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Hi, I am from Indonesia, Asia. Several days ago I found a turtle hiding under our car in front of the garage. Since I don't know the owner and I am afraid that he would be disturbed by wild cats from surroundings, I decided to take care of him. At first, I put him into a big pile of shallow water but he tried to get out. so I got him out. After that, he
seemed to look around and finally went to a corner. He stayed there the whole day. I have ever put him to another place but he always returns back to that corner. The place he choose to stay is quite shady but still gets sunlight, I mean not completely dark. He seems to be very shy and afraid of people. I gave him cabbage, salad, carrot (in small pieces), rice, and even food for koi fish, but he refuses to eat. I am worried if he gets sick or died. Can somebody give some advice please?

can you get hold of turtle pellets?

is it pellet made specially for turtles? Is it really good for turtles? I'll look for it in petshops. thanks

yes, pellets for turtles. what's his size? remember, 10 gallons for 1 inch of turtle. here's a link: http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

can you check his eyes?

First make a positive species ID of your turtle so you can plan for it's appropriate care.

I try to upload pictures of my turtle :







I have already been to 2 petshops but haven't got the turtle pellets ....... He is almost 5 inch in length (is it a big size for RES ? ). We have a tropical climate here in Indonesia. The air (room) temperature normally is +/- 30 C on average (probably about 86 F, if I am not mistaken). I haven't got any tanks yet, since I don't understand his behaviour. Whenever I put him in a big pile with shallow water, it takes just a few minutes before he will try to go out of the pile. At first, I thought he could get drowned, but then I read in this website that RES are good swimmers. Until now, he always tries to get out of water. After he gets out of water, he always goes to a hidden place in a corner, and pull his head into his carapace. I believe he can see clearly. whenever I take him out of his hiding place, he will look around for a sec and then he goes back to his hiding place. The whole days and nights, he stays in the corner, not moving. Several times I have put koi fish feed, lettuce, carrot, even rice into water within a shallow pan, then I take my RES into the pan. the pan is shallow and he will be able to get out easily. Within not more than 10 minutes, he gets out of the pan, not eating anything. Now I just let him go freely in my back yard. My back yard is surrounded by walls so I don't need to be afraid of losing him. What makes me worried is he doesn't eat anything. In hot days, I use to pour some water onto his body, since I am worried he will be overheated. Is my RES behaving normally? I read in this website that RES sometimes can be inactive in a new environment. Can that be the reason of my RES' behavior? Please help.

Well you do have a Red Eared Slider. Judging by his rapid growth patterns on his shell and heavily retained scutes. Also he seems to have fungas growing on a couple scutes. You never see wild turtles with those types of shell problems. He definitely was a pet. You possiably you cant get him to eat because he is only used to eating pellets. Usually a turtle given pellets all his life is hard to get to eat anything else. Also have you tried asking around if someone lost a turtle. Id be worried if i lost mine. Luckily my neighbors know i have turtles and have returned to me a turtle that someone how escaped on more then one occasion.

Im a little confused on explaining on how your feeding him and the habitat. You should move him into something that should hold at least 50 gallons of water. The food should just be in the water. Not in a pan. Res cant eat outside of the water. Also just a basking area thats his size and will stay dry.

Yes, give him enough water to swim in, at least 1.5 times his shell length in depth is best. Res can't really swallow food unless they are submerged. The reason he keeps climbing out of the shallow pan and hiding in a corner is because he is afraid. They need deep water to feel secure and their basking area needs to be within easy diving distance from their deep water.

Hi indo,
U in jkt? @all sorry bit of indonesian here.
Can try to get a big wide plastic bucket first. Usually for laundry. Baskom Cuci baju.
Soak enough water as other mentioned. Make him comfy first. Food will come along.

Take care on PAM water. My mom in law's turtle die because of pond filled with direct PAM water. Chlor i guess.
Dont worry so much about the rest. U have a backyard so u can just put your turtle inhalf shady area. So he can freely bask later.