General Care Discussion :: Baby RES still shy

[farsight1223]

Hello I'm a first time poster but I have been lurking for a week or so now. My girlfriend got a hatchling RES at a fair when she was on vacation
so when she got back we went out and got everything we needed for a new tank set up.
I did some research on this website and I have the say all the information in one place is great!

The hatchling is about 1.5" long and he/she (not sure which it is yet) hangs around in the water alot. Havent seen Kiwi
get on the basking area or anything mostly just hangs on to the filter or heater all day long. Seems to be really shy and hides in the back corner of the tank
where the filter, heater and UVA light are. Kiwi also gets scared really easily if we look over the tank or drop some food in.
Water temp was around the 85F mark, heater seems to be working better than we thought so we turned it down to 72F from 80F.
Maybe if the water temps gets lower towards the 75F mark Kiwi will want to check out the basking area.

The question is this: How long does it take for a baby RES to get used to a new tank?

[valladin82]

My RES took about 2 weeks. My yellow belly still makes me get my hands and forarms wet trying to catch it, but its starting to come around and realize that I = Food. lol I take them out to feed them in a separate container, usually just a large popcorn bowl with some water in it. I feel like this really helped them realize I'm not going to eat them, quite the opposite i'm there to feed them. So I think "awesome I'll be able to get nice basking pictures as they get used to me." Nope...now they dive into the water and start beggin at the glass. Lol I think a lot depends on the turtle too. Like you see people on here say all the time they all got quite a personality of their own.

Oh and if you feed them in a separate container I found at first it was productive to take something from the tank (I got little floaty fake plastic plants..really small) and just toss it in the bowl with them so if people travel around the bowl while they're eating they can feel like they can hide some. My RES didn't eat with me around at first, but now it eats from my hand, the yellow belly is still shy and only eats if nobody is watching. Hope that helps.

[steve]

It's best to keep interaction to a minimal when you first get a hatchling. Kiwi will get to used to the giants taking care of him. Has he been eating?

[TurtleGirl1985]

Yea i just got one about the size of a dollar coin. Got him two days ago, and havent seen him eat, or go on the basking platform all he does is stay in the corner under the sub. heater and when u pick him up hes always got his head in his shell not like my other three very active and what not

[valladin82]

Being so small everything must seem like a giant predator ready to eat them. :p I'm glad mine are finally at the "begging" stage, swimming frantically at the glass to try to get to me. lol

[farsight1223]

Yes Kiwi does eat his pellets when no one is looking and we are going to try and introduce some greens as well.
Most likely wont be interested at all but its best to start ealier than later.

On a side note when would it be a good time to introduce substrate into the tank?
As he is still really small we havent added sand yet but we plan to.

[Miss Tee]

Kudos to farsight1223 for actually doing research on this this forum b/f he set things up! And actually reading the topics b/f asking questions!!
Very cool.
P.S. A baby turt NEEDS warm water--you were correct around 80. 72 is too cold for that cute little hatchling...

[valladin82]

Hey now Miss Tee. I lurked this site for a good month before I joined up on it recently. Watching videos and reading info as I set up the habitat. I love how theres so many turtle gurus on these forums. Its nice to know when I see something that brings me concern with my turtles I can always pop on here and get A+ advice and information.

[farsight1223]

Yeah the water temp is around 78-79 now with the heater set to 72. I dont know what it is but the heater doesnt show accurate temps.
While the basking area is at 90 which might be a little high so im going to try and lower that somehow.

[valladin82]

90 should be fine for basking. Mine usually stays around 90-95 and they're constantly up there with their little legs stuck out and necks extended. lol They're really pretty smart animals and when they get hot they will back out of the hot spots or sometimes hang half in the water (i see mine doing that sometimes) to cool off.