Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all. Recently a baby silder turtle was given to me as a gift. I did some fast research on this enexpected suprise and got the turtle a tank, water, thermometer, some dry land and a heater. Tomorrow I am heading out to get a filter. What else do I need for the tank? Also, this turtle (about 2" long tip to tail) has not yet eaten in the four days I have had him in my care. In addition to these things its egg tooth is still in, is that normal? Any advise is appreciated, thank you.

uv lighting is a must along with a heat lamp for the basking area. what size tank is it? a whisper filter is what you need. they have some that suction cup inside the tank which will probably be what you need. feed a variety of pellets to ensure a complete and balanced diet. live foods can introduce parasites and disease and should be avoided. they do make baby sized pellets, and some regular pellets are small enough for a hatchling. he should have lost his egg tooth by now, but dont worry. also, he may not eat for a little while longer because he is geting nutrience from his yolk sac that he still has inside his shell. so dont worry if he doesnt eat for up to the next week, after that point you may rationally start to worry. what species is it exactly?

The temporary tank, which I had on hand, is a ten gallon so its living in that for now. About the filter, the ones I have seen work in a minimum of 2 inches of water. However, for it to comfortably rest in the water I have to keep the water level fairly now. How do I accommodate this problem? I have a baby red eared slider turtle by the way. What is normal behavior for babies of this species?

i have kept hatchling red ears in a foot of water with no problem, they can swim fine. low water level is better though, but a slope of the gravel can provide a shallow area for him to rest and a deeper area for the filter to run in. but i really dont think it will have any problems with about 6" of water, and a basking area, plus a resting spot in the deep area(usually a plant just under the surface). what do you mean by normal behavior? they should bask, swim, eat, nothing amazing.

I just mean what is their normal daytime behavior. Yesterday it was swimming around the tank and climbing on rocks, but today he's been sleeping. What is "healthy" behavior so that I can watch for signs of poor health.

basicly like i said, he is either basking, 'foraging' through the gravel for food, just hanging out, lethargy(extreme inactivity) would be a sign of ill health, but at the same time, dont expect him to constantly be swimming laps either. youll get used to his normal behavior pretty quickly and will then be able to spot odd behavior from across the room.