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How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:24 am
by pan1k
I have a baby RES and it is super shy. She basks when I am not around and when I appear, she goes to her little hiding spot or clings to the filter. I throw in 2 reptomin pellets a day, and she is eating maybe half of on right now. She is about an inch in length now. I suspect she will grow out of her shyness in time, but I want to make sure she is eating enough.

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:02 am
by steve
This page covers pellets: http://redearslider.com/pellets.html

What's her setup like?

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:10 am
by pan1k
She's in a tank by herself. 20 gallon, 5 gallons of water, basking area, filter, heater. I have the mercury vapour uva/uvb light,water is about ~78. I got her on Saturday. She hasn't really eaten much. She likes to bask when I am away like I said. I put small pieces of tuna in the tank to see if she will eat that. :mrgreen:

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:51 am
by steve
A MVB is kind of strong for a 20 gallon. The basking area only needs to be about 10F warmer than the water. Being a bit skittish is normal for hatchlings/new RES.

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:57 am
by pan1k
Looks like the heater died. It's a stupid tetrafauna. I ordered a new one from amazon last night, should be here today. It appears she ate a whole stick of reptomin and left the tuna alone. Water was cold last night, all I could do was get some warm water and fill up a plastic tub.. :(

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:49 pm
by pan1k
Water was 66 degrees. My new heater has a digital sensor!

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:15 pm
by steve
66 is very cold for a hatchling. It's probably better to dry dock him someplace warm if a water heater is not available.

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 12:18 pm
by pan1k
I got my new heater last night. Water is at 82 degrees. Too hot? She still doesn't react to food. Hangs out under the water most of the day. Hopefully when I get home the food will be gone. I tried soaking the pellet in tuna juice.

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:41 pm
by VeipaCray
82 is a bit warm. If the water is too warm they won't want to get out of the water to regulate their temperature. 77-78 is ideal for a baby RES

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:46 pm
by pan1k
I got home, she flew off the basking area... i lowered the temp to 80 for now. Looks like the food is gone. Damn, she is FAAAST!

Update: saw her eat a whole pellet. I don't see any poop in the tank, I hope she is not eating that too! :roll:

Re: How much should a baby RES eat?

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:04 pm
by PridgNYC
Yes, they eat that too.