General Care Discussion :: My turtle won't eat and seems lethargic

[Billsloasky3]

We've had our turtle for a little over a year now and up until now he has been very active and hungry. We recently moved and since then he won't eat, we put 50 fish in his tank and I don't think he has had 1 in over a week. When we put some reptomin pellets he only eats a little but then seems a little more lively after eating a few. He stays in one spot all day and yesterday our roomate thought he was dead (he was sleeping all day!). The only thing that has changed in his habitat after we moved is we put a heater in to warm the water up. We put plexy glass over half the top of the tank to help keep the water warm so I was wondering if it may be cutting off some oxygen? I took it off this morning just to see if anything would change. I'm concerned I don't want him to die. Do RES hibernate in the winter at all? Are we doing anything wrong? Any suggestions would be great!

[Kemul]

It's probably just because of the recent move. Turtle's behavior changes after
the environment changed, usually. As long as you have the tank's parameters
in check, give the turtle a week or two to adjust. The fact that the turtle is eating
is a good sign. Keep offering food.

[Billsloasky3]

Well that's comforting to know! Last night we let him run around the house then I read that is not no good (as many ppl are finding they are doing wrong after the fact) but he was swimming around for a while after that but still minimal eating. Thank you for the reply!

[TurtleKeeper48]

Maybe they're just "slowing down" for the winter?

My turtles seem to be sleeping a bit more during the day, and they are a little less interested in food some days - they're not eating their veggies very well lately. But, like yours, they do eat food when offered food – they just don’t beg as aggressively or eat their veggies very good.

These are adult turts and I've had them less than a year. In the past – for their first 5 years of life, they did "hibernate" most of the winter (not a proper hibernation - they burried themselves in snake bedding on dry land... don't ask - it's not right, they are a total rescue case...) BUT - Yes, in nature RES's do hibernate. Indoor turtles should never hibernate, but appearantly, sometimes they "slow down a bit" in the winter.

Anyway - I've been slightly concerned, because they are eating slightly less and sleeping slightly more, so I've been searching for info. I've read that some turtles "slow down a bit" in the winter and maybe that is what we're seeing? There is another recent post on this forum that might be another example of this.(“Turtle is sleeping alot”)

I've been wondering if increasing their photo period would help - Give them another hour or so of daylight? I haven't found any information on that.

How long are your lights on / off? Mine come on at 8:00AM and go off at 10:00PM

Input from some more experienced keepers would be great. Is this what is meant by RES might “slow down” during the winter?

[Billsloasky3]

Yes more input would be great! I am pretty sure he's just slowing down and I feel much better now. He just didn't do that like this last year though. I read that turtles are more carnivorous in their early life and more herbivorous as they get older. He's had mostly fish and pellets as we just found out 6 months ago they eat veggies. He likes zuccini but I don't have any at the moment and tomorrow I'm going to get those frozen spirulina things, very nutritious. Also I realized no one put the basking dock back in when we got to the new house so I put it in last night, havn't seen him on there yet but we will see. The temp of the water says between 72-78 and I'm thinking it's not right even though we checked it against a digital thermostat too.

[bradmeisel]

try reading up on the basic care section. lots of great info in there.

[TurtleKeeper48]

try reading up on the basic care section. lots of great info in there.

I've read the basic care section, and I just looked through it again. I don't see anything that really pertains to this thread (I saw mention of lethargy being a sign that the water is too cold, but I don't think that's the case for me or the OP) I have seen at least two posts on this very forum in the last two weeks about sleepy turtles - and again, this forum is where I read the idea of turtles "slowing down" in the winter.

So - Is there a certain part of the basic care section you can point us to that will help answer these questions?