General Care Discussion

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:00 pm **New Turtle and Already Dry Docked**

Ok so I recently got this female Res, Rolo about a week ago for "christmas". needless to say it was a rather unexpected gift and so i had been scrambling to get her stuff together. i thought things were going well but she never got out of the water even though i had a spot that she could easily acsess from the water for her to bask, the temperatures were about 80 on land and 75 for water but she just wanted to chill in the water. this led to a very very slight case of shell rot and she's hangin out in her night box ( it gets really cold in my room at night so i have a warm box for her at night) ever since she's been in the box she sleeps. the box is nice and warm, and i leave the light on all day and most of the night becasue i get home late from work and the only time i see her running around is after i smear her shell with the stuff the vet gave me and put her back in the warm box. she's incredibly active when i take her out if i have to handle her and she's starting to eat on her own (when i first brought her home she wouldnt eat) she poops and will chase the gold fish in her feeding tank ( i think she's a little food shy, she was only fed pellets and crickets at the store my freind got her at). The vet said, basically when i took her that she was generally healthy except for the shell rot, but how do i convince her to come out and sun? she just wants to sleep all day except for after i medicate her and put her back in her box at night. I don't want this turtle to die! i <3 my little Rolo!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:52 pm

Try raising the basking temp a little, it should be around 10 degrees warmer than the water to encourage good basking. You might also want to try putting something (fabric or paper maybe) around the basking area of the tank for privacy. Turtles (especially new ones) are usually pretty shy about basking when people are around. If you've only had her for a week i think it's safe to say that the shell rot probably started before you had her, i don't think it would develpo in only a week. Not having a basking area might have aggravated it, but i can't imagine that a healthy shell could develop shell rot in a week. Good luck and keep us updated!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:16 pm

Most turtles like to bask at around 90 degrees - some more some less. My turtle really isn't interested unless the basking area is in the low 90's.

Does your little Rolo have access to water when he's dry docked?

On the shell rot - can you post a picture of the shell when it's dry?

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:29 pm

You've only had her a week, so don't go overboard. It takes them a long time for them to get comfortable in a new environment. Quite often they won't eat or bask for a couple weeks after you get them.

not basking for a couple weeks isn't a big deal. what you want to make sure of is that their lifestyle habits, diet, environment are correct. if will take awhile for your turtle to take on regular habits. I agree that the basking temp is a little low. Most of mine won't go up on the dock unless it's at elast 90deg. it could also take awhile to work new foods into the diet. she'll most likely reject new things, but just keep offering them. quite often people find they need to not they food they like for awhile until they finally take to the new food. even if it means not eating for a week or two.

good luck! i'm glad you found this site and are determined to do give your turt a good home. Merry Christmas!

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:27 pm

I got mine like 3 weeks ago, and untill this week, she really started to enjoy her tank. At the beginning she would only be in one place. I had a hard time to make her eat, but now she´s always looking for food.

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:36 pm

wow thanks. yeah she's doing much better. she has access to water i keep a turtle bowl in there and clean it every night. now the only thing is that she sleeps all the time. day night, if i didn't have to take her out she'd sleep all the time even though i raised the temperature in the tank to about 75-80 with a basking spot at 90. when i put her in her feeding tank all she does is sit in the water shakes her head a few times, swims around and sniffs the air. then she gets mad at me for taking her out becasue i can only have her in there for 20 min or so. Here is the weird part about it, a week before she started doing this, she WAS eatring, didn't get to basking yet but at least she was eating and now she's not. her metabolisim slowed down and me and the vet can't figure out why. any idea's?

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:59 pm

what kind of vet are you taking the turtle to? turtles need to be taken to herp vets, trained in the care of reptiles. other vets can do more harm than good.

what are you trying to feed her? lethargy and lack of appetite spells illness. she gets more active when you handle her because you are stressing her out. turtles generally HATE to be handled. the water is their safety, they don't like being forced out of water.

your basking temp is much improved. could you provide us with some pics of your turt? have you said how big your turt is?

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:16 pm

well it is a herp vert though i'll admit not a very experianced one. she's probably about 5 inches long. i have tried feeding her. apparently ( i just got off the phone with the vet who talked to hte more experianced herp vet) she's just slowing down becasue of the winter. I don't handle her unless i'm putting her in the feeding tank, taking her out, and putting on her medication. I wish i had pictures of my turtle! no camera and if i got a disposable, i'd never get it developed.

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:01 pm

Some turtles do subtle changes from season to season, but the winter won't cause a serious lethargy if your water temperature is maintained. You just kinda have to gauge if she's just gotten a little lazy, or if she's really lethargic.

What have you been trying to feed her? Have you checked out the section on this site to entice eating?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:00 pm

yeah i have, and i've tried feeding her crickets, pellets, shrimp, krill, wax worms, fish and leafy greens. she is getting better, i can get her to stay active longer and more often than i could before and i think it will only be a matter of time before her apitite is back.

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:10 pm

The only way I could get my adult to eat was feeding her freeze dried meal worms. After a couple of days eating those she immediately took the Reptomin pellets, I don't know if that triggered her hunger or what but she has been devouring her Reptomin ever since

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:02 pm

hmm i might have to try that. i'm too scared too feed her right now becasue its soooo cold out right now. i don't want another close call with pnemonia

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:45 pm

i'm confused.....

i don't understand the being scared to feed her....how would feeding cause pneumonia? are you keeping the turtle outside?

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:25 pm

I'm a little confused about your turtle's set-up... What kind of tank is she in?

What is the ambient temp of the room your turtle is in?

If it's really cold, why don't you feed her in her tank rather than taking her out and putting her in a feeding container?

General Care Discussion :: New Turtle and Already Dry Docked

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