General Care Discussion :: im not sure if this is normal behavior

[Winters_wonderland]

I've recently was given a red eared slider hatchling, my parents got him from a carnival in Maryland and gave him to me. He is a hatchling, his shell is still semi soft, not leathery, but not entirely firm yet either. right now he really only seems interested in "clinging" for lack of a better word, to the edge of his docking platform, he will occasionally bask, but he doesnt swim around too much. Additionally i am not entirely sure if he is male or female, just because he is so young, the tail is a bit long, I've named him Salazar (if he turns out to be a she, i guess he will just be Sally)


How big is your turtle? maybe two inches long, and one inch wide,
How long have you had it? Three days

What is the water temperature? 82 F
Did you use a thermometer? Yes, a little glass one, in addition to the number set on his water heater
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? 7 Gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? No, we used spring water
Are you using any filtration? Yes one intended for a 13 gallon tank

What is the basking temperature? 90 F
Is there a basking light? Yes, UV +5 bulb, and a halgogen splash proof heat lamp
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? He seems to be able to climb onto it just fine
What kind is it or what is it made out of? it is a magnet floating dock, size medium sold at Petsmart
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? yes, he doesnt eat much
When was the last time your turtle ate? he ate a pellet around an hour ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 20 gallon tank
Is the tank near a window? sort of, the windows are kept close, with heat blocking shades on them, and they cant be opened (i live in a shitty apartment)
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? its in the living room, there is a fair amount of activity, I am home through out the day, but spend most of my time on the computer

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?: Not that i can really tell, he swims to the edge of the tank and kind of waves to the glass, i think he is playing with his reflection. im just not entirely sure what normal behavior is for him, and i dont want to ignore anything that may be concerning.

[johnrisky]

Haha... I think your turtle mistook the reflection of himself as another turtle, the little thing he does with his hands is a mating ritual, it is normal. my turtle once did that to a green rock, a turtle toy, a mirror. Salazar sounds like a dude, I don't know, girl turtles don't do that a lot, or it's just my girl doesn't.

[Winters_wonderland]

what about him spending a lot of time just kind of clinging to the edge of his basking dock, rather than swimming? am i giving him too much water to swim in? or is he probably just scared and not ready to leave the safety of the dock?

[johnrisky]

Can he climb on the dock? and is it big and stable enough? how much watch you put in the tank? don't worry too much, I think he was just resting.

[Winters_wonderland]

He is able to climb onto his dock, it isn't as easy as his old dock, this one is a bit more buoyant so it isn't submerged towards the edge, and he never seems to try to go on towards the thinner edge, always where the edge is the highest. He seems to spend most of his day either resting or basking, not really swimming around in the tank. i could raise the water temp a little, (the heater can go up to 98, i have it at 82) or maybe lower it, if the water is too warm... here are some pictures of the layout i have.

[Winters_wonderland]

blah, i realized the pictures are way bigger than i thought, sorry, here is the link for the picture of the full layout, (cause on my screen it cuts half way off on this)

http://tinypic.com/r/2wrlr1i/5

[johnrisky]

I think maybe it's the water... too much, my two small turtles are like Salazar, I only put like half the water you have. it's a long way from the bottom to the basking area. the last picture, that position is not comfortable! get half the water out, see if he likes that better? hatchlings aren't that good with swimming.
And for the heater, no need turning it up so much.

[Winters_wonderland]

i took out two and a half gallons of water, and he really seems to prefer it more. he is swiming around some and actually getting completely out of the water, and basking before diving back in and going all the way to the other side of the tank.

when removing his water, i stirred up some meal worm chunks he had missed at his earlier feeding, so he was pretty stoked to see that he had more he could have eaten.

[johnrisky]

Cool, glad he is ok now. and the stuff in the bottom tank... it's probably because the rocks, and there might be poops in there, when he gets older, you will find some monster poops, I just did... so get a net thingy, just in case.

[steve]

He might just be taking time to adjust... he has to get used to big giant heads peeking into his new home. Give him a little more space. Are you sure he ate the pellet? They easily dissolve or break up after a few minutes.

[justatwinturbo]

I think maybe it's the water... too much, my two small turtles are like Salazar, I only put like half the water you have. it's a long way from the bottom to the basking area. the last picture, that position is not comfortable! get half the water out, see if he likes that better? hatchlings aren't that good with swimming.
And for the heater, no need turning it up so much.

There is no such thing as too much water, for trachemys of any size. If anything, there isnt enough water, hatchlings are fantastic swimmers as long as you dont just drop them in the water, without them being able to take a breath of air. Sliders, typically love as much water as possible. I have found hatchlings in 30+ feet of water in the wild, far away from any shoreline. They do not need anything to cling on to, they can regulate their own buoyancy.

[johnrisky]

I think maybe it's the water... too much, my two small turtles are like Salazar, I only put like half the water you have. it's a long way from the bottom to the basking area. the last picture, that position is not comfortable! get half the water out, see if he likes that better? hatchlings aren't that good with swimming.
And for the heater, no need turning it up so much.

There is no such thing as too much water, for trachemys of any size. If anything, there isnt enough water, hatchlings are fantastic swimmers as long as you dont just drop them in the water, without them being able to take a breath of air. Sliders, typically love as much water as possible. I have found hatchlings in 30+ feet of water in the wild, far away from any shoreline. They do not need anything to cling on to, they can regulate their own buoyancy.

Not so sure about that, I have heard there were hatchlings drown in the deep water... just a suggestion, since it would take time for them to swim up to breathe, new turtles are stressed out by the new environment, so they don't eat well.

[justatwinturbo]

typically when hatchling sliders drown, its because of 2 common issues. The owner stuck them right in the water, instead of on land where they could take a good breath, and jump in on their own, or they got stuck under something. There is the odd chance that the turtle wastes so much energy trying to swim through the glass, that it no longer has the energy to go upwards...this is why i dont use aquariums, keeping them in dark tubs will pretty much eliminate them from thinking they have a lot more room than they actually do.

[slider_keeper]

IMO, leave the water level where it is for now, take out the rocks, they gather debris and fowl your water, making it dirty. Like Steve said give him/her some space. Every week or so add a bit more water. Add every week until you get the tank as full as you can without letting your turtle be able to climb out the side (sliders are good climbers). If you want a substrate see about sand, its a great substrate and looks natural. If you like the rocks you can put sand on the bottom and then bury some the rocks half way in the sand. Play sand is very cheap at Wal-Mart, that is what I use. Sliders are excellent swimmers and love deep water. I agree with Steve, give your turtle some space and loneliness to adjust to his new surroundings. You won't see him bask for a while, as soon as you walk in the room he will dart off for the water and try to bury himself in the corner of the tank. He could also start swimming at the glass trying to get to you, that is the sign of begging and he has started to associate you as a food supple. Being so young, I'd say a month or so old. He is not only adjusting to you a potential predator but also the new world he has joined. Being so young you won't know the sex of your turtle until he/she reaches about 3-4 in. Sometimes you can tell sooner. I have a male and would be glad to give my opinion on the sex when he/she is about 3 in. Definitely can tell by 4 in. There is a few of us on here that can tell the sex of a slider, just ask if you need help;)

[Winters_wonderland]

i went with rocks, because i wanted something on the bottom of the tank,(i know sal doesn't really care, but it just looked so sad and bare with nothing there) i was worried about using sand because i wasnt sure if sal would try to eat it. I have been out of the house most of today, when i came home he was basking, but us coming home startled him so now he is doing his lazy bask (completely on his dock, with his shell out of the water, but his feet are still wet as to be able to quickly escape from our giant heads of danger). His shell is still slightly soft, i have heard this is normal for babies, but i wanted to make sure he was on a normal path for development. I'm sorry if i am asking a lot of dumb questions, i would just hate for anything to happen to Sal that could have been avoided or would be my fault.

Should i get a printed lining for the edge of my aquarium so Sal doesn't think there is more space to swim, or is this something that he usually would figure out as he adjusts?

also i dont really have any sort of hidey hole for him for when he feels stressed or not wanting to be seen by us, do you guys have any sort of suggestions for this?