Feeding and Nutrition :: Please Help!

[porscheman170]

Hi everybody,
My name is Chris. I just signed up to this forum after doing a google search and its great. Anyways I have a problem I have 2 RES turtles for about a year now they were doing great always eating and growing. One is about 3" and the other one is almost 4". Within the past couple months I havent noticed any size difference and for the past 3 weeks they haven't been eating at all. We noticed something wrong about 2 months ago when we put feeders in there and they didn't even touch them when usually they would rip them apart. I don't know what to do they haven't been eating their normal reptomin diet. I haven't tried any other types of food since the feeders. The people at the pet store said that the are in hibernation and they will start eating when they are done, but I find that hard to believe because the temp of the water has never changed however the air temp could have dropped 10 degrees. They still swim around but not as much most of the time they just stack up on the dock. Thank you very much for your help.

[steve]

What are the water temps and what are you using to measure it?

[sonyj]

Why would the air temp change that much? Have you removed their heat bulb from their basking area?

RES will not eat if their temps (water and basking) are too low, if they are stressed, if they are ill; basically not eating is a symptom of many different things. What is the rest of their setup like(tank size, amount of water, basking area temp/water temp, filter, UVB bulb, heat bulb etc)? Do they show any signs of illness such as open mouth breathing, mucus from the nose, swimming lopsided etc? Knowing these answers will help us be able to help you and your RES.

[porscheman170]

Its a 20 gallon regular UVB/A hood light , heater, basking light but it never is on, its probably got 9 gallons of water the air temp changes because its downstairs and in the winter it gets cold. The temp of water is around 70 degrees. They don't show signs of illness. Air temp is probably 55-60. Could they be hibernating and if not how long before they die of starvation thanks

[cam722]

Why is their basking light never on? The water temperature should be in the mid to high 70s. Yes, they could be in semi-hibernation which is a dangerous thing to do unless you are an experienced turtle keeper. Up the water temperature and keep their lights on for up to 12 hours a day. This should take care of their not eating. With the water temperature so low a turtle won't eat. These temperatures could also cause your turtles to become ill.

Do they have a basking area? Also, why do you have such little water in their tank?

[marisa]

They're not hibernating, but could be in what is sometimes called the "death zone," where it's too cold for them to eat but not cold enough for them to hibernate, in which case their metabolism does not slow down and they use up their food stores which are not replaced because they're not eating.

Do they have a submersible water heater? If they don't have a submersible water heater, and you're not using the basking light (why not?), then the water temp will not be 70F, it will be the temp of the room they're in (55-60F), which is way too cold. If they don't have a submersible water heater, get one and raise the temp to 75-76F. They need to be basking under a UVB light and a heat light (88-90F). If the room that they're in is that cold, the ambient air temp in the tank needs to be warmer, which you can achieve by a heat lamp/ceramic heater. Cover most of the tank at night to keep the warmth from escaping from the water that's been warmed by the water heater. Make sure they're not in the path of any cool breezes/drafts.

[porscheman170]

Ok I have adjusted the basking light so it shines directly on the floating dock and the water temp is 76 also I added more water. They are still not eating the reptomin I havent tried any other food yet. Is there anything that you would recommend me trying? Thanks for your help!

[steve]

Have you tried soaking the pellets in tuna water? The smell should get some attention.