I need help with 3 week old baby turtles?

Question

I have 2 turtles and i never see them eat. i got them the floating pellets from walmart. i don't know if they are eating and i'm not seeing it or what.. they were a gift to me and i'm trying to learn more about how to proper take care of them...also since they are just babies do they need less water in their tank i have just an inch of water now becuase when i put more water in they stay on the rock that put in there and they won't get in the water unless its shallow. also what wattage of the UV lamp do i need to have for them...since they are only babies and do i need to be giving them vitatmins or something i read somewhere about a calcium thing you put in the water and it disolves but i'm lost...please help me they are adorable but i want to do this right...oh and how do i keep down the risk of me gettin salmonela besides washing my hands after I handle them...thank you thank you, thank you!!!

Answer 1

Ok for the not eating, read this,


* Is the turtle kept warm enough? If turtles get too cool, they will stop eating.

* Does the turtle like the food you offer? Try out different foods. Some turtles can be very finicky eaters, especially in the beginning. And they have definite likes and dislikes. Most turtles will eventually take small earthworms that are wiggling in front of their nose. Start feeding favorite foods, then slowly introduce other items.

* Is your turtle exposed to too much stress? This is often a cause in new animals. Stress can be caused by handling, traveling, tank mates. New turtles will often not eat properly for several weeks. Be patient and keep trying.

* Is your turtle healthy? Not eating can be a symptom of other problems. If your turtle has been eating well and suddenly stops, a health problem is a likely reason. Take a fecal sample to your veterinarian. (Fecal samples need to be no older than 4 hours, and you need to store them in water in the refrigerator.)

* Don't panic! A turtle can go without food for weeks, even months, and when it feels well again, it will eat again. See a veterinarian, if you think you are doing everything right, and the animal does not eat for more than 2 weeks.

This was found here.
http://www.petstation.com/waturtl.htm

Other info:

1., take him to a Herp Vet to make sure they are healthy http://www.nytts.org/nytts/helpnet.htm...

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

2. get them the largest tank you can afford. A good rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell BUT they 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

*Salmonela-To keep down the risk wash your hands after handling like you said, don't put them in your mouth and keep the water clean.

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/inde... 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

I am going to assume that you have baby water turtles most likely red ear sliders. They need about three to four inches of water in the tank. They will not drown. They also need a basking site which is an area where they can get out of the water and warm up under a heat source, usually a light bulb. They should spend time both in the water and on the basking site. You can jump start their eating habits by giving them a bit of shrimp or raw fish or even lean lunch meat. I would place it on their basking rock as it will make a mess in the water. They do require vitamin A or they can develop eye disorders. There are several products on the pet market that you can add to their water to ensure they get the vitamins they need. Sometimes it takes a while for them to get used to their new environment. Just monitor them closely and make sure they are eating and that they have clean water to swim in. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Offer them a variety of foods--they may not realize the pellets are food. Try ground turkey, boiled chicken livers, crickets, good quality canned cat food, frozen and thawed pinkies--anything with high protein content and preferably a smell. Also I think deeper water would be good, because if they decide to get in the water and get flipped onto their backs, they could drown in the shallow water. I read somewhere that a good rule is water should be AT LEAST as deep as the total length of the largest turtle, more is better here. A good water filtration system is important to keep turtles healthy. As for vitamins, cuttlebone is a good source of calcium. Once you get them to eat, just scrape some off and mix it with their food. About salmonella-- Keep some alcohol based hand sanitizer around. I use it first, let it dry, then wash my hands in hot soapy water.

Answer 4

1. Salmonella is mostly a problem when they are kept in dirty water, but simple handwashing after cares will protect you all the time.

2. Dissolving stuff in the water is not the best option for healthy turtles. Offer them a good diet instead.

3. UV can be tricky- the wattage of the lamp is not as important as the distance from the tank. Most articles suggest about 12" from the basking site. I position mine at 12" to start, then put my hand on the basking site. If it feels hot fast, I back it off; if I feel no temp, I move it in. I just use a blacklight bulb in a metal reflector with a ceramic (high heat) socket. Mine is also on a timer so it is on during the 'hot phase' of the day- noonish to 4ish.

4. Water depth- baby turtles NEED lots of water for proper development- aim for about 10 gallons of swimming water per inch of turtle. With 3 turtles, you should have about 30 gallons of water. Most of us use plastic tubs and kiddie pools for this.

You also need to heat and filter the water. Heat the water to 75-80 using a good thermostatically-controlled heater. Filter with LOTS of filtration. The site http://www.austinsturtlepage.com offers lots fo advice on equipment like this.

5. Diet. Try a high-quality turtle pellet made for baby turtles and suppliment it with small, live fish foods like bloodworms. You can get this kind of stuff at most good pet shops.

Some good helpful sites are listed below:

Answer 5

see turtles are bit shy even i have two turtles i have never seen then eating but they are healthy without any problem. they move around freely. as you said the turtles sit on rock to bask they need some warmth to keep themselves warm. dont use too much of calcium and vitamins which might spoil the health of the turtles. so dont worry

Answer 6

get a flyswatter and try giving them real food, dig up some earthworms, turtles can't resist a wriggly worm
get a good book about turtles and read it so you can take
proper care of them