My baby red-eared slider turtles are dying! Help!?

Question

last year, (december) I had 3 young turtles. They are about 2-3 inches in diameter. They hybernated most of the winter, but one of them never woke up. The other two have been fine until about a week ago, one of them seems to always be sleeping, or just chilling out on their floating rock. I think he's sick, or dying. what can I do? Does anyone know what's wrong? Help.

Answer 1

Aww. Poor turtles, rush them to a doctor fast they may be dehydrated!

Answer 2

Poor babies!

Red-ears have it hard. Baby turtles are HARD to keep as pets, and turtles as a whole are not easy pets- but they get sold as easy things all the time- along with absolutely horrible care instructions.

Please go to the website http://www.redearslider.com and see what they recommend for housing and diet and try that. I'm betting that there are some glitches between what you've been told to do and the reality of keeping baby sliders.

For example, happy turtles need:
- A big, heated tank. I usually suggest about 10 gallons per inch of turtle. Heat it to about 75-80 in the warm zone, but leave a cooler zone as well.
- Great filtration. If the water smells funny, you need to clean it more.
- Several basking sites, with some heated to 90 from overhead.
- Lighting that simulates the sun in warmth, intensity, duration, etc. It also needs to include UV rays, which do not penetrate glass.
- A great diet. The easiest is to use a high quality (expensive) turtle pellet. A couple brands offer baby turtle pellets that are great. You can also try live bloodworms for the babies to get them to eat. Diet is one of the things that a lot of the info is wrong about. For example- if you ever see the advice of giving lettuce to a baby pond turtle- the advisor is dead wrong (baby pond turltes almost never eat vegetation in the wild!)

It takes time, effort, and money to set-up a good turtle tank. Once it is done, however, the daily cares are easier and can be quite fun.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Red earred sliders dont hibernate. I have 3. They each are about the size of a saucer. Try feeding them tetramin which has a large amount of the vitamins and minerals they need. Make sure the heating lamp is on hi enough so that they have energy to move and also make sure they have enough space to move around, swim, and sun bathe. The turtles need the light to help them grow correctly. If they havent shown any obvious things wrong with them then the vet really cant do anything. The will not do anything for your turtle after they die if its not something obviously showing wrong with them (cracked shell, broken hand etc). I hoped I helped and I wish the best of luck to you and your turtles.

Answer 4

1.well try moving him to a different tank then your other turtle in case he has something 2. make sure he/she is eating a drinking normally so if he isnt you should call the vet and see if there is anything you could do for him like have him eat somthing special 3. if he/she does not improve within 1-2 days call your vet and tell him whats going on and that you need a apointment. sorry thats all i can do i dont really know much about turtels e-mail me at [e-mail] and tell me if everything is ok sorry i dont know more bye

Answer 5

OMG! Do not release that turtle. People releasing their RES pets outside the natural range have been responsible for fouling up the habitat for the native turtles, some of which are threatened or endangered. I am afraid that someone already did that near you if there are babies wandering around loose. RES require at least 10 gallons of water per inch of shell and they grow rapidly. They feed in the water and the babies are carnivorous. Try earthworms, bait fishes, and liver -- no vegetables until they mature.

Answer 6

Check the temperature of the cage/bowl/aquarium...it should be in the upper 70s to mid 80s. Look at the eyes...are they closed or gummed shut, is there nasal discharge? Examine the shell...is it well-shaped, are there raw red spots on the plastron? Is the shell flaking? Examine the legs for reddish blotches. We often use tylosin (an antibiotic) for treating infections in reptiles but there must be a sign that an infection is present. Your description doesn't tell me much to offer advice.

Answer 7

I Don't No The Anwser Is But If You Go To The Vet And Tell Them About It They Will Tell You Wants Wrong And When You Go To The vet Bring The Trutles With You To

Answer 8

if your turtles were inside your house last winter they did not go into complete hibernation, they need to be cold to do this (like an unheated room) because they did not fully hibernate, they were not eating properly. they probably have an upper respiratory infection (very serious in turtles) apply heat with heat lamp and see if you can find herp vet in your area and he can help you

Answer 9

the one standing like like an idiot are normal. take the won thats never woke up to a vet

Answer 10

Are they in a heated tank? Are you feeding them any form of calcium? They need a heated tank and calcium to live. Good luck. I have a powder form that I put on spinach leaves and put in the tank on the land part.