Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I have had this RES named JFK and she has not eaten in two weeks. She lives in a 75 gallon tank filled to the top (basking light over it), overhead florescent, heater has been turned up to 80, Fluval 404, a big peice of fake driftwood, and 4 giant pieces of granite holding down some plastic plants. There is nothing else as far as pets go in there with her. I got her four years ago when she was the size of a quarter and now she is about 3 or 4 inches long.

So all of a sudden she just stopped eating after I changed the water in her tank. I have tried pellets, chicken, shrimp, blood worms, lettuce, and anything else she would usually love. There are no bubbles around her face, and I don't see any signs of a respiratory infection. She just kind of hangs out under her driftwood all day, occassionally meandering to the other side of the tank for a swim. My house is pretty cold and since it's winter, I didn't really think about it, but she doesn't bask anymore either.

So what do you think it is? I can't think of anywhere she would have gotten parasites from because she is alone.

Also, her poops have gotten HUGE.

When do turtles become old enough to be gravid? How do I help her out? Do you think this warrants a trip to the vet or should I just wait it out?

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,
JFK's Mom

I've had a problem with my res not basking lately either. She's in one of those big black plastic pond forms on my basement floor, half full on one end, and a sandbox on the other end because she's gravid. She stopped coming out to bask, and I'm guessing that since the water is in the 80's, it's the AIR over the water that's cold, so she doesn't want to come out. I have a fireplace nearby with a fan blowing on it, so the air near the floor is much cooler. So what I'm doing now is putting her in a seperate plastic tub container with the basking light over it and making her stay in it for two stretches of 2 to 3 hours a day. You may want to try this. I lay a piece of plexiglass over the tub to try and keep some of the heat in. You may have been overfeeding your turtle before, hence the big stools. And they will slow down eating if they can't bask and get warmed up enough to digest. So try getting her to bask elsewhere, or lower the water in the tank a little. the air above the water may warm up some. My turtle is 12 and gravid for the first time, but I don't think there's a certain age that they start producing eggs. I had her xrayed when she stopped eating and counted 7 eggs, she's layed 8 and I can see she still has a few more. So they are unpredictable. good luck with yours.

What's your air temperature? Are your lights set on for 14 hours?

If the temps are OK, and the lighting is on for 14 hours a day, see if there's a qualified reptile vet in your area that can get blood work to see if there's infection.

Most sliders don't develop eggs until they're 6-7" in shell length.

Katrina
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0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
1.2 Eastern Mud Turtles - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.0.1 Giant Mex. Musk Turtle
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.

I just wanted to say thank you to all who have responded. I started taking her out of the tank for 15 minutes a day to do some sunning under the lights and she has started eating and playing again as usual.

Thanks!