General Care Discussion :: trying to escape?

[carleezy]

my turtle does NOTHING but either swim frantically in one place and the wall of his tank or go on land and try to climb up the wall!

he also wont eat. what do i do??

[cudamank]

How old and how big is your turtle. Are you sure its a male?

[carleezy]

he'sa little over 1 inch and because hes not 4 inches yet, i cant tell if he is a male. ITs just easier to call him "him"

[SpotsMama]

How long have you had him?

[carleezy]

3 days

[SpotsMama]

He's just a little baby and he's in a scary new place. When he gets used to it he'll settle down and eat and act normal. Does he have someplace to hide in the tank? Some of the little ones like to hide in an artificial plant. Some people have put a coffee cup in the tank so they can hide in it like it's a cave. He might feel more secure if he had a place to hide.

Try to give him some peace and quiet for a few more days and see if he doesn't start to settle and eat.

[steve]

Whats the water temp? It needs to be about 80F. And I strongly agree, give him some peace.. let him get used to his new home... cover some sides of the tank if you can.

[Kazari24]

Yeah when I first bought my baby turtle in July, he did the same. It's hard to keep the water warmer for me since it's winter but in the summer he was fine. Give him a place to hide and he'll do fine.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Definitley leave him alone,give him space.It must be scary for him to be in a new place.He will get used to you and his enclosure.It is just a matter of time..be patient lol.

[carleezy]

Whats the water temp? It needs to be about 80F. And I strongly agree, give him some peace.. let him get used to his new home... cover some sides of the tank if you can.

so when i cover some sides u mean like to give him privacy from people, but still give him a view of outside the window right?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

No,just give him privacy.He doesnt need to look outside the window.

[kikicool]

Carleezy, you sound just like me! When I first got my turt a few months ago, I was soooo frustrated. I chopped up veggies, I put in feeder fish, I gave pellets.... Lily would eat NOTHING. She would only sit under her dock and scratch the walls above her. I've had her for about three months now. I also got a second turtle. The second turtle was MUCH quicker to warm up, and began basking and eating right away. Lily is still shy, but is S-L-O-W-L-Y warming up (hey, she's a turtle, right?). She has begun to bask after seeing Herman bask. But she STILL doesn't have a big appetite. In fact, I have to throw food in when I see hjer atop the water, otherwise she won't go for it.

I have a question while I'm here, if anyone reads this far. My two turtles seem so start the morning off with exercise or yoga. They swim next to each other, up and down, to the bottom and top of the tank. What's this about? It's over and over and over...