General Care Discussion :: Im Such a Noobie! Help!!

[Tru Metal]

Hey Everyone!

I just registered because I needed some good advice from people who know turtles. I currently live in florida and have a 125 gallon pond with plants and 6 shibunkin goldfish, 4-6 inches long, and have a pleco to eat the algae, i also have some arachnis (Sp?) plant. My dad recently found a baby turtle (dont know what kind, Not snapper, or softshell) in the ditch in his front yard and gave it to my sister to care for (she has little girls). After some time of being in a tank in their house and eating pellets, they no longer wanted the turtle, so they asked if they could put it in my pond, which i had no problem with, so now i have this baby turtle. He has been in the pond for prolly like 2 weeks now, the only time i ever see him is if i search for him under structures, he is definitley still alive, but i never see him eat pellets, and i never have seen him sunning, i have a few locations where he can get out and dry his shell, but im nervous that he is not going to do well.

So i guess my questions are, how do i know if hes eating? What should i do special for him to ensure his good health? I can send pics but want to also know what kind of turtle it is. any would appreciate any and all advice that yall have for me!

Thanks
- Tru

[eaw]

The easiest way would be to see if any of your fish are missing.

You could always bring him indoors briefly and keep him in a large rubbermaid container (with water). You could get Reptomin pellets or some lettuce and see if he eats it. You can also use this time to check to make sure he's in good health, isn't missing any limbs, etc.

[steve]

We can help ID him if you post/send pictures. Is the edge of the pond fenced in? Water the temperatures like? Any sunlight reaching the pond? How long did they have him?

*edit* will check your videos soon.

[steve]

From the videos, it doesn't look like there is anywhere to bask. Your turtle might also be more reluctant to bask because it's in front of the house where there is a lot more traffic/distractions.

[Tru Metal]

@ Steve, I have made 2 platforms to bask on since that video was taken. The pond gets mornin to early noon sunlight, there is no fence around the pond. Will post pics soon, I'm Not sure how Long they had him and I'll check water temp soon and get back to you