Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was in china town the other day and I saw baby turtles for sale, the guy had two baby turtles to a little plastic cage, it was terrible! I only had the money to buy two of the turtles so I did and I went to petco and got them an acceptable set up. They are in a five gallon tank right now with 3 inches of water and a gravel island for basking. There is a 50 watt basking lamp over the tank and the air temperature in there is 86 degrees and the water is luke warm. I've tried feeding them everything from spinach to bloodworms to the pellets they came with; they still won't eat. I have had them for three days now and still they don't eat. They are active and alert with clear eyes but I'm still worried. any ideas?

sorry forgot to mention they are red eared sliders

Try filling the tank 3/4 full. These are aquatic turtles and they are probly stressed from not being able to swim and dive. Also make sure you arent around after you feed them. They like their privacy.
-----
_____

iturnrocks.com

I think the 50 watt bulb in such a small container is
too hot. I have my baby in a 10 gallon and only use a 40
watt over the basking area. They shouldn't be kept at a
constant 86 degrees.

I would first off get a bigger enclosure for them. Start
with a 10 gallon or larger rubbermaid container(cheap). Then
you can set up the basking area to give them room to
thermoregulate. You can use a piece of corkboard as a basking
area and give them some fake floating plants. They love to hide
and this reduces stress.

I am willing to bet with this type of set-up they will start
eating as long as no illness is involved.

Keep us updated. The are sure cute as babies aren't they?

Linda

good luck.

I bought 2 in chanatown 8 years ago. 1 of them I had to send down to georgia to live in a pond, the other I still have.

How big did they grow to be?

Thank you so much for your advice. For right now they are still in the 5 gallon tank but the water is filled 3/4 of the way and they have a nice sunning spot. I moved the light further away so that they wouldn't get overheated. They have now been named, Mr. T and MC Hammer, Mr. T I will say seems to be doing a lot better than Hammer, he is a very vigorous eater and dives down as soon as I drop the worms in. I still have yet to see MC Hammer eat, but he is still active, to a degree, he seems a little lazier, he likes sunning himself but he does get down and swim. They don't seem to like their greens as much, any tips on getting them to eat the greens? Here is a picture of the little guys.

They generally won't accept greens until they are older.
I would also start these guys on a good pelleted food. I
have had really good luck with Reptomin sticks. Use this
as a staple as it has pretty much everything the turtle needs
to stay healthy. The key is mixing it up and giving other
things. Variety!

Also, make sure you purchase a good UVB source like the
Reptisun 5.0. This is essential in these growing babies.
surf the internet and get all the information you can
on these guys.

Good luck
Linda

that's a good advice! You should do a lot of search on these animals. Have you tried turtletimes? I find a lot of info there.

What's a good way to get them to eat the pelleted food?

>>What's a good way to get them to eat the pelleted food?

Reptomin smells like dead fish, so it shouldnt take long for the turtles to discover it in the tank. Just put 1 or 2 sticks in the water till they eat it. Im sure you know that RES have to eat in the water, and this helps soften up the reptomin.
-----
_____

iturnrocks.com

I soak mine for a few minutes in warm water so it really
smells when I put it in the tank.

Linda