General Care Discussion :: New turtle owner...

[psybert]

Hello Everyone,

Well my wife and I moved into our first house two weeks ago, here in south Florida. Two days ago we received hurricane warning for Ernesto. Doing the right thing, we started to prep the house. In my backyard, in front of a window, there was this clay wall ornament. My wife picked it up and to her surprise a small baby turtle was underneath it. He's about an inch and a half wide and after doing some research we determined that's hes a Red Ear Slider.

I know it's not good to take animals from the wild, but we destroyed his home and a big storm was incoming.

He's a cute little turtle, we named him Speedy.

My mom gave us a 10 gallon fish tan for him. We bought this floating basking rock thing, and a UV light, a little coconut hut, as well as some big gravel rocks and some turtle pellet food. We filled the tank up with about 2 inches of water and he seems to do alright.

He doesn't seem to like the light, he hides in the cocunut when we put it on. He swims but seems to hang out on the edge of the glass. He's not eating though and seems scared whenever my wife and I come to the tank :\

Any advice?

Thanks

[missibsu]

First off, welcome!

Turtles that are new to an environment will take some time to get used to it. This can mean, hiding, not eating, etc.

The best advice that I can offer is to read through the basic care information on the main site. www.redearslider.com It can be overwhelming, but it gets easier. : )

A 10 gallon tank is better than nothing for getting started, but you are going to want something bigger and soon. RES are aquatic turtles, so be sure to fill it up.

A decent filter is also a must. Filters are rated for fish, so you are going to want one that is approx 3 times stronger than the size of your set up. Of course, plan ahead. Since you need to upgrade, don't plan a filter around the 10 gallon tank.

Upgrades can be costly, so be sure to go as big as you can afford now. Saves having a bunch of used aquariums sitting around too!

Those are just a few basics. Like I said, check out the main site. Also check out the stickys in the forum. They are full of great info too!

[psybert]

How much water should i put in the tank? Is there such a thing as too much water?

[missibsu]

There is only too much water when you give your turtle enough to escape over the top. RES are great escape artists.

Rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water for each inch of shell length. That measurement should be straight length, no curve, and does not include the head or tail.

Females can grow to be 12 inches, and males 9. So you are looking at 90 gallons minimum when full grown.

[psybert]

So my little Speedy still hasn't eaten anything :\ We tried Romaine lettuce, minced carrots and the little baby pellets. He just kind of hangs out underwater for long periods of time. He doesn't come out to bask in the light or anything. We brought him to the basking spot a few times but he just darts off (speedy!) back into the water.

I'm beginning to think we should let him go back in the wild. He just doesn't look happy with us. I would like to build him a nice outdoor pond, but I can't really do it that soon. We just moved in the house and there's still so much other stuff for us to do.

We did find him under a clay wall ornament with no other turtles around. I live on a lake, so I guess that's where he used to swim.

Any advice?

[Shavannah]

That's a hard one. I know you feel compelled to help the little guy out, and if you let him go by the lake, you will always wonder if he made out ok. I really don't know the best thing to suggest you do. Maybe if some other members respond with their suggestions, it will help you to make a decision. I'm sort of leaning toward letting him go, even thought it will be hard. Since you've only had him a few days, I don't think it would be harmful. It's the ones that are kept for years and then released that usually suffer because they depend on humans for their food and shelter. Get some more opinions on here. Let us know what you decide. I wish you the best of luck whatever you choose.

[psybert]

Here's some pictures of the little guy and the current tank setup.

[Breigh]

I read on some forums that when a turtle isn't eating that you should try giving him some canned Tuna because they REALLY love it. That it's a good way to start tempting them to eat. Also that soaking the pellets a little in the juice from canned tuna tempts them towards it a bit in the beginning.

As for your little guy scooting off on you, that's normal. When mine are on their basking area, if I get up off the sofa .. ** ZOOM ** they both run (swim) for cover and go hide.

They can be timid little things.

Try the tuna thing and see if that perks up his appatite a bit.

[missibsu]

RES have a period of adjustment that they go through when they are introduced to a new environment. During this time they tend not to eat. The best you can do is keep offering and try the tuna suggestion mentioned above. I've also read where you can mix the pellets or veggies in with some canned cat food for smell.

[psybert]

So we fed him some tunafish, he seemed to eat some of it. He just managed to climb on top of the cocunut hut to get some sun. It appears he's doing a little bit better today.

[Shavannah]

I'm glad to hear that. It sounds like things may work out after all. Good luck!

[SpotsMama]

What a pretty little turtle!

[amazingcc]

I also live in South Florida, and I suggest you let the little guy go back into the wild! Wild caught turts don't usually do well in captivity - and since we have canals on just about every block around here, he will be okay! It's also against the law to catch wild turts and keep them as pets.

[KellyP]

Personally I don't think you should ever take a wild animal out of the wild to be kept as a pet. But since this was a special circumstance and you're doing research ect. I think he'll be okay.

Looking at your tank setup you really should add more water. Try to fill it at least to 3/4 full. A 10 gallon can't hold much to begin with, and with it only filled a couple of inches he has hardly any room to swim. And definetely start planning to get him a larger aquarium. Watch on craigslist, I always see them on there for relatively cheap. Buy the biggest that you can afford.

[marisa]

If he's used to fending for himself in the wild, make his diet more like what he would be used to in the wild. Try some live food (crickets and earthworms, for example, also some aquatic plants).