Feeding and Nutrition :: New Turtle - Need Help

[vassgirl4]

Hi there,

My son just received a turtle for his birthday. The lady who gave it to him didn't know what kind it was or anything and she gave us one of those little hermit crab plastic houses to keep him in. We received him Friday night. Saturday morning I did research and realized that he was a RES and did not have anything close to the space he needed. Saturday afternoon I went shopping and spent a lot of money for this little guy to get him set up. I put him in his new tank Saturday night and he seemed really scared; he was swimming around trying to find a place to hide. He was pretty active in the smaller tank and was eating. Today (Sunday) I fed him and he is completely ignoring it (I even left the room for an hour like some others suggested). Also, he seems to be spending a lot of time on the turtle dock under the basking light. Of course he didn't have a light for who knows how long, so I don't know if this is normal because he finally has one. He must be going in the water sometimes because one time when I checked on him, he was on the turtle dock but his shell was wet again. I have a 20 gal turtle tank w/about 11 gal of water in it, a bio filter, a UVA and UVB light, a submersible water heater, and a turtle dock for basking. Oh yeah, and the food I have is called turtle de-lite (it's dried shrimp). My kid's touched him a lot on Saturday but I told them they had to leave him alone for a few day while he gets used to his new tank.

One other thing, some of these websites are really scaring me about the salmonella thing. My son turned 5 on his birthday and I have another one that is 6. I have really stressed with them the importance of sanitation when it comes to the turtle and they seem to be doing really good with it. Does anyone else have children this young with an RES? Where do I clean his stuff? I read somewhere not to do it in the kitchen or bathroom sinks. Any suggestions? Thanks, your forum has been a lot of help.

[Ozzyy]

well first how big is the turtle? for every inch of shell length there should be 10 gallons of of space in the tank. RES are alsoswiming turtles, so if he is not in water put him in it ASAP. he should also have a uvb light and a light provides heat (any lightbulb will do). and a spot for him to dry off completeley from the water.

[vassgirl4]

He is only about 2 inches long which I now know is illegal, I don't know what pet shop this lady bought it from. If I find out, is there anyone I can report them to?

[BullDog]

It'll usually take a turtle a few days to get used to his/her new habitat, so just keep an eye on him for the next little while, and he'll probably start eating. Also, is the "turtle de-lite" just dried shrimp? Or are they pellets with other stuff in them? If it's just the shrimp, it should be considered a treat, as it's high in protein. There's lots of different regular turtle pellets out there, and I'm sure people will post with their suggestions

[missibsu]

Do you have a heater for you water? If the water is not warm enough, he will not eat. My guess is that he is not eating yet because he is still adjusting.

Salmonella shouldn't be a problem as long as it is stressed that your children should clean their hands if they have touched anything 'turtle'. It might help to have a bottle of hand sanitizer sitting right next to the tank.

As for cleaning...I use the kitchen sink because I don't have any other option. The bathroom sinks are too small. After I am done, I rinse the sink really well, and then bleach it.

[vassgirl4]

He is finally moving around and exploring a little tonight. I think he even ate some of the dried shrimp I put in there earlier. I am going to pick up some food pellets tomorrow and just use the shrimp as a supplement. I hope he does well in his new setup now that he is calming a little.

[missibsu]

Something else that I forgot to mention earlier. While it is illegal to sell turts under 4 inches, it isn't illegal to own them. So, don't worry about that!

[CountryGirl68]

One other thing, some of these websites are really scaring me about the salmonella thing.

Because of the federal law in the 1970s regarding the sale of turtles less than 4", many people have become very concerned that they spread salmonella. What the federal gov failed to emphasize is that ALL reptiles have the possibility of carrying the salmonella bacteria. I've seen so many people that don't take the same handwashing precautions with lizards as they would do if they had a turtle.

The law came about because of an increase of children with salmonella after playing with baby turtles and even putting the turtles to their mouths. Turtles are cute and were a popular child's pet sold at that time, unlike snakes and lizards. What the gov should have done was educate more about proper handwashing and handling of turtles because, even if turtles are 4" or larger, a child may try to kiss it and still run the same risk as with a smaller turtle.

Just take the same precautions with the turtle that you would with raw chicken. I don't have children (other than my pets ) but I actually think that owing a turtle can be used as a good lesson with young children to teach them the importance of washing their hands regularly. As long as you have them wash their hands before AND especially after handling anything from the turtle tank, you shouldn't have a problem. But remember that turtles are more of a "see and don't touch" type of pet.

[scripta_elegans]

I am a med student, and I can say that as long as your kids wash or sanitize their hands well after playing with the turtle, it will not be a problem. The 4 inch law was to minimize the possibility of small children sticking the turtle in their mouth, believe it or not, and really with kids over 3, you have far less to worry about. Salmonellosis usually comes from undercooked animal products like eggs or chicken. I wouldn't recommend holding the turtle for kids under 2 (many reasons) or for an immunocompromised individual, but for most of us it presents almost no danger. If you would like to read more about it, this is a great info source. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseasei ... osis_g.htm