Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my turtles seem vcery inactive now. they hardly move around. all they do is sleep in the bottom of the tank. watsup? they dont even swim up when they see someone anymore. all they do sleep. also they dont try goin after the fish i put in there. does it have to do with the season or something? because i heard sometimes turtles try to hibernate.

What is their environment like? Air and water temps. Basking area temps etc.

i got a turtle dock that could fit both of them on. and i think the lamp is ok. its a 60 watt. shud i go for a hundred? that sounds kinda hot to me but i dont know much. anyway the water is around 76. ive been wanting to get a heater but then im scared it might burn them when they touch it. wat could i use to guard it? but its not like theyre not eating. they are. im just wondering why they dont go for the fish...i mean its like the fish are teasing em too. they swim around em and under em and even give em a little slap on their face. my turtles jes jerk their head and do nothing!

and i put them in a 45 gallon tank. its filled like 3/4. air shud be ok because it has a pretty big top i would say. theres nothing blocking the air flow.

They could be sick, lethargy is a sign of a respritory infection.

I have had my guys for 5 years and they have never been anything other than super active. I have never had a heater for my water, but I can tell you your turtles wouldn't burn themselves, tank heaters don't get hot to the touch.
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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

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edited signature file; oversized graphic [phw 12/13/04]

wat do you suggest i do besides the heater? do you think it will help them?

im scared...

put in a heater...set it at 88 degrees. next day theyre up and about active. eating fine but still arent goin after the fish. they chase it for a like a second but they give up wen it gets away. lazy? hehe. well they seem to be getting better. thanks

Instead of having them chase after the fish, maybe try getting them some freeze dried shrimp or can o crickets. I had put some feeder gold fish in the tank for my sliders a few times. They gobbled em down but they seem to like the crickets and shrimp better. I even put some live plants that are safe for turtles in the water and they nibble at them too. I also use a reptile basking bulb and face it toward their basking rocks. I have never had a water heater for their tank. Mine have been fine without one. I check the water temp every couple of weeks and make sure it's at about 78-80 degrees. That's the temp my sliders do good in. Do you feed them any type of turtle pellets?

i feed em reptomin sometimes which are pellets. i dont feed it to em everyday. maybe like twice a week. but anyway i put in a heater and it seems that they are twice as active now. bizarre. they seem sort of jerky. i think they ate some of the fish because i noticed 5 of 8 are gone. anyway i think theyre ok now. thx for the help.