Urgent Care :: 2 RES not eating

[eazyegee]

How big is your turtle? A little bigger than a quarter.
How long have you had it? A week and a couple of days.

What is the water temperature?
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? Half an inch
Are you using a water conditioner? No
Are you using any filtration? No but I drain the water daily.

What is the basking temperature? 85 degrees
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? A rocky wood material that feels like gravel.
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Pellets, dried shrimp, turtle bites, and chopped up carrots.
When was the last time your turtle ate? One ate 3 days ago. The other ate yesterday.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gal.
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Somewhat

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Sleepiness, some or no activity, both love to sleep near the water heater.

Yesterday one of my turtles ate. The day before that both of them ate. One stays more active then the other. The one who hasn't eaten in 3 days stays basking as of right now for like 40 minutes. It go out of the water and came back.

[eazyegee]

Here's what I've been feeding them.

[SpotsMama]

Hi there.

do I read correctly that there's only 1/2 inch of water in the tank? If so, then one thing you can do right off the bat is put a whole lot more water in there. RES are aquatic and in the wild they live in ponds and lakes. They love to swim and dive. They are born knowing how to swim.

Here's a link to a relatively new setup where the people have a really small turtle like yours'. They've got their tank nearly full. You should at least fill yours up half way.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7350

You mention you have a water heater. Do you have a thermometer? If so, what's the water temperature? Water temperature has a lot to do with whether the turtles have an appetite or not.

[mkoby]

A 1/2 inch of water isn't enough. RES love to swim. I currently have a 10 gallon too and it's filled up all but a few inches. The water temp is very important as well. If the water isn't warm enough, your turt won't eat. You definitely need a thermometer to check the temp. If they are sleeping by the water heater, it seems the water is too cold. The temp should be about 78 - 80 degrees. The basking temp should be 88 - 90 degrees.

[eazyegee]

I have a thermometer. The current basking temperature is 90 degrees, water 82. I thought you're supposed to put as much water as long as their shell is.

[mkoby]

The absolute minimum that I have read is enough water where the turt could right itself if it was upside down (approx. the turt's length). However, RES are very aquatic and their natural habitat would be larger ponds. They love to swim. The general rule of thumb is 10 gallons for every inch of shell length minus the curve. It also helps with keeping the water cleaner. I currently have a 10 gallon, but as soon as my heater gets here my little 1.5 inch turtle will be living in a 60 gallon mansion!

[eazyegee]

So can anybody help me with my dilemma?

[mkoby]

Does the one that basks a lot have any other symptoms? Open mouth breathing, lethargic? If so, you should seperate them asap. RI is very contagious! If not, increase the water amount as high as possible and lower the temp to 78 - 80 degrees. Is the other turt hogging the food? You could try feeding them seperately. Try stinky foods. You could also try soaking the pellets in tuna water.

[eazyegee]

No open mouth breathing, but lethargic yes.

[CountryGirl68]

As the others have said, you need to add much more water to the tank. If the turtles are sleeping next to the water heater, it could mean that the water is not warm enough. You need to increase the water level and get a thermometer. It is very important to know the temperature of the water. For your babies, the water should be 78degrees F and the basking should be 10 degrees warmer.

Water that is too cold could cause your turtles to become very ill.

[eazyegee]

I have a thermometer, the temperature is right now 82. How much water do you suggest I put, there's 2 inches in the tank.

[eazyegee]

Could them not eating be due to overfeeding, because someone gave me both RES and might've overfed them?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

You should fill the tank up as high as possible without giving your turtles a way of escape.Overfeeding MIGHT be why they are not eating,they do get full if they eat alot.

[da sAUCE!]

try adding water. your turts are only slightly bigger than a quarter which means they are newborns, and they feed off of a yolk sac which they left the egg with. they won't eat for a while, till that is used up.

[SpotsMama]

Try these tips to get a turtle to start eating:

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