Turtle Help

Hi

I got a couple of turtles a few weeks ago but can't seem to get them to eat anything. I have provided them with clean slighly warm water and a good basking spot but they still refuse to eat. I have noticed that they have become weaker as each day passes.

What kind of turtles are they?

Sorry forgot to mention that. Its a baby water turtle with yellow lines on its shell and red markings on its eyes.

I do not think we can have those any more. I assume you are trying Turtle food? like the fish food sold in pet stores?
Topper

Yes I am feeding them Reptomin which is food specifically for turtles.

OK , I assume you are not in the USA as I am real sure the turtles you have were banned when I was a kid and I am dang near 47 so I might be mistaken as to why. I think it was a disease thing or at least that was given as the reason might have been something else. I would stop that warm water not sure what warm water means to you but to me it needs to be cool or at best room temp. I would try lettuce in small peaces and hamburger also in very small peaces in cooler moving water so it appears more like prey to the turtles. It works at times with American turtles but not sure it will help in your case it is worth a try if you wish to keep them.
Topper

Thanks Topper. Your assumption was correct. I live in the Philippines.

These things can be very dangerous especially for kids if not handled carefully as they can get some kind of disease from bacteria found on the turtles. This is most likely why it was banned there in the States.

When I say warm water, I mean room temperature water. But room temperature water in a tropical climate can get a bit lukewarm especially during mid afternoon.

I have tried the lettuce too but they never touched it. Haven't tried the hamburger thing yet though.

Thanks for the suggestions and help Topper. Very much appreciated.

It was Salmonella. Pet shops may no longer sell baby turtles due to this. As long as you wash your hands thoroughly after handling them, no problem.

I have several baby red eared sliders that I have in a 75 gallon aquarium with various crayfish and game fish.

Mine readily eat "tetra min" brand flake fish food {any brand should suffice}. They will also eat minnows if you kill them and leave them in the tank. They are largly herbivorous in the wild.

Iceburg lettuce has no nutritional value. Romain lettuce does. Raw meat will make the water greasy. Try not to feed them anything that will foul the water or filter.

Hope this helps. They will also need a flourescent light {one for plants, UV rays}. Your pet shop should have such.

Give them a rock or the like to allow them to get out of the water to bask.

My mother raised Red Sliders and a couple other kinds of water turtles when I was little. I remember her feeding the turtles worms from the garden and canned catfood, and there were always feeder goldfish in the water. Good luck.


:buddies:

Some turtles are carnivorous, and some herbivorous. You want to be sure you're feeding something it will find interesting.

exactly what kind of turtle? do you know if it is a fresh or salt water turtle?

you could try live fish. I had an Eastern (US) box turtle that used to go up to the side of the tray of swimming (minnow-bait) fish and catch them, I didn't think she'd be quick enough but she was.. she liked strawberries too..

probably you should take them to the vet at this point though, could be an infection.

oh and change the water daily..

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I guess one possibility is that it was already sick when I purchased it from the pet store.

By the way, its a fresh water turtle. At least fresh water is what the pet store was using and that's what they told me.

We have a fresh water turtle, and he eats cat food. Has for years, loves it, and is in excellent health.

Cat food? Sounds interesting. Just out of curiosity, how did you come to introduce this into it's diet? What were you feeding it before the cat food?

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesturtles/a/reslidercare.htm
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/res.html
i assume you have a red ear slider.
good luck.btw there are dealers at the local flea markets who bring these by the hundreds every weekend.most are the size of a half dollar coin and thus illegal to sell.

I had sliders as a kid, of course, and one of their favorite foods was lunch meat. I would put a little piece of bologna on the end of my finger and stick it in front of them. They would then take it from my fingertip.

Geoff

I also used to have sliders, they liked tadpoles though. They also ate the standard turtle pellets and occasionally fish. Are you sure they're not sick?

D@rk Messenger said:

Are you sure they're not sick?

Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking since I've tried almost everything. I assume they were already sick to begin with.

depending on where you got them there is a good chance they are sick and it may already be too late.
btw a neghbor has a res and it would not eat till they put it in a tray and set it in the yard to get sun.
i took the lense off their aquarium hood and installed a reptisun 5.0 tube.turtle now eats like a pig and seems more alert.they need uvb.