Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought 2 baby Red-ears from a local pet shop in the mall. They are VERY small, id say somewhere between a Quarter and a Half Dollar. I have one of those corny little habitats u can buy at the pet store with the little island in the center. I do not have a tank, i figure once they get bigger ill get them a 10 gallon, but for now, theyre fine in this. The smaller of the two has a sort of misshapen shell, sort of a kidney shape, BUT it is NOT cracked at all. He seems to be very inactive and lathargic. Could he be sick? Everyday (for the 2 days ive had them) I changed the water and added new anti chlorine drops and they are pretty well cared for. what could be the problem? are they just getting use to me and their new home? Ive owned a mature RES before and he did not have this problem. Im currently feed the baby's some small pellet hatchling food. should i try something else? THANK YOU!

please don't take this too personal but I will lay it out
honestly.

What they are living in is completely unacceptable. You
need a tank to have a basking area. If your babies are too
cold they will not eat! Please do some research into care
of turtles.

Get a 20 gallon aquarium or a rubbermaid container. Put in a few inches of water. At one end of the aquarium make an area
where the babies can get completely out of the water.
Place a light bulb about 10 inches above this area and check
it with a thermomoter to see that it reaches 85 degrees on
the basking area. Usually a 60 watt bulb will do the trick
but make sure you check it with a thermometer. You will also
need to get a Reptisun 5.0 for UVB. Without it the babies
will get soft shell disease. This puts out no heat and you
can place it across the enclosure. Make sure you turn the
lights off at night. I use timers set to come on at 7am and
go off at 7pm. If it is really cool, buy a ceramic heating
element (heat but no light).

Please make the necessary changes immediatley. Your turtles
should begin to eat after these improvements if they are not
already ill. Let us know if there is anything you don't
understand. I did want to mention that whoever sold you these
turtles broke the law. It is illegal to sell turtles under
4" long. They are not illegal to own, but to sell them.

Linda

Thanks Linda, i'll get right on it. what i dont understand tho is if its completely unacceptable for the babies to live in such a small area, why do they sell them? and an area where they can get out of the water... make that out of what? when i had my adult RES, i used rocks and totally ruined my tank and they never seemes clean enough. Do they make anything specific FOR basking areas? Im not totally ignorant to turtles, my adult RES lived a long healthy life, but ive never owned babies before. thanx for the help.

Yes, you can buy turtle docks at any pet shop or online. I have also used cork bark, but I like the floating docks better. The best are the new ones from Zoo Med, that auto adjust to the water level. Big Apple Herp sells them, and they have a link at the top of this site.
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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04