My two Red Ear Sliders are floating around in food and not eating. Help me please someone!?

Question

I put them in a nice and clean tank but they still wont eat. I tried all sorts of food but they just wont eat it.

Answer 1

I used to have a red eared slider turtle. I had the same problem. I finally took my turtle to the vet and she told me that they are very picky eaters. Try feeding your turtle the green reptomin food. My turtle liked that one, although your turtles may not. Also, it can take a turtle up to 3 weeks to try a new food. You have to just keep trying. My turtle also wouldn't eat if I put him in a separate tank for eating. The vet reccommended this so the tank water he lived in wouldn't get dirty, but he wouldn't eat in anything other than the tank he was used to, so if you don't mind cleaning the tank more then you can try that. Aquatic turtles are prone to getting diseases and having medical conditions. I would suggest taking them to the vet just to have them checked over to make sure there is not an underlying cause that is making them not eat. They also wont eat if the water is not warm enough. Buy a book on Red Ear Slider care, it can be a great resource!

Answer 2

This is happening because they're cold. Wild turtles go into a period called "hibernation", this happens in the winter and they dont eat much, if not at all.

I have two RES's myself, and they dont eat during the winter team due to Hibernation. This happens because the temperature gets cold and the water is cold.

Just like bears and penguins, they don't eat in the winter because of the cold.

Try chaning to water to mild water and feed them after 15 minutes.

Best thing to do is buy a heater and thermometer for them and keep the temperature at 75 degrees. This way they'll be warm and be happy too.

Answer 3

You need to check with a more thorough web forum that includes dedicated RES owners, such as on kingsnake.com. There are simply too many reasons why they might not be eating and you haven't given enough details to answer the question.

It could be lack of UV lighting, it could be illness, it could be water chemistry, it could be water temps or basking temps are too low, it could be the food, it could be that they were in hibernation mode, or they could be stressed like most reptiles do after a move to a new habitat as reptiles need to feel secure with their surroundings to eat. Just go to a forum where only RES owners who have been doing it for years can answer you, and you need to provide more background info when you do.