General Care Discussion :: Depressed red-eared slider?

[cmeggles]

Hello! My name is Cara; I'm new to this forum. I have a red-eared slider named Wesley. I'd estimate he's about 4-5 years old. He's always been very healthy and active with lots of personality. However, lately he seems a bit depressed. He doesn't seem sick-- he swims fine, he eats and basks, but he is not as active as before and seems very skittish. I noticed the change after we moved a few weeks ago. In my old house, the tank was in our bathroom so he was around people a lot. Whenever anyone would walk into the bathroom he would swim back and forth energetically and splash around like he was begging for food. I would feed him pellets by holding them in the tank just above the water; he would take them straight from my fingers. Now, his tank is in the basement of my new house in an area that people don't pass by very frequently. When I go to his tank, instead of "greeting" me like he always did before, he acts scared and tries to hide. He eats as much as ever, but he won't take the pellets from my fingers anymore-- if I hold one near the water like I always did before he will be frightened of it and hide.

At first I thought it was just the stress of the move, but it has been almost a month and a half now and he hasn't improved. I got him when I was in college and used to move him frequently; several times a year for break I would have to dismantle the tank, keep him in a little box for the hour and a half drive home and then get him settled again. He would always be freaked out at first but then completely fine within a few hours of getting back in his tank. This time we only moved a few blocks away so he was only in his box for a few hours, not much longer than he would be if I just doing a routine tank-cleaning.

The only significant change about his environment since we moved is the lack of stimulation as he does not see people as often as in our old house. Initially the water was much warmer because the heater setting got messed up, but I fixed that weeks ago and haven't noticed a change. I have also noticed that there seems to be a slight oily sheen to the top of the water, but we are in the same township so I don't think the water quality would be any different. I did start occasionally using a product that is supposed to encourage natural decomposition of waste, but it's all natural and I've only used it a few times so I don't think that could be causing the problem (plus I got it several weeks after noticing the behavior change).

Any suggestions??

[SINI5T3R]

if you want him to be all nice and come to the tank again you are def going to have to move him to the front room or somewhere where he sees people walk by daily. A basement is sorta not the place to get used to people and the move doesent help. Turtles can take a while to calm down after a move.

[marisa]

If he's not seeing people (or any movement for that matter) in the basement, it's not surprising that he'd be more skittish when approached, even by you. If the basement is essentially dark except for his lighting, he's likely being startled when he sees you coming near him.

[vear]

Oily residue on the surface can be avoided by aeration - if you have a bubbler that helps, or what I do is point the output of the filter upwards so it agitates the surface.

When I want my turtle to have a little more stimulation I throw in about 20 minnows... they swim all over the place and he chases them around. There'll be a lot of movement in the water, that keeps him busy for a while. Just make sure you see how many he eats and don't feed him anything else that day, or those days. You can also try to spend more time with him everyday, that might help.

[kmichael55]

I too got my turtles in college and they have moved PLENTY of times. When they lived at my parent's house in the basement, I too felt that they were "depressed" I kept their tank and basking temps appropriate but the basement is a cold place in general. They just seemed much happier to me when they were moved to a sunny upstairs room. Too much interaction may bother the turtles, they definitely need their privacy, but I agree with you that they're more "people-friendly" ie they bask a lot more without jumping back in the water, they come to the surface and beg, they push around their rocks more and are more active when they are exposed to people.

And with the decomposition product- I'm curious, what's in it?

[theartbook35]

My turtles have been "moved" a couple of times. As long as they got constant attention and interaction, their skittish behavior died down quick. There were other factors which went into their skittish behavior, but it was mainly the moving around. Turtles have vivid memories, probably close to or even as good as people, so, if they are used to living one way, and then you change that, it does get to them a bit. I am not accusing you of ignoring your turtle, but, turtles are not like fish. Fish can be ignored when they don't have to be fed. Fish don't feel bad when you ignore them (mainly because their memory lasts 3 minutes or something like that but regardless). Turtles thrive from lots of attention. If it works with your living arrangements (sounds like since you are in a house, that it probably does), I would move your turtle's tank to one of the upper levels where it will get more attention from people.

Also, reptiles need a different kind of socialization than cats or dogs. Mammals tend to be naturally drawn to people, and, reptiles are very good with people, but, they have to have that taught to them. If you keep up with interacting with your turtle, and introducing it to new people, sights, smells, etc, it will benefit you in the long run. Our older turtle, Sadie, sits in my mother's lap! A member of this forum, Novroz, both her females are the most lovable little creatures who walks into her hands upon their own will! It is adorable!

[xfallwithmexo]

I'm getting mine used to hanging out with people, they sit on my lap now, they like to bury in my shirt