R.E.S. is lethargic

Question
Hi Jeannie - We have two red eared sliders in a 30 gl tank that are both roughly 5". One is two the other is just over a year old. The tank temp is around 80, and they're fed once a day in the morning, a few turtle pellets and dried shrimp. Once a week we put in 5ml of a water conditioner to clean the water and help with the odor. The lighting/heat is set on a timer, white UVB during the day, red lamp at night. We have a floating basking island which they frequent at night. Here's the issue, the younger smaller one has suddenly started spending a good portion of its time under rocks/logs i.e. under dark places asleep from what I can tell. Specifically, its keeping its head in dark places. Randomly I do find it active and swimming around, but mostly its the latter behavior of staying hidden or trying to get into dark places and always under the water. The other one has been an active little pig of a r.e.s. since we've had it, and I do have to note that the younger one is a replacement for one that died on us last year. And just as I write this its emerged and is swimming around, but the majority of its day is under water sleeping in dark corners. Help?

Answer
Hi Stavros,

You need to make some significant changes to how you're keeping your turtles, and then you should see improvements in health and activity.  

First, you need a much larger tank.  A 30 gallon tank is too small for even one 5" RES, and far too small for two.  You need *at least* a 100 gallon tank, and realistically 150 gallons would be better since your turtles aren't mature yet (but they're not the ages you think they are; more on that later).  You can also set them up in an outdoor pond when the weather warms up, but either way, plenty of room helps to keep the water quality up, which means healthy turtles.

Next, you need a really good filter--I'm guessing you don't have one since you're relying on water conditioner to do the work of a filter.  If you have a good filter (external canister filter rated for higher than the tank capacity, such as a Magnum or Fluval) and do regular water changes, the water should stay fairly clean.  This is very important.  Adding things to the water won't do the job.

Then you need to provide both a basking area and UVB light for about 12-14 hours a day.  No heat is needed at night, but you do need to measure your basking temps so you know they're correct.  The water during the day should be approximately 75-78 degrees, with a basking temp of 88-90 degrees.  You can provide either a separate UVB bulb (Reptisun 10.0 tube) or a combination heat/UVB bulb (ZooMed Powersun).  A "white" bulb, unless it's a special reptile bulb, won't supply UVB, which is vital for metabolism of calcium.  Get either the Reptisun 10.0 or the ZooMed Powersun, since either of those supply adequate UVB; don't get anything else, and don't let anyone at the pet store (you can also buy the bulbs online, which is probably a better idea) try to sell you something else.  I have friends who have tested UVB bulbs extensively and these are the two that are reliable.

You also need to improve the diet.  RES will eat both animal protein and plant material, and become more herbivorous as they get older.  Pellets are fine as part of a varied diet, but you should also feed worms, bloodworms, boiled chicken, guppies, crickets, etc., along with greens such as turnip, kale, mustard, dandelion, etc.  Duckweed is great if you can get it.  Put a cuttlebone in the water so they can nibble it for extra calcium as needed.  The more variety they get, the healthier they'll be.

Your turtles are very unlikely to be just one and two years old, not if they're 5".  They're probably more like 3-5 years old.  If male, they'll grow to about 8", but if female they could reach 12"--and if one turns out to be male and one female, you have another problem, because RES are prolific breeders.  Just something to keep in mind as they mature.

Here's further information for you to read over--this is quite detailed and should help you to fix up their tank correctly, but if you have any questions, please post back and I'll do my best to help.

http://www.redearslider.com
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm