Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello! I have 2 baby RES's. They seem to be eating fine but refuse to eat in a separate container from their home... any suggestions to get them to eat out of their tank so I don't have to clean it all the time?? Another problem I am having is softshell... I think. I used to have a large RES and his shell was always hard and never turned a lighter color. My two RES seem to have softshells and their color is fading. Anyone who knows what I can do, please let me KNOW ASAP! I have UVA and UVB lights on them... but they don't seem to bask much. I have been feeding them Wardley Reptile Sticks. Right now I took them out of the tank and have them sleeping under a towel (if u put a towel over the sliders, they 90% of the time fall a sleep!) I did this to dry their shells a little. I also just added reptile calcium to their last feeding. Anything else I can do to get them back to normal?! The bottom of the shells seem ok. But if u push on the top of their shells with your nail, you can see it sink in a little. One is more light colored than the other... they used to have bright beautiful colors not to long ago! HELP!!
Thanks!

when you put them in the separate container, use water direct from their tank so the temp is exactly the same. Also put them in and get away from it. I feed mine in a diff container sometimes, but if I stand there looking at him, he spends all his time trying to get out. If I leave him alone for 10 minutes, when I come back, he usually has eaten.

Also, Im not too fond of Wardley. It may be cheaper, but I think Reptomin is better.
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1. What the hell are you doing touching your turtles shell with a nail? You mine as well hit it with a hammer while your at it, it seems you don't think it hurts the turtle when you do it. Their entire body is connected to the shell... it's not just something decorative.

2. Why are you taking them out and placing them in a towel? You know why they fall asleep, their underneath a blanket with nowhere to move. Why would this help their softshell... it will stress them out more since their away from water.

3. Young turtle's shell are naturally softer then adults. Unless you see some freaking white spots everywhere and white discoloration, it's not soft-shell. Turtles lose their bright colors when they get older.. and I'm disgusted by how you are treating it. It's better to not handle turtles if you don't have to.. their not dogs, they don't need that much attention.

If there isn't white patches or WHITE discoloration, then it's not soft shell. You seem to be taking care of it fine.. if they want to bask, let them bask. Don't MAKE them bask especially if their shell is just getting a duller brownish color which is natural.

That's all, if I sounded rude I meant to.. that's how I sound when I hear people doing dumb things to turtles like puting them in a blanket and touching them with nails

What brand of lights are you using? How far above the basking spot are they?

I like salmon pellets or trout chow or Nasco Turtle Brittle for hatchlings, in addition to other pellets. Walkabout Farms also makes a hatchling pellet that is highly recommended. Also, you can add a piece of cuttle bone to the water for extra calcium. Most turtles will chew on it. Just remove the hard, white back from it before offering it to the turtles.

Can they get any natural sun with supervision? Colors are brighter when the turtle is outside, and the sun could help with the soft shells. And, they do darken as they age.

Katrina