General Care Discussion :: How much should a baby RES eat?

[pan1k]

I have a baby RES and it is super shy. She basks when I am not around and when I appear, she goes to her little hiding spot or clings to the filter. I throw in 2 reptomin pellets a day, and she is eating maybe half of on right now. She is about an inch in length now. I suspect she will grow out of her shyness in time, but I want to make sure she is eating enough.

[steve]

This page covers pellets: http://redearslider.com/pellets.html

What's her setup like?

[pan1k]

She's in a tank by herself. 20 gallon, 5 gallons of water, basking area, filter, heater. I have the mercury vapour uva/uvb light,water is about ~78. I got her on Saturday. She hasn't really eaten much. She likes to bask when I am away like I said. I put small pieces of tuna in the tank to see if she will eat that.

[steve]

A MVB is kind of strong for a 20 gallon. The basking area only needs to be about 10F warmer than the water. Being a bit skittish is normal for hatchlings/new RES.

[pan1k]

Looks like the heater died. It's a stupid tetrafauna. I ordered a new one from amazon last night, should be here today. It appears she ate a whole stick of reptomin and left the tuna alone. Water was cold last night, all I could do was get some warm water and fill up a plastic tub..

[pan1k]

Water was 66 degrees. My new heater has a digital sensor!

[steve]

66 is very cold for a hatchling. It's probably better to dry dock him someplace warm if a water heater is not available.

[pan1k]

I got my new heater last night. Water is at 82 degrees. Too hot? She still doesn't react to food. Hangs out under the water most of the day. Hopefully when I get home the food will be gone. I tried soaking the pellet in tuna juice.

[VeipaCray]

82 is a bit warm. If the water is too warm they won't want to get out of the water to regulate their temperature. 77-78 is ideal for a baby RES

[pan1k]

I got home, she flew off the basking area... i lowered the temp to 80 for now. Looks like the food is gone. Damn, she is FAAAST!

Update: saw her eat a whole pellet. I don't see any poop in the tank, I hope she is not eating that too!

[PridgNYC]

Yes, they eat that too.