General Care Discussion :: Floating and a Little Lethargic

[Shellvy's Owner]

We've had our RES, Shellvy, for almost two months now - he's about four inches, in a 20 gallon tank, Petco store bought filter, basking shelf, water heater and 100W combined UVA/heat lamp. The past five days or so, he's been floating more often than not, sleeps while floating at night, and has only eaten one small bite of chicken or shrimp per day - he also usually eats one reptomin pellet, but that's about it. He can submerge, and sit or stand on the bottom (he's in 6-8 inches of water), but seems to be floating more than 50% of the time. And he's a little less feisty than usual. There are six feeder fish and a few smooth rocks (no gravel) in the tank to help keep the water clean. I run the filter and heat lamp for about three hours in the morning and three hours at night. He does bask when no one is around - maybe an hour or two a day. The room he's in gets a lot of sun, but is two or three degrees colder than the rest of the house which we keep at 70-72 during the winter. I keep his water temp. at 78, but haven't measured the temp on his basking platform - the lamp on top of the tank is about 4-6 inches from the platform, so it's warm. A few weeks ago, while we were away for a week, I had someone drop seven Reptomin pellets in his tank each day. Over the course of the week, he also consumed all five of the feeder fish in his tank! I replaced the fish about a week ago, and he hasn't touched them. It's been very cold here in Washington, DC the past couple of days, and I would rather not take him out and go looking for a vet. I'd like to think by keeping him warm, maintaining water quality, and just paying attention, he will either get better on his own, or not. Any suggestions or simliar experiences would be most appreciated! Thanks.

[robind]

In order for you turtle to get better he needs a proper habitat. According to general accepted knowledge on this forum, your turtle's tank does not meet the minimum requirements. I suggest you read more here: http://www.redearslider.com/index_habitat.html

There's three things you need to do to help your turt out:
1) Give him a bigger tank. RES need 10 gallons of water per inch of shell. Your little guy should have 40 gallons. By the time he's all grown up maybe closer to 80 gallons!
2) Get him a UVB bulb. I recommend the 'repti glo 5.0'. That and your heatlamp is all he needs over his basking area. UVA alone is not enough.
3) Feed him a varied diet. RES need to eat stuff other than just pellets and fishies. I try to feed at least half of the time in vegetable form. There's a good sticky in the nutrition forum about an easy recipe (turtle jello shots) your turtle will probably love (mine does).

Hope this helps, and good luck.

[seanwb]

I agree with Robind, plus;
Your need the filter on 24 hours per day for it to work properly. This is even more important if the tank is on the small side, or water quality will be poor.

Also, keep the lights on 12 hours per day (a timer helps) and a 100w bulb that close to the platform sounds way to close. You need to check the temerature on the platform. I suspect it will be too hot.

[papoopeepoo]

Also make sure your turtle has an area underwater where is can rest when it is tired from swimming, or to sleep. This area can be a plant, or an underwater platform. RES won't usually sleep their nights on the basking area because the ambient air is too cool.

[mikee]

Shell-O -- Yes - you need a larger tank with clean water and also more water. I would suggest a 75 or 80 gallon tank. Your water filter pump should be on 24 hours per day in order for the bacterial filtration to be effective. Your filter pump should pump at least 5 times the amount of water you have in the tank per hour. Most Petco folks don't have a clue about turtles. They will tell you "double this" or three times that" and that means nothing. You will have to start thinking in terms of GPH (gallons per hour). It sounds like your turtle is getting RI and will need a vet visit. Put your water temp at 80 degrees and your basking area at 90 to 91 degrees. While he is recovering you will need to keep the water very clean.

[Shellvy's Owner]

Thank you all for your advice. Shellvy is doing much better. I increased the water temperature, and now keep the heat lamp on all day, turning it off only at night. Believe it or not, I also nursed the turtle - took him out of the tank and put him in a nice warm, cloth lined shoe box, a couple of days in a row. I examined him closely - his eyes were clear, he was not having any difficulty breathing. He gradually started feeling better, and now seems to have made a full recovery - he has started eating again, but I still can't get him to eat any greens or vegetables. I'm going to try some water plants this weekend. A larger tank is not a practical option at this time - maybe later. I'm thinking of redesigning the tank so I can fill it higher with water, and create a basking area above the tank - have seen some interesting designs on this website. I'll keep working on improving the habitat, and the turtle's quality of life.

[robind]

Is a larger tank not an option because of cost or space? If it's because of cost, you can use a much cheaper stock tank or rubbermaid plastic container for your turtle. Many other members have rubbermaid setups.

[Shellvy's Owner]

Space. For now anyway.