Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive had my a.s for about 4 days now hes/she is about 2"and ever sence ive had him ive noticed that he floats all the time constantly and if hes not floating he climbs out of the water and on the basking ramp for long periods of time.i thought all they do is stay submerged and come up for air every once and a while.and also he sleeps constantly to and when hes fishing he does this on top of the water as hes floating and when hes/she is fishing w/mouth open he/she only does this for like a minute tops that doesent give him enough time to even catch a rosy.(please help before to late mybe).thanks for taking the time

Skater
It's kind of hard to answer without more info on your setup. But I'll venture to say your water level is too deep. They should either have a water level they can easily reach while laying on the bottom, or add a bunch of silk foliage in the water. Something he can rest on more near the water surface. Then he should stay submerged and will have more fishing spots.
Check out my setup by clicking the link.
I hope this helps your lil guy out!
Mike
Alligator Snappers!

P.S.

Mike S. I've been meaning to tell you that I love your set-up!
And you have some beautiful critters... Right on!!
I also have a question for you, and anyone that might know where I can find more root balls? I'm having a hard time tracking more down. Where did you get them? Anyone have an online retailer, or a "brand," other than your back yard?

Thanks!

CJ

Thanks for your kind words!
I have 8 children, so we are always helping neighbors and Grandparents.
Every time we pull stumps or know of any around that have been pulled we powerwash them and leave them around until needed.
I do not and never have bought "drift wood", why should I when there are forests all around us. Not to mention what a great time we have searching for the free stuff!
You can also check with all of the tree cutting services around, they have the goods too. Like huge hollow logs!!
Mike

Hi Skater~

I'm pretty new to posting here, but have had LOTS of turtles over the years. I'm not an expert nor do I profess to be one, I know what I know, ya know??

here's my wooden .05

Sometimes these little guys need you to really keep the food close to their mouth so to speak... I had a really small A.S. hatchling once, that was REALLY stressed from shipping. All it did was lay out on the basking log. It was really weak, and not eating. Anytime I took it off the log and put it in the water~
it floated around the tank for a little while until it bumped into the basking log. After a minute or so it would climb out again and collapse and stay that way. It floated the first few days in my tank too... maybe from air shipping, different altitudes etc. When people fly we bloat too~ your shoes ever feel tight flying??

My resolutions were:

Put the lil' dude in a double big-gulp cup with about a 1/4" of water and 8 good sized guppies. I put the cup on top of the tank in the center support glass so it would get ambient heat from the basking light, but not get too warm or cold~
then I left the room and kept checked in on him/her every hour or so to see the eating progress. Sure enough over the course of the day, all the little fish'eeez were gone.

Maybe try doing a feeding cup and keep the practice up until it's getting stronger and bigger. You might even want to keep it in the cup for a week or two, just change the water daily, rise the turtle in clean water, and add more fish.
If it's still not eating after the first couple of days~ well, you might want to call a reptile vet. These guys do have a mortality rate when they're little, they are fragile despite what they can grow up to be.

Regarless, of the current set-up you have...

Make sure that the water doesn't get too hot 81-83 degrees F. should be pretty comfy.
If it's weak, and not eating, it's stressed or sick~ or both.
Keep the water very clean and keep the water level really low. about 2-3" and over stock with guppies and rosie reds. If it's in a big tank, get into something smaller... a tupperware dish or something like that, so that there isn't a long wait or escape for the food if it wants to 'hunt.' Always have something to climb out of the water onto and a don't let the heat source overheat the water... it's a pet, not an appetizer right?

You might want to also try to keep the turtle in a room
that's realatively quiet until it's chomping freely.

My personal feeling is when they're little and especially little and not doing so hot, you have to be on a less space & water is better for the turtle way of thinking. It take less energy to catch food if it's not running at 110%. It'll only help it's chances of getting back up to snuff.

Let me know how it goes & Good Luck to the BOTH of you!!

CJ

P.S. do you skate?? I do... bowls, ramps, ditches.

im afraid its to late it died between last night and this morning i really like the info you guys gave me because every thing you described was right on the money.i just wish i got this info earler.im very bumed out right now but i still want another so im gonna order another and if this prob happens again i will know exactly what to do thanks to u guys.and yeas i do skate every day for about 4 yrs now thanks for the help this is a good forum.

Hey Skater~

Sorry to hear that you lost him. Unfortunately, it does happen sometimes. And you asked for help, so I belive that you did care for him.
On your next turtle, before you order talk to the dealer for a little while to feel them and the health of their stock out. The people here have opinions as to who the proven and reputable sellers are. Sometime's things can happen with them, but they almost always make things right if something does go wrong.
When you're at the dealer, or on the phone with them anyway~ ask for one that's just a little bigger than you had, use the word "fat," if you think there is any question about the health of thier turtles, and get one about 3".
I know it sounds a little big, but it'll help prove he/she's a little more established, and can handle the shipping if any, or at least the stress of adjusting to a new set-up, and the process of really dialing it in for your animal.

One more thing~ If you just acquired the little guy recently, "most," reputable sellers will offer a quality guarantee on their turts. You might want to go see, or call them and let them know your turt didn't make it, and ask if they'll replace it. Just be nice about it, and explain what happened. They'll usually replace it for you. The sellers people deal with here do... Randleas, P&J Turtle Farm, Turtleman aka John Richards, and our very own "turtlesox," here on the forum (hope that's OK M ), are good and more commonly known.

Good Luck!~

CJ

P.S. Right on on the skating... so much fun!

Great info CJ.
One thing that also helped me was a pellet krill food called "reptrotreat suprema" by tetrafauna. It is a smallish, soft, floating, red "treat" that has a very fishy smell, is easy to see, and is high in protien. All my turt's love it, but it was the only pellet food I could get my ally(s) to eat at first.
If I had the smaller better idea I may have been able to save one of my hatchling ally's last fall.
I got 2 from a dealer at a show. One didnt make it, the other is 8 months old 9 inches from snout to tip of tail, and, 431 grams. It is growing faster than any turtle I have ever kept. It is also the coolest turtle I have ever kept. My wife and I are looking for a pair of terrapin's though, I bet they will be pretty cool too.