General Care Discussion :: Rescued Baby RES

[christu]

I already have one RES, Zoe. I actually discovered one being eaten, a small hatchling from the looks of it. It was about an 1" and a half. I'm not sure if it died, it was not moving, so I put it on a log in the ditch, where other RESs reside. This new one I found in a yard I cut. So, I brought it home. It was moving and alive, etc. I'm not sure if its eating. What should it eat? And I put it on the dock in Zoe's tank, cuz I only have one UVB bulb. He moved (I call it a he for now) and later when I checked on him, he was swimming around the tank. I'm not sure if its safe being in the tank with a much, much larger RES. Zoe is probably 7". There is a massive difference. Should they be sharing a tank, or does the baby RES require something different? Less water? What kind of food? etc. Any help would be appreciated.

[mike hill]

Chr-tu -- Putting a new turtle in a tank with a bigger turtle is not a good idea. Eventually the larger one will consider it food and or consider the smaller as an intruder in his space. The newer may have a disease which may spread to the larger one. Redears are traditionally aggressive and are loaners by nature. The new smaller will probably take a while to eat. Pellets are a good start and you will have to feed it by hand as the larger one will eat all the food and not let the little one get any. You may have to feed it in a separate tank. You can put them in as much water as you can afford and take care of. Good Luck. M.

[theartbook35]

I would get your baby a 10 or 20 gallon right now, either will be fine. It'll be a while before the little one starts growing, and depending on the turtle's personality you'll be able to see if it likes deeper water or not. (Some turtles take to deep water quickly, others don't like it and prefer the shallows). You could get away with a 5 gallon for a little while, but it'll out grow that pretty fast.

A one inch turtle, probably isn't going to want anything except proteins mostly. Since it was born in the wild, however, it knows a different environment, and I'd offer it both greens (romaine lettuce, tomato occasionally, radish leaves, blueberries, strawberries, etc.) and maybe even some feeder guppies. Another thing to try is the Reptomin foods, I use the three in one product, which has baby shrimp, krill treats and staple pellets. There's a lot of calcium in those pellets. If the turtle likes greens, I'd limit it to proteins a couple of times a week, and greens mostly. Sounds like it should be about six months by now or maybe a month or two younger, which is about the time when you yank proteins away. (My turtles when I got them weren't in the best condition, and I had to feed them a lot of proteins to strengthen them, and help them grow, they were a little small for their age.) After this is should get protein once a week at the most.

[christu]

Thanks for all the input. I actually have Zoe's old 20 gallon, and I just cleaned it up. The baby seems to bask ALOT, or sleep under the basking light. I've been applying turtle eye drops, cuz I think something is wrong with them. Is it normal they sleep so much? Also, how would I make it eat? I've tried, but it hasn't worked. I've left bits of lettuce on the dock he's sleeping on and it vanished, so i dunno if it or Zoe ate it. It's awful hard for Zoe to climb onto the dock, because she's too large and heavy. She has another basking spot nearby which is a log.

[steve]

What is the basking temp? It's not unusual to fall asleep while basking though my turts are usually very alert.

[joeybsmooth]

It takes new guys a while to eat some times . Just keep giving him food and more than likely he will eat it. Sooner or later .

[marisa]

I doubt the little one is eating the lettuce...He's in his own set-up now? I'd keep him warm---water around 80F, basking area about 10 degrees higher.

What seems wrong with the eyes? Are they open, is he able to see? If he can't see the food, he won't eat.

I'd try pieces of a cut-up earthworm, bits of tuna or sardines, crickets, etc.---food that's smelly and/or alive and moving.

[christu]

Well, the eyelids seem dark, and they're always closed. Whenever his eyes are open, they seem-- I'm not sure what the word is. Like they're strained, or hard to keep open. I've administered the eye drops I got for Zoe, hoping they'll make it better. I think I recall that stuff taking a week or so to work on Zoe.

I shall try the foods, cuz he isn't eating the food sticks i placed near him. Though, he does move around. Even left lettuce. I have baby shrimp, too. I haven't tried that yet.

I'm not sure of the basking temp. The water is pretty warm, though. I don't have a thermometer, though I need to pick on up.

[theartbook35]

Thanks for all the input. I actually have Zoe's old 20 gallon, and I just cleaned it up. The baby seems to bask ALOT, or sleep under the basking light. I've been applying turtle eye drops, cuz I think something is wrong with them. Is it normal they sleep so much? Also, how would I make it eat? I've tried, but it hasn't worked. I've left bits of lettuce on the dock he's sleeping on and it vanished, so i dunno if it or Zoe ate it. It's awful hard for Zoe to climb onto the dock, because she's too large and heavy. She has another basking spot nearby which is a log.

Both my turtles love to sleep while they bask.

Turtles need to eat their food in the water. I can't remember why, I think it helps them swallow, but I don't really remember... Anyways, drop some lettuce in the water and step back several feet, or hide where you can still see Zoe, if you really want to confirm that she's eating. Sometimes turtles want privacy while they eat.

That's pretty cool that you have two basking spots, your girl should feel very safe in her home.

[Caphits]

They dont have any saliva, thats why they need the water.

[theartbook35]

They dont have any saliva, thats why they need the water.

Wow. I'm trying to imagine myself without saliva. That would be awkward for me, although, since they're born that way I'm sure they don't mind.