General Care Discussion :: Not eating, wants to be left alone. Help!

[the_mushroom]

Hello,

i got my red ear slider yesterday and i'm yet to name him/her (he/she's too small for me to determine the sex yet)
so well arnie (lets call him/her that till we know, shall we?) has been acting strange and i wanted to know if it was normal for a RES to act this way before it gets adjusted to it's surroundings.

For starters, arnie doesn't want to socialise, i mean he was VERY afraid when i first got him/her, and it's reduced but not quite. He/She still gets startles if someone appears sudenly and starts swimming frantically

I've put the RES in a large bucket (it's about 20 times her size so lot of room for her to move about, it's deep enough for her to swim) i've put a stone she can comfortable climb up to bask, which she does but the moment she sees somebody she just goes down into the water again

Arnie also has not eaten much today, i have put a couple of coriander leaves in the water and also two or three pieces of boiled chicken. I don't know if she's eaten any of that but she's pooped twice in the day.

I also just bought pellets for her and have put one moist pellet in the water but she was just indifferent to it.

Is it normal for RES to ignore food like that, and to not socialize with people (or be scared of them)

P.S: i kind of rescued him/her from this awful place that keeps like 10 turtles in a small box where they can barely move and there's definitely no sunlight except for very few rays of light reaching the box from the air holes.

[Pizza]

From what you said, yes it is normal for a RES (or even any pet turtle) to be scared and to sway away from others when you first get them.

It's basic instinct for turtles to be cautious and inactive when placed in a completely new environment (think of wild turtles and their predators).

On average it takes 1-2 weeks before your RES can become somewhat adjusted to its new home and start warming up to you (if you're lucky), but many turtles have been known to be scared of contact with others their entire lifetimes. On average a new RES will start eating in 1-4 days, however if you notice it doesn't within that time period, consider taking it to a veterinarian for possible sickness (many new turtles are raised in bad conditions and go to their new homes sick).

I noticed you said you used boiled chicken, remember that any meat should be thoroughly cooked and as greaseless as possible, and only feed them to your turtle as a rare treat (once every month and up) because of the high protein rating with them, or just temporarily to get your turtle eating.

Just one last thing I thought I'd point out, it's another instinct for aquatic turtles that when they bask and see someone coming along to quickly retreat back into the water (water is like a safety blanket to them), some get used to humans and such over time, but again, many others don't.

[crock1120]

Yea, give your turtle time to get used to its new home. It could take a couple of weeks before you notice arnie getting comfortable. It should eat in a couple of days, maybe earlier, as long as you have the water temperature at a good level (76-78 degrees F). But don't worry, your RES will be fine as long as the habitat is well-prepared.

[the_mushroom]

Another questions that has been troubling me..

Does arnie act like this because she's been away from fellow mates,
and will getting a mate be of any hel, because i've been considering that.

[steve]

No, it wouldn't really help and it would just make it difficult for you. If he hasn't been eating, try to offer him some more privacy (don't pick him up unless you need too), give Arnie the right habitat (temps/lighting), and try some different foods.

www.redearslider.com/hatchling_tips.html
www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

[the_mushroom]

Thanks man