Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just re-did my tank, so that I put a piece of plastic up near the top for him to lay on so he can breate easier. He gets down and swims sometimes. I dont understand it though, the past few days he hasn't been eating...anything. For a while he stopped eating fish, then he ate those and I stopped buying them, and he was eating the turtle food fine. I have about 3 rosie red's left in the tank, he wont eat them, he wont eat his food, and he wont eat his favorite treat...mealworms. HELP!!!! -Chris

In addendum to this message, I just got him some more mealworms, he ate two, but then he saw me and swam extremly fast to the other side of the tank, every time he sees me he tries to hide, i've had him for about a month, and up until this week he would always swim over to me when i walked up as if to say "hi" or something...what's going on?

What is the temperature of your water? Do you have a heater in the tank?

the temperatere is abnormally low...right now its about 73 but i usually keep it around 80..i just turned the heater up. but what I dont understand is why he's getting so scared of me

Chris --

It is not abnormalfor turtles to react this way when placed in a new environment (or a rearranged one in this case). It is just an instinctive reaction to being in "unknown" territory. Everything is percieved as a threat.

I have had many turtles that I raised indoors. They would eat from my hand and follow me back and forth as I walked past their tank. When they got bigger and I put them out into the pond in my back yard they would run from me everytime I cam near the pond. After some time they adjusted to the new surroundings and would start to come up and swim toward me at feeding time.

They still will jump off their basking areas though at the slightest movement. Then they come up and see what sneaked up on them. Once they see it's the "big thing that dispenses food" they swim over.

Just give him time. Soon enough he will come around again. I just think the changes have him a little spooked.

72 is not a bad temp for him but a little higher is a good idea.

Steve

thanks....i appreciate it.