What is wrong with my turtles?

Question

I have two turtles my daughter named them squirt and crash and they are both female. They sleep too much. About the whole day. Sometimes I think they are dead. They make no sudden movements. Then they wake up. And eat and then sleep. The place where i bought them was a man that was smoking next to them. Do u think that my turtles were sleepy becuz of that.

Answer 1

go to wnyherp.org click on care sheets and under the turtle care sheets will be different care sheets click on each one till you find the exact turtles you have...then they will have everything you need to know on the exact care of the turtles you have, most common issue is toomuch/toolittle water too much or too little land not enough uvb lightm wrong diet etc...

Answer 2

I actually have 2 turtles. All day they either sun bath or play or sit under water. Ummmm....... well smoking could have something to do with it. Do you put them in room temp. water??? if not you might want to look into that in case something with the coolness or the warmness of the water is making them drowsy. do your turtles eat about 2 reptile sticks a day? If they eat too much or too little they might feel sleepy like a person would. Check to make sure they are getting enough light during the day (6 or more hours)??? That is about all I can think of but if I think of anything else, I will let you know! Hope my answer helps you out a bit!!!

Answer 3

Well first of all turtles aren't social creatues and with two you should have a really large tank....hopefully you have their basic needs down like a large tank/stock tank/rubbermaid container-ten gallons per inch of shell so at least 80 gallons right now..a great submersible heater, a great filter, a dock, a uva/heat bulb, and a UVB bulb in clamp lamps a foot from the basking area...

Your turtles sound like they have a respiratory infection (RI)..if they are yawning a lot it is definetly RI and can only be treated with antibiotics from a vet..preferabbly a Herp Vet...

RI is caused by cold water usually..perhaps you don't have a water heater? The water should be 78 F and basking 90 F. It is very important to have a large tank..heater, filter, proper lighting..it's expensive but necessary. Take your turtles to the vet. HAVE BOTH LIGHTS NOT JUST ONE as I see another poster is suggesting.

If you have care information and if it sounds like your setup isn't great according to what I have said..take a look at www.redearslider.com
it is a website and a forum where you can sign up for free and ask questions or read the information already there.

Good luck.

Answer 4

1. The smoking has nothing to do with it.

2. I'm going to guess that these are Red-ear Sliders, but the basic advice would work as well for several other- but NOT ALL species. For example, if they are Box Turtles, this advice will kill them.

3. The most common reasons for lethargic turtles are:

3.a.- Low temps. They need the water at about 75-80F.

3.b.- Small tank. They need a lot of room to swim, grow, explore, work out, etc. in. Figure about 10 gallons of actual water per inch of turtle shell length.

3.c.- Dirty water. Turtles in captivity get very sick in dirty water. Aim for crystal clean water. Unfortunately, that usually means a big filter.

3.d.- Poor lighting. These are sun-loving animals and they like to bask (they need a safe and useful basking site heated to about 90F as well). Plain light bulbs are OK, but they really like UVB-emitting speciality bulbs to get the full experience. (And no, sun coming through windows does not work- UVB does not pass through glass or plastic usually.)

3.e.- Poor diet. The wrong kind of food just makes everything worse. See http://www.austinsturtlepage.com or http://www.redearslider.com for more on this and other ideas.

You see, turtles are NOT cheap pets. It can easily run about $150-200 for a decent set-up. Combine this with the sad fact that there is a LOT of misinformation out there about the right way to raise turtles, and you end up with a lot of dead baby turtles.

Now- once you get a good set-up going, they can be great pets- fun to watch, active for years, and easy to care for once the habitat is set up to do some of the work for you!

Answer 5

You bought them in chinatown or some place like that, right? If they are smaller than your palm, they are illegal to purchase in most states, but now that you have them, there's nothing you can do... I will inform you that the life expectancy of turtles under 5 inches long is very low, but make sure you get a heated tank, a light, a filter, and rocks (NOT gravel... they WILL eat the gravel, contrary to what the pet stores will tell you). It most likely has nothing to do with the guy smoking, but if you need more help please contact me at [e-mail]

Answer 6

Turtles need heat. If they are Red Ear Sliders try putting in a heater and setting the heat to 75-78 degrees. You'll also need a basking light for them. Turtles are cold-blooded animals so they bask under the sunlight.

without heat they develop respitory illness and will die soon

Hope this helps. :)

Answer 7

Make sure the tank is heated and clean at all times. It most likely isnt because the guy was smoking

Answer 8

I know that you shouldnt let them hibernate because its bad for them