Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here he is basking this morning after his breakfast. He isn't that afraid of me any more and lets me check him out while he basks.

Feeding is still a problem. I havent seen him eat floating sticks or anythin like that, but he eats ham like a truck driver. I am now wrapping the food sticks in ham to see if the scent sticks to them and he eats them. No luck yet... we'll see what happens.

Any advice on how to get him to eat the sticks? I've tried whole, halfs, quarters, and even the baby turtle ones. Let me know what you guys think.

They really should take the picture of the turtle off of those little critter carriers. Someone might think that its ok to keep a turtle in one or something.
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You should ask questions before you make ignorant and cowardly comments. My "quarter" sized turtle is temporarily there because my bigger one tried to eat him. In a month or 2 they will both be in a bigger tank. Thanks for the advice. If you don't have anything positive to contribute, don't contribute.

For those who might think this is a small "critter carrier" it is a round 13" diameter 6" deep container that this tiny turtle is temporarily in.

Thanks again for the positive input!

how can you maintain a themal gradient in a little cage like that?
and ham?
its not 1975, man.
please don't feed ham to your turtles. its very high in fat.

on the "constructive" tip:
i wouldn't be concernedd about the turtle sticks either.
at this age a slider should be eating mostly insects (dust witha calcium powder if you can) and small bit s of a low fat meat
try to get some bugs and maybe worms into him. The pelleted foods can really wait till its older.
its IS good that you moved him away from the larger one though, i commend you for that.
is there a way you could put him in something larger so you could make a place with some heat and some cooler area?
also if it were bigger you'd maybe not have to change the water every day.
there are cheap rubbermaid tubs, storage boxes you could get for him, you don't need to buy an expensive tank. If you use these you could mount a light on it or even bring it outside so it gets some natural sunshine.

I don't feed ham to my turtles. I fed the little one ham because its all I had as far as meat and he hadn't eaten ANYTHING since I got him and I was concerned becuase who knows how long it had been that he had eaten before i got him... know what I mean. I was desperate. As far as the heat goes, you are right. There is no "thermal gradient" but the water is constantly 82 degrees and his basking area is easily accessable (and he uses it.)

As far as the larger container, it's not the money its the space. I have nowhere to put anything bigger right now in my apartment. So, he is going to have to stay there until he either gets bigger or I move.

Guys, I'm not stupid. I wouldnt go out and buy a turtle if I couldn't take care of it. The fact is that someone gave him to me and I have to do everything I can for it with the limited space that I have. Right now, this is it. I appreciate your concerns, and please let me know if you can think of ways I can improve my current setup because for now, this is it.

Food suggestions would also be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi -

Try some earthworms. They may have an appeal to the little guy.
Also I would still try and give him some greens too (try some dandelion greens or escarole or something like that and see if he goes for it. Protein is more important for the little guy and still give him some diversity.

As far as improving the existing temporary conditions -- there really isn't much you can do as you don't have much to work with. Just keep it CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. I recommend complete water changes every day. The space may be small but if you have no other choice for him right now then keeping it very clean will at least help keep him from getting sick.

What size tank is your larger turtle in? Is it at all possible to perhaps get a tank divider and divide off a section for this little guy. Just another thought.

Good luck

Do you have a UVB light for him?

I've found that most turtles go for salmon pellets. They come in a size small enough for hatchlings, and they're soft, almost like Tender Vittals cat food, and they sink. I don't know where you'd get them, as I buy containers of it from a vendor at a monthly show here in MD.

You can also try frozen blood worms or tubifex worms to get him started. I've found that small crickets work well, too.

Katrina

Ham might be too high in salt/sugar. I wouldn't feed him too much of it.

My hatchlings wouldn't eat for the first 3-4 days when they just came. One the 4th day they got so hungry that they ate the baby sticks that I offered with a pair of chopsticks. (I used chopsticks because they wouldn't eat from my hand.) Then they didn't have any trouble eating after that. Do make sure that the pellets are soft and bite-sized. Also my turtles seem to like pellets that have a strong smell over those that don't.

Good luck!

Like what brand? I agree that the smell is what drives them to eat. Let me know what you used.
Thanks.

you should try can-o-worms, my mud turtles love it and i would think any small turtle would love it, also try dried shrimp and crickets, cuz thats what my RES used to eat when she was that size.
plus you should keep trying the pellet food. i use tweezers to push it around in the water so it appeals to them and they snap at it like if it where a cricket, so they get some bites and thats it.
try not to feed it ham, or most other meats since it could cause more problems along the line.
good luck on getting it to eat!

If you aren't gonna give him that ham, can I have it

Thank you for all your help guys. I fed Bichito the same old pellets this morning and he didn't even wait for me to leave. He dogged them right in front of me. In fact, he is now basking right in front of me, watching as I type this.

As for the container problem, I do clean it every day, taking out 1/2 of the water and replacing it with spring water, and I do a complete water change every 3 days. His tank is sparkling.

Again, thanks all. Hopefully this little guy is going to make it after all.