i have a red eared slider and wen i took him to the vet the vet told me just to keep the water cleen. i clean his tank almost everyday and all he does is stay in one place and wont eat any of his food. he hasnt eaten for about 2 weeks now and im rele starting 2 get worried
2006-11-11 07:17:51 · 5 answers · asked by John 2 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Your vet was mistaken- which is not surprising since many people don't understand turtle care.
Your Red-ear needs more than you might be ready to provide, but here it goes:
- Tank that can offer about a 10 gallon pond per inch of turtle (so a 5" turtle needs at least a 50 gallon pond)
- Heat the water to about 75-80
- Filter the water about 2-3 times more than you would a fish tank
- Offer good lighting that includes ultraviolet light (probably a reptile bulb)
- Offer at least one basking site, and heat it to about 90
- Offer top-quality turtle pellets for about 30-50% of the diet and live or frozen/thawed 'fish foods' like small fish, worms, bugs, shrimp, etc.
Try http://www.redearslider.com or http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for more help.
2006-11-11 13:44:51 · answer #1 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you checked the temperature of both his water and the land or basking portion of the tank? The temperature change in the house that are common this time of year often puts reptiles off their food, since the cage temperature drops too. Do you have Uvb lighting in his tank or just heat lamps? He should be at no less than 72 F and have uvb 5.0 for at least 8 hrs. day. Hope this helps but also know that unless they specialize in reptiles most vets don't know much about turtles. search the Internet for a specialist and take your turtle there.
2006-11-11 16:10:59 · answer #2 · answered by shallenberger_steven 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
could be early sign of respitory infection. try housing in another tank filled only with purified water, about 79 cents a gallon at grocery store. wait 2 days and try to offer raw chicken cut up in bite size pieces. good luck
2006-11-14 19:45:50 · answer #3 · answered by the shug 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bring turtie to the vets on check online to maybe search for petquestions.com
2006-11-11 15:24:10 · answer #4 · answered by cruisingalong 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
either buy some woms or go dig some up for your turtle, they usually can't resist a wiggly worm
2006-11-12 03:49:35 · answer #5 · answered by Loollea 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋