General Care Discussion :: Not Sure If Normal.

[shleebaby]

I've owned my 2 RES turtles for almost 2 years. About 4 months ago they were sharing the same tank since Nov. 2007. They started to bite each other and wouldn't leave each other alone so I separated them into 2 tanks. The one turtle Squirt seems to be normal, eats, basks, swims around normally. But my other turtle Mojo, is lazy. He doesn't eat much. Maybe 2 or 3 pellets a day. He will sleep in the middle of the day, which isn't usual Mojo behaviour. He doesn't do anything but sit at the bottom of the tank. I barely see him basking too. Could there be something wrong with him? He's been like this for a month almost 2 months. Also his shell doesn't look right either. His back scutes are starting to curl under. I will try to take a picture to show. But I don't know what's going on. Help Me!

[BullDog]

Can you give us some more info, like water and basking temps, what kind of food are you trying to feed him, what size is the tank and filter.

[shleebaby]

They are normal. Water is around 74 (what i believe is what it's supposed to be) Pellet food, carrots, shrimp. 30 gallon tank with a Fluval 2plus filter.

[shleebaby]

I haven't really changed anything. Still the same. I always watch the temps and they are always the same.

[theartbook35]

Well, this is very odd. Do you have a photograph of the curling on the shell? Maybe your turtle needs a diet change, and definitely a calcium supplement. Sometimes they get tired of eating the same food over and over and over again.

As far as the "lazy" behavior is concerned... I might be going out on a limb here... way far out... But, one of my turtles tends to get upset when I take "her" tank-mate out of the tank for handling. I don't think turtles get depressed like humans, or lonely, but if they've always lived together, they might handle living alone in odd ways. If your turtle had an infection, it would be basking more often than not. Maybe let them hang out together on neutral ground, not in water (less likely to bite and flutter for dominance), and see if the lazy one's "mood" improves.

[mike hill]

she-bab - If your turtles are around 3" in diameter you may try and feed them every other day. Try that and raise mojo's temp to about 78 and see if that helps.