Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone. I just bought a baby RES on sunday he is a little smaller than a fifty cent piece. Overall he is very active swims and climbs, very strong. He will not eat, and prefers not to come out of the water. His eyes are bright and skin looks normal. What should i do for him ive never had one this small before.

First of all the baby will most likely ot eat for a while until he gets use to his new enviroment. Eventually he will eat. It is completly normal for them not to eat when they first come home.He might not bask either because he is getting use to the enviroment and is just getting a feel for the place or the water may be too warm and he doesnt need to bask outside of the water to warm up. Bringing down the temperature to maybe 75 would encourage him to come out onto a basking are thats around 85-95 degrees. Good Luck with him.

I had one about that size that I just got a little over a month ago. It took mine about a week and a half before he would really start to eat. Yours is just getting used to his/her surroundings. Maybe turn up the heat to about 80 or 81 degrees. I find this increases their appetites. Once he gets used to his new environment he should come out of the water to bask, but most likely not when anyone's around.