Yellow Bellied Slider

Question
I have a yellow bellied slider.
I'm not sure of his age but I know he's young. Probally the size of a quarter maybe a tiny bit bigger.
I've had him for about two 1/2 weeks.
At first I don't think I had his enviroment set up correct.
But now he has a basking light, submersible heater and Im feeding him food for baby turtles.
Just recently is the first time I've actually seen him stay in the water.
I haven't really seen him eat alot of food, he just nibbles and trys to bite it but can't really get a good hold
on a small pellet.
But atleast now he's trying.
He also sleeps allllll the time. But just recenly he started to get in the water himself and sleep.
He usually like always would sleep on his rock/ramp basking area.

I feel as if he is going to die.
All he ever does is sleep and when I wake him up he scratches at him eyes a few times and then I try to make him ear but he usually falls back alsleep.


I don't know what to do, i've got that right set up.
But my turtle is being rebelious.


-Brandon

Answer
Hi Brandon,

It sounds like your earlier problems with setting up his environment caused him a few setbacks but the fact that he is starting to swim and try to feed are good signs. You have not had him very long either and turtles can take a while to adjust to captivity and captive diets.
I assume your earlier problem may have been temperature related then? Without a proper and accessable basking temp. which for sliders is around 90F, they are really in "no man's land" so to speak, a state of limbo. They don't eat, they can't digest properly, they become sluggish and prone to infections. They just are not active and  don't thrive. Check the actual temperature of your basking site with a reliable thermometer to make sure it is in the proper range.

I always encourage the use of a  good commercial pellet so don't give up on those but I would also suggest trying some live food as well. Young sliders are strongly carnivorous. Live blood worms, small mealworms, small crickets and if you can find them, small earthworms or chopped up earthworms might trigger a better feeding response. That is how I found it to be with my aquatic turtle.
Try to keep his stress levels down as well. Make sure he has some aquatic plants to hide in a feel secure. Young turtles are  often preyed on in wild from above and having a hand swoop in on him regularly can trigger this fear. You mentioned waking him up and trying to make him eat and I would avoid interfering with him like that until he settles in for you a bit better. I know you are worried about him but a handsoff approach would be better for now. As long as you have given him the proper environment then his instincts will tell him what to do in terms of feeding and basking. He will become more tame and trusting as he gets used to you.

I have linked the care sheets for sliders from Austin Turtle page including the one for red ears which applies to yellow bellys and is more detailed.


http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-yellowbelly.htm


http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm