My RES wont eat..?

Question

His water is the right temp. he has a light, water and land...I dunno what to do. Why dont he eat? I just got him on Friday...

Answer 1

OK, "right temp" does not tell me what temp it is at.

Sadly, the common cares everybody THINKS a RES needs, are NOT the care they really want. You also don't tell us if this is a baby, a young turtle, or a mature turtle.

Let's double check a few things:

1. Tank offers at least 10 gallons of swimming space per inch of turtle. A baby 1" turtle needs a 1/2 filled 20 gallon tank. A mid-sized 6"er would need 60 gallons of water, like a partially filled 80 gallon tub.

2. Warm the water to 75-80, or about 5 degrees warmer to help jump-start the appetite. Heat the basking site to about 90.

3. Filter the water about 2-3 times more than a similar sized fish tank would need.

4. Offer lighting that simulates natural sunlight and includes UV-B rays. Set the lighting up for a nice, long, summery day period of about 10 hours of day.

5. Make sure the turtle has good basking sites. The turtle should feel safe and warm on them.

6. Offer a good diet. Aim for about 25% of a good high-quality pellet and the rest in live/fresh, frozen/thawed, or well-preserved foods. For babies and young turtles, it should be 100% carnivorous- small fish, bugs, worms, shrimp, etc. Older turtles can include a little green stuff- dark leafy greens, water plants, etc.

Part of the problem (besides typically bad advice) is the turtle's urge to hibernate. Shortening days and dropping temps triggers the urge and we can overcome them with a little more heat and longer days with good lighting.

Answer 2

Hes not eating because you just got him. He needs time to settle in. It could take 2 or more weeks for him to settle in. Remove any uneaten food or else it will foul the water quicker. Also what exactly is the temp and what size tank and did you know they need 2 different types of lights not just one. A flourescent uvb bulb that emits atleast 5 percent uvb rays, and an incandescent uva bulb that emits heat. Do you have a submersible heater in the water?

Try giving him a specific number of pellets then leave the room. When i first got my turtle he would not eat nor bask when i was in the same room.

Answer 3

I have an RES and she's a really picky eater. For a long time she wouldn't eat pellet food or anything that was already dead unless when she bit into it it was still squishy in the inside. She mainly eats crickets that I buy online in bulk and I also feed her mealworms and grubs too. She has widened her horizon on the food level now and will eat pellets occasionally if they are made out of shrimp or fish. I hope this helps. If you want to talk further, you can email me.

Answer 4

sound like your water is grimy and your RES is bobbing up an ailment. do you have a stable means clear out or canister for his residing house? they are very grimy and can kill your res. maximum organic deaths of a RES is getting harm or eatin purchase a much bigger animal. they stay for centuries. do finished water substitute im confident your citys water isnt that troublesome faucet water is effective for them the water conditioning is a set of nonsense.

Answer 5

perhaps hes on a hunger strike for having to live in only inches of water of a tank that is too small.

Answer 6

I have an african side-necked turtle and he has periods of time when he doesnt eat either.

Answer 7

http://www.ebugco.com/

See if you can find some of their bug boxes by you, my bullfrog just sits in front of them for hours and eats right out of the box, its SO adorable.

Answer 8

Take him to a vet