General Care Discussion :: Sad Albino Turtle..help plz!

[slowmo]

about 2 days ago my dad gave me 2 turtles he bought in chinatown. one of them (Bruce lee) was pretty feisty most of the time at first and he seems normally colored.



The other one (Ninja) was really lightly colored when i got him and he was less feisty.




Ninja moves around once in a while but i would say hes less active than Bruce. Also, Bruce has been eating and taking interest in food while Ninja hasn't taken interest in any food (i've been using dried shrimp and i put 2 feeder fish in the tank, which neither of them has eaten). Im not sure what's wrong with him, if someone can give me some advice to make him feel better that would be great..thanks!

[emma]

First of all, you should get rid of the gravel that you have in the tub with them. And they will need a bigger tank, filter, heater, etc.. read through the main site and it will tell you all the stuff you will need.
Does the turtle that you are having problems with have a red ear? I have never seen a slider like the one you have.
You REALLY need to get your turtles a basking area with UVB and UVA bulbs otherwise their shells with turn out looking funny and they will be very unhappy turtles. I dont know, is this their home, or did you put them in here to take pictures?
Your turtles are probably just getting used to the new enviroment right now and they should start acting and eating better after they adjust.
I think i covered most of it, might be forgetting something...

[grey goose]

If you want your turts to be happy and healthy, you'll need alot of stuff:

At least a 20 gallon tank. Larger if you can afford it.
A heater that is rated for the size of your tank.
A filter that is rated 3X the size of your tank. (If you get a 20 gal tank, you'll need a filter for a 60 gal. tank).
A basking ramp large enough for both to bask.
A UVA (heat) lamp.
A UVB lamp.

After that you can get backgrounds, decorations, and some larger rocks.

[ZombieTurtle]

also the one thats not really eating, or moving when your around sounds like hes still nervous around you.. it may take a few days to get used to you and the new environment (and to eat).. continue to offer food each day, and after a few days he will eat something (but he probably wont do it infront of you so offer the food and leave the room).

[slowmo]

im pretty sure its a slider, he has red around the eyes but the color is faded..its more of a light pink than a red. the other one has a bit more color but also a faded red. im thinking maybe because theyr from chinatown that they were in really poor care, but i hope they get in better condition

[SpotsMama]

Welcome to the forum slowmo!

I'm concerned about the behavior of the pale one. RES come in a range of color variants - from very dark green to almost yellow, so yours could be a normal pale one. However, a pale shell and skin could also be a sign of poor health.

What concerns me most is that he's not active. A brand new turtle is usually very nervous. He might pull into his shell to hide from you but he would also try to run away or find a hiding place. A turtle that's just still all the time is either cold or is not feeling well. Poor appetite is common in brand new turtles, like was mentioned above, because they are too nervous to eat. However, poor appetite is also a sign of not feeling good (or else being too cold).

Keep an eye on him. Make sure the water temperature is warm enough. For little turtles the water temperature should be around 78 degrees. For a sick little turtle it should be increased to 80 or 82.

Any sick turtle should be quaranteed from a well one. Most turtle illnesses are contageous and you sure don't want two sick ones.

If the temperature is warm enough and he doesn't perk up in a day or two I'd start looking for a vet. If you need to go to the vet's, be sure you go to one that knows about herps (reptiles). Most dog and cat doctors don't have experience with reptiles. The ones that specialize will advertise that they treat reptiles or exotics.

Here's a standard caution I give everyone who might be having to take their turtle to a vet: : If the vet offers to give a vitamin A shot, first make sure the vet is positive your turtle really needs vitamin A and then discuss other alternatives to shots with the vet like eye drops with vitamin A, cod liver oil or food supplements. Several turtles have recently had very bad reactions to vitamin A shots and I think it's best that if vitamin A is needed (and often it's not) the safer methods be used instead.

Finally, the tub your turtles are in isn't really set up like a turtle habitat. I know they are brand new and you probably just haven't had time yet to set it up properly. Be sure and take care of the setup right away because a decent setup is essential if your guys are going to stay healthy. There's a gold mine of info on caring for a turtle on this site. To help get you started, here's a link on equipment:

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

[SpotsMama]

By the way, can you please re-size your avatar? It's so big it's distorting the page it's on. Here's the rule on avatar size:

Avatars may not be larger than 80x80 pixels.

Thanks so much!

[marisa]

What's the temp of the water? If the one is really inactive, it might be a good idea to put separate him and keep him a little warmer (water 81-82F, basking area around 90F) just in case he is ill. At the very least the warmth would make him more active and might help his appetite. Are his eyes swollen or puffy at all?

Try to find some Reptomin Baby (a pellet made for smaller turtles/hatchlings) for them.