why my red ear slider dosen't put his head on his shell is he dead?

Question

my turtle is not eating and he look like sick.we buy him in chinatown in SF California.when he buy his not sick after tommorow his not eating and look like sick.and now his not putiing his head on his shell.i don't know why.i think his dying.i need a ver very fast answer plzzzz.help me

Answer 1

I have had mine for 9 years and she is very healthy. I need more information. Age, water temp and conditions etc. Here are a few tips though. The turtle needs to be able to climb out of the water to dry its shell periodically. You need to provide a source of heat like a heat lamp. If the water is very cold, the turtle will shows signs of hibernating (not eat, listless). The water temp needs to be on average about 78+ degrees. This helps in digestion. When my turtle was younger it showed the same symptoms. I learned the water was too cold. A heat lamp solved the problem. Good luck!

Answer 2

He is probably going to die. He needs cool water to swim in and also a ramp he can easily crawl onto to get out of the water. If he gets too hot and dry he will die. If you can, knock down a wasp nest with wasp larvae (the baby wasps behind the white caps on the nest) DON'T USE A POISONOUS SPRAY! A favorite food for these turtles is the wasp larva when they are soft and pale.
Good luck on your pet. These turtles are very docile and thus very easy for people in the pet trade to abuse. ONce, again, good luck.
If he is able to eat the wasp larvae, he may live. He will also eat lettuce, fruit, and other things later when he gets better.

Answer 3

Turtles are often purchased with illness to start with, adn without the proper care, they can go downhill quickly.

Review a good website, like the one listed below, for basic care ideas. Turtles need a rather specialized habitat for good health, so you need to decide if you are willing to do this right.

If you do, you should have a healthy pet that will live with you for 20 years!