What's wrong with my turtle?

Question

I have a turtle that you can get for $5 including its cage and food. It is supposed to live for like a couple of days and then die, but my turtle is already 13months old. When i got it, it was oh say the size of a dollar coin(the big one) and now it is the size of a medium sized rock. Before, it could eat 5-6 pellets and now it hardly eats 3 pellets. Is it hibernating? It doesnt move a lot but i know it is alive. i have had another one of these turtles before and it also had a good appetite and then it just stopped eating and slept a lot. i thought it was dead so i threw it out and thought it died because i had dropped it once.
Can anyone help me? I really love this turtle, even though it is one of those small ones. :(

Answer 1

It sounds like she has a Red Ear Slider from a stupid mall or flea market vendor and she has him in a "death bowl" otherwise known as a lagoon. Anyway, you were misinformed sweetie. It can grow very large if you give it proper care and it can certainly live a long time but only if you are a responsible owner and provide for it.

1.First, take him to a Herp Vet http://www.nytts.org/nytts/helpnet.htm

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vets_for_herps

2. Get rid of the death bowl and get him the largest tank you can afford. A good rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell BUT he will get larger so it just makes good sense if you buy big. If you can't afford a traditional tank, get a rubbermaid bin. For substrate, use river rocks larger than the turtles head or nothing. You probably have a slider so fill the tank. Your vet will confirm what you have though.

3. Filtration is a must turtles need a clean habitat, they produce lots of waste. Try for a filter that is made for at least twice what size tank you have. For example, you buy a 20g tank, then get a filter for a 40g tank.

4. Basking, turtles need to be able to come completley out of the water to dry off. You will need to make them a spot to sun themselves. You can use a variety of things, driftwood, rocks piled up, a dock. a log. etc. You will need a special light for your basking spot to simulate the sun, its called a UVA/UVB light you need one with an output of at least 5%, but the higher the better. You also need a light for warmth, buy a clamp lamp and use a household bulb for this. Your water should be mid to high 70's with the basking spot 10 degrees higher. If you can't regulate the water temps, you will need to buy a submersible heater.

Ok now for feeding. Turtles need a varied diet. IMPORTANT***Water Turtles Need to be Fed In The Water***

Hatchlings
Hatchlings should be fed everyday for the first year of their lives. They should be given as much as they can eat in 10 to 15 mins time or as much as you could fit into their head if hollow. You can feed them all of it at once or you can slit it up into 2 feedings.

Hatchlings tend to be more Carnivorous than adults, so make sure to check out the suggestions of live and protein-rich foods below for how to supplement accordingly. (Make sure you still give fruits and veggies at this stage!)

Juveniles/Adults
Once your turtle reaches the 4" mark, we recommend that you change their feeding schedule to every other day. Giving them greens or live plants in between.

Adults tend to become more Omnivorous, so make sure to check out the suggestions of fruits and vegetables below.

Vitamins and Calcium
You should supplement your turtle's diet with both vitamins and calcium, every third feeding or once a week. To give them vitamins many people will give them a Vitamin Bath once a week. You can also either soak the pellets in a liquid vitamin or dampen them and roll them in a powder vitamin before feeding.

It is recommended you have a light that supplies UVA and at the very least a 5.0 UVB output. The UVB is necessary for the absorption of calcium and vitamin D3. Turtles need both calcium and Vitamin D3 for strong bones and shells.

**Feeding Tip Feedings should be done in a separate container so that you do not have to frequently change the water nor the filter media.


Common Diet Errors

Feeding Cat or Dog Food
Despite what some pet store employees may tell you, turtles should not be fed dog or cat food (Sounds insane, but we've heard it!)

Pellet Only Diets
Pellets provide many benefits, but variety is key!
Supplement their diet with veggies, live foods and some fruits. Check out our safe list below.

Giving in to Beggars
Turtles will always beg whether you give in or not- they know you are the supplier of food!
Supplement between feedings with greens or live foods they have to chase to eat. ( Iceberg lettuce is a common filler that doesn't contain much nutritional value, but will keep them content.)


Safe Feeding List

Commercial Foods (This is just a few of them on the market)
* Tetra Reptomin
* ZooMed's Aquatic Turtle Food
* Exo Terra
* Wardley's Reptile Premium Sticks
* HBH Turtle Bites

Frozen/Canned (For treats)
* Spirulina-enriched Brine Shrimp
* Bloodworms
* Plankton
* Krill
* ZooMed's Can O'Crickets, Grasshoppers, or Meal Worms

Live Foods (Carnivorous)
* Guppies or Rosies Reds (no goldfish they are too fatty and have very little nutritional value)
* Crickets (Gut-Loaded)
* Pinhead Crickets (for smaller turtles)
* Earthworms, Night Crawlers
* Ghost Shrimp
* Aquatic Snails/Apple Snails
* Slugs
* Wax Worms, Super Worms

**Be careful about Wild-Caught foods, they can carry parasites that can be transferred to your turtle. Freezing Wild-Caught foods for a month will help to kill off some parasites.

Fruits (small amounts for treats only)
* Apples
* Bananas
* Grapes
* Melon
* Tomato
* Strawberries

**Should be cut up in small, bite-size or match-like sticks that will be easy for the turtle to bite into and not choke on.

Veggies
* Squash
* Zucchini
* Carrots
* Greens- Red Leaf, Romaine, Collards, Kale, Dandelion Greens

**Stay away from Spinach. Make sure to cut the veggies in bite-size or match-like sticks so your turtle can eat them easily. Iceberg lettuce is a good filler, but contains little/no nutritional value!

Aquatic Plants
* Anacharis
* Duckweed
* Water Hyacinth
* Water Lettuce
* Water Lily

Ok I think I covered everything, make these corrections and see what happens. If you have additional questions you may email me, or you can find me at http://www.turtleexchange.com/forum/index.php It's an awesome turtle and pet forum. Great people who are happy to help. I am julia23608 on there, come check us out. Good luck with your turtle!

Answer 2

Your turtle must not be allowed to hibernate for the first two yer as of its life if it is kept indoors.If its a box turtle or aquatic for that matter it must be put in water everyday but not over its head and also can get itself out of the water.I f you have a preformed stone that holds water but has a little ledge place the food on the ledge.Also it must have fresh food every day.Give it a choice of fresh fruit and veg tables ct up into tiny pieces.Also if you can give it worms yes fishing worms cut up into Small bites.Having a turtle is work and messy and if you were any kind of animal advocate you would of researched before you got it.Sadly by your question you have no idea what your doing .My advice is to give it to someone that does and keep to mammals .

Answer 3

I'm having a hard time with a few things you wrote in your question.

You bought a living creature AND a cage AND food all for only $5? That's not really possible. I'd like to know more about the "house" and food, to start with.

Secondly, the animal is "supposed" to DIE after a few days? You mean people are selling animals knowing that the animal can't survive and will die in your hands after but a few days? Where did you get this poor creature and WHY on earth would you condone such a thing??

Your animal needs room to grow, a clean environment, warmth, and the right kinds of food (that includes fresh drinking water). Are you providing these things?

Do some research about animals BEFORE you get them home next time, it sounds like your turtle isn't loved because you said you threw it out!

My advice? GIVE THIS ANIMAL TO SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT ANIMALS AND WILL TAKE CARE OF IT, YOU OBVIOUSLY AREN'T CAPABLE.

Answer 4

Your turtle is probably malnourished. In the wild, it can get a variety of vitamins and minerals, proteins, etc., in the food it eats, but in captivity, it is dependent on you. As my mom used to say, you are "playing God" to that turtle. As it gets bigger, it will need a larger habitat: deeper water, a variety of temperatures available for sunny and shaded areas. A sunlamp specifically designed for reptile habitats, on a timer is a good idea: have it set for 8 hours on per 24 hours and observe how your turtle responds. It needs plenty-deep water that is either replenished with clean water daily, or continually aerated and filtered, and changed weekly. A good field guide to reptiles in any major bookstore, will tell you right away what species of turtle it is, and with that information you can find out what it is supposed to eat. As it gets bigger, its nutritional requirements will change. It needs a variety of food! Both plant and animal food, for most turtles. Hibernation occurs in response to cold temperatures. If it's sick because of being malnourished, find out quickly what it needs and make those foods available. Fishing bait shops, and the produce department at your supermarket, should be of some assistance. Put a thermometer in the habitat: it should be 80 degrees F for a few hours of the day, 65 F or so at night. Too cool and the turtle will lose its appetite.

Answer 5

I had a turtle that was running slow, so I put in a new battery and it did much better.

Answer 6

well take it to and exotic pet vet, i really hpe it is ok!

Answer 7

maybe its not as hungry as before