Urgent Care :: Turtle won't eat! Please answer!

[vieniebebe]

I have a red-ear slider. He is about 2 years old. 10 gallon aquarium, filter, just put in the heater today(it started snowing today and it's still warm). I don't have a USB lamp right now, but I do have a heat lamp.Vien seldomly gets out to get dry, and lately her eating has slowed down. Tonight, she didn't even touch her pellets. She attempted to catch one, but gave up. I didnt feed her any other food for a while, and I'll try to sneak some lettuce and carrots in when my parents aren's watching. I know her living conditions suck, but my dad doesn't understand that turtles have requirements. Am I feeding her too much? I give her about 7 pellets in the morning, and 7 at night. Why isn't she eating? Please help!

Please no rude comments. I know I need better crap, but I'm just not allowed to get it.

[GThiele93]

Ive heard of this. If your water is to cold your turtle will start to slow down be inactive if the water gets to cold it might begin to hibernate You should not let this happen. If this water is not cold enough to hibernate but cold enough for this inactivity then the turtle will die. I would recomend putting the heat lamp closer to the basking dock. Increase the wattage of your bulb and make sure the water temp is about 75 to 80 and the basking temp is about 85 to 90.if your turtle is still inactive after this then i would boost up the lamp and the water temp up to 5 more degrees to get her more active. if your turtle is to slow to get her food then hand feed her.Try putting her in a tuppaware bin big enough for her to fully turn around and turn herself over if flipped on her back and feed her in there. for a 2 year old turtle I think 14 pellets a day is a little much.(it is better to overfeed than underfeed) how many pellets would fit inside her head(not inccluding neck) is how many you should serve her. try to give a little more veggies more often this should be a good portion of her diet try for some lettuce and carrots with every other meal this should be generous. If you are sneaking lettuce and carrots make sure to clean them well.

(I understand how parents could be when you have to rely on them for the money since i'm somewhat in the same situation as you. Resort to saving money,odd jobs, ask your realatives for a little somthing here and there. Call on those other sources. Dont steal.

[SpotsMama]

Have you measured the temperatures in the water and on the basking dock with a thermometer? That's the only way to tell what they really are. GThiele93's advice about temperature is good but you won't know if you've got the temps right unless you measure it with a thermometer. We really cannot tell just by how it feels what temperatures are since we are warm blooded.

Here are some tips on enticing a turtle to eat:

http://www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

Keep in mind that while cool temperatures can cause a turtle to slow down and lose his/her appetite, another thing that can cause this is illness. If a turtle's water is always too cold, if they aren't feed a good diet, if their water isn't kept very clean, and if they don't get to bask under good light, then they will get ill. When a turtle gets a serious illness like a respiratory infection, the only way to save him/her is to see a vet and get antibiotics.

On the diet, it sounds like your turtle needs a much better diet. A turtle's diet is very simple - pellets and green vegetables supplemented with occasional treats like carrot, bell pepper, blueberries, sweet potatoes and tomatoes - but its important that they have the veggies and that they have variety in their diets. Also, it's very important that they have a good calcium source like a cuttlebone in the tank. You can get a cuttlebone for a dollar or two at the pet store in the bird section. Here's some good info on diet you should read up on:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html


The other big concern is basking and light. Turtles have to be able to dry off completely - top and bottom - at frequent intervals or their shells will become infected. They do this by basking. The other thing they get from basking is UVB. UVB light causes a turtle's body to produce vitamin D. They have to have vitamin D in order to absorb the calcium they eat. Without the calcium, their shell and bones will get soft and eventually they will die. Only light bulbs that advertise that they provide UVB will actually do this. There's a brand of UVB bulb by Exo Terra called a Repti Glo 5.0 26 watt bulb that's not as expensive as some of the others but is probably a good choice.

I think GTHiele also made an excellent suggestion about working to get money to take care of your turtle. If you get an allowance, can you save from it to get the equipment and setup your turtle needs? Your turtle is relying on you, so see what you can work out.

[vieniebebe]

Well it's not that I can't afford those things, I just get in trouble for some reason. Oh and about the thermometer...well she ate it...I'm supposed to get a new one next week or something.

[GThiele93]

Well it's not that I can't afford those things, I just get in trouble for some reason. Oh and about the thermometer...well she ate it...I'm supposed to get a new one next week or something.

That's a whole new problem this"thermometer eating" could be why she is sick.

[SpotsMama]

I'm not sure I understand what's going on here. If you care about your turtle you'll get him a bigger tank, better diet and better equipment. The conditions frankly sound very bad. If conditions at home are such that you cannot take care of your turtle then you should consider re-homing. There is probably someone out there who is able to take care of a young turtle and wants to do it.