Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys i have a red ear slider little over a year old and he hasnt been eating for 4-5 days..hes usually always hungry and looking for food but not lately! He is also sleeping a lot and seems to be slower when hes swimming..im really nervous wat could it be? thanks so much!!!!!

How is he set up? What are the water and basking temperatures? What type of filtration do you have? Do you use UV lighting? What is the aquarium size? What are you feeding?

Hey thanks for replying. He is in a 20 gallon long with a basic set up. The only things in the tank is obviously him, thermometer,filter,heater,and dock. The temperature of the water right now is 79 degrees and tank has a basking lamp with a 100 watt bulb i believe. The filter is a in tank whisper brand.I am waiting for your next response because he has been sleeping more and more in the past couple hours!!! i dont wanan loose him !! thanks so much!!

Sorry i forgot to add this but i am feeding him reptomin pellets. I dont have a separate uv bulb on him since he has done fine witout 1 for 1 year but the heating bulb says it has it in there.. Also he has been like twitching his hands together against the glass like he is trying to get out.. Is the tank too small maybe?

It could be a whole host of things. If he's as lethargic as you say he is take him to a vet as soon as you can. In addition to that address the husbandry issues. A wider diet would be helpful plus full spectrum lighting in addition to the basking lamp. You say he has a 100 watt lighbulb. How hot is the actual basking spot. Not air temps but surface temps. A temp gun would help you measure those accurately. No one can diagnose anything over the web from such vague symptoms though so you really need to take him to a vet.

hey thanks for replying but i realized the water temperature was just too low which slowed his metabolism down since the heater wasnt working right. thanks

You said the water temperature was 79. Regardless even with a low water temp if he had access to a proper basking site he shouldn't have experienced any problems. I'd still take him to a vet.