded by for a while with all the old stuff. single new thing is that i added rocks to the bottom and i removed the backdrop photo. nearby are a few problems.
firstly, he isnt eating. and ive read from other people not to worry, but i am haha. food floats right onto his mouth and he wont get through it. i fed him krill, a million different types of pellets, apple, romain lettuce and today i even stuck a worm surrounded by there. im going to try crickets tomorrow but im sure he wont touch them either. he have had a few pieces of krill and 2 pieces of commercial food in 4 days. what should i do to coax him to eat? is this in reality a normal amount? how much should he be eating?
secondly, hes really afraid. whenever i put my hand to hand the tank he goes running away. i know this is probably inherent but will this ever go away?
and lastly, he swims around the glass bumping into the walls and clawing to try and catch through them. does he need a backdrop to make it appear like theres nothing there? is this adjectives? hes a bit under 3 inches and is in a 30 gallon tank next to just some guppies so its definitely not to small. thanks for adjectives your answers.
He is freakin Noah..they adjectives do. Its normal.
My 2 gals are 36 yrs old and they still spaz when they feel me coming towards their pond. They enjoy no ears per say, and feel through vibrations.
If he is 3" he is old ample to sex and is probably a couple yrs old..
some advice...
Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liner from most nurseries and now a 150 gal pond. If he is 3" he needs a 55 gallon tank. Walmart have a tank setup with 55 gallon tank,hood,hood muted and filter for 167.00.
They are the coolest. Not cuddly pets at all. And a life time commitment.
Sliders, cooters , painted, map, yellow bellied adjectives are basically the same and require the same elementary care.
For their needed protein and calcium drop 20 or so feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows in the tank and keep under surveillance them disappear in a few days! When I got these two 36 yrs ago all we have in back then be goldfish to feed , so after 36 yrs and still going strong. They can eat goldfish!
This way when they swim for their dinner they get hold of exercise also! TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium that will promote better shell growth, it will dissolve indisputable slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!
They can have garden worms, collation worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, slugs, tadpoles dragon flies and anything that moves, but only as a treat.
They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they involve at least 3 to 4 times a week.
They love grapes and strawberries and squash..**Swollen cloudy eyes which means lacking contained by Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables near Vitamin A.
Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for up to 8 hrs a afternoon for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.
Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degree always.
These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.
These are not cuddly pets and will bite tremendously very hard.
Under 4" they carry a disease call 'salmonella'. So you must wash after every handling. These guys can become cannibalistic and will kill the smallest turtle if at hand is not enough room and food.
And my pictures don't lie. All ages and all sizes acquire along as long as their is allot for swim room and plenty to eat!
Their water needs to be verbs otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water make happen they poop allot. You need a good filter system!
Total Body length: 5-8" average for males, up to 12 inches max for females. Life span: 15-25+ years
Males have the longer front nail and are used in mating. And are considered mature at more or less 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about 3” across.
Gravel larger than they can swallow.
They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your reservoir to avoid predators like coyotes, foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass and us humans.
You probably already know that they get sick confidently, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose. Fungus white cotton patches on their skin?
Contact the “www.anapsid.org/societies, for a turtle vet / RESCUE in your city and state. I will you luck.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692(a)N0...
He's older than 3 months whether he's 3 inches long already...
My best advice is give him time. Even though he is in alike tank the move to a new location has probably freaked him out, reptiles stress glibly, and he probably needs time to adapt to his new environment. Try to keep hold of traffic around his tank to a minimum for a few days. Also, definitely make certain his water is warm enough and he have a proper basking spot, as well as adequate UVB wishy-washy (there's plenty of great RES care sheets on the web). If he's too cold, he may not eat or be able to properly digest.
General reptile rule of thumb: If they don't chomp through, the first 2 things to check are temperature and potential stress
Good luck with your new little guy :)
Answers: Well first if he's 3 inch he's older than 3 months. FDA regulation bans the Dutch auction of turtle eggs and turtles with a carapace length of less than 4 inches (100 mm). Make sure his dampen temperature is between 75-86 degrees.Too cold and it won't eat; too hot and you'll cook it. As for motivating him to put away I suggest a little bit of tuna fish. Not a healthy diet for him, but the smell the fish leaves surrounded by the water should stimulate his appetite. He's still a young turtle and will prefer a meat to veggies diet, earthworms are a great choice my oldest turtle likes when I drag them around the cistern, He enjoys the thrill of the chase. Feeder fish are good, but depending on the size you purchased could just be evading him still.
Watch your turtle for any signs of infection: cloudy, closed or swollen eyes; swollen cheeks; open mouth breathing; bubbly mucous around the nose or mouth; runny stools; loss of appetite; listlessness; spots appearing on plastron (bottom shell), carapace or body; soft shell or excessive shedding.
Newly acquired turtles are beneath a lot of stress and may be riddled with bacterial or parasitic infections that may be passed along to you or your kids. One of the reasons for it individual illegal to sell turtles under 4" surrounded by the U.S.
Your turtle shouldn't need a backdrop. He's probably just getting use to his reservoir that can take a lot of time. Its even possible that he's hitting the glass because he's notice things outside the tank. My male turtle that I've raise from a hatchling will see people walk by the tank and start clicking his pin against the glass to get attention.
As for your turtle being afraid that may or may not walk away some of my turtles are quite tame you can put your hand in the water and rub their necks while some spook jammy and have the tendency to bite if I tolerate my fingers get to close during feedings.
