General Care Discussion :: new turtle owner with questions

[callmedavey]

hello all,

i just recently received two baby cooters as i've been eager to have my own turtles for a while now. i know this is mainly RES owners here, but i hoped that those experienced with turtle care might be able to answer my question regardless.

(side note: this is not my first experience with turtles, as a friend of mine currently has 2 RES and he's been teaching me about caring for turtles, and he helped me pick out my setup that i currently have.)

right now, i have a 30 gallon tank for the 2 cooters, which are about 2" in length. the water level is slightly below halfway at 79 degrees, the basking area is about 7" below a 50 watt UVB bulb.

I got them on Sunday, and they have only eaten very little amounts of turtle pellets. i have baby shrimp as well but i've shied away from feeding them the shrimp.

this morning, i turned the light on and left some turtle pellets in there for them to eat (they are too skittish to eat in front of me still) at 9am. when i came home for lunch around 1 pm, the pellets were still there, uneaten.

before i posted this, i read through most of the site and saw that young turtles in a new environment may shy away from eating for a while, which i can understand. my question is, at what point does this become a problem? these turtles are adorable and i absolutely want nothing to go wrong with pyramiding or malnutrition.

any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Congrats on getting the new baby cooters!

Don't worry....turtles by nature have a very voracious appetite. They won't starve & have a very slow metabolism. Continue to offer them pellets, but also try some green lettuce like romaine, or maybe throw in a few pond plants (anacharis is great for these little guys). If they don't eat within a week (chances are, it won't take a week), you can offer them a little bit of tuna or soak the pellets in tuna.

What kind/brand of UVB bulb do you have? Just curious!

[steve]

Welcome to the site! Researching and having a good setup will be a huge step in getting your turtles acclimated to their new home.

How long they can go without eating may depend on where they came from and their condition. Newly hatched turtles may not be interested as they might still be absorbing nutrients through their egg sac. Turtles in previously poor and stressful conditions may not be inclined to eat at all. I do think having good temps and a quiet/stress free environment will have your turtles eating in no time.

[Nettle]

The home site attached to this forum can provide all the information you need in easy to find places. It's awesome.

http://www.redearslider.com/index.html

[marisa]

Can you get them some aquatic plants to keep in the tank with them? Most turtles really go for anachris.

What pellets are you offering them?

[callmedavey]

industrial girl: the uvb bulb is a 50w exo terra basking light.

marisa: i have an aquatic plant in there now. it's a hygrophila difformis. i found it at the pet store near my apartment. i haven't seen the turtles eat it, but they sure as hell like to hang out amongst the leaves that float on the top of the water. it's great too, because this way instead of dive bombing for the bottom of the tank when i walk in, they just hold perfectly still in the leaves, thinking i won't see them.

the pellets are tetrafauna reptomins. it also came with baby shrimp and krill treats, which i will introduce down the road when they eat regularly, as a treat.

thanks everyone for the input.

[FLhaven4strays]

Congrats on your babies. I wouldn't worry about the eating for at least a few days. If they're still not eating then I'd think about tricking them w/ tuna juice or the shrimp.

I have experience w/ a peninsula cooter and they grow HUGE...15-16" is not at all uncommon. Since you have 2 and it's recommended you have 10 gallons of water per inch of shell you should start looking for giant setups as soon as you can. Is a pond possible for you? I have to say the cooter is my fave of all turtles I've had...her personality was soooo sweet, and she loved her head to be rubbed while eating.

[callmedavey]

well, the turtles are eating the plant, so that's good. if they still don't eat the pellets soon, i'll try some tuna trickery.

re: bigger setup/ponds, i live in downtown buffalo, so ponds are out of the question. however, i've got some time before i have to upgrade considering how tiny they are, so i'm putting money away and keeping my eye out for a 150 gallon or more tank.