Question
My baby
I have a baby yellow belly turle no bigger than a quarter. I have had it about two months. I had it in one of those hermit crab cages for a while and about two weeks ago I bought a ten gallon tank and two big bags of gravel for it. I filled the tank about a third of the way up with gravel and filled the rest with water. the water stops about three inches before the top of the tank and I have a basking rock out of the water for it. I've been feeding the turtle tiny turtle pellets and for a while it seemed like it was eating them and then i realized it wasn't. I have a simple filter in the water but nothing major and I AquaSafe shock stuff into the water every week or so when I clean the tank. The tank has a thermometer thing on the front and it stays about 74 F degrees. But my turtle's not moving around that much it might swim a few mins a day and the rest of the time sits on the basking rock with it's eyes closed. It doesn't eat the pellets and I've tried the crickets, freezer fried worms, and shrimp and it doesn't eat any of it. I'm really concerned my turtles not getting enough exercise or that I might be doing something wrong. Any advise would be great as long as I get to see the little guy healthy again and swimming around.
AnswerHi Candas,
You need to make some significant changes to your turtle's habitat. Your turtle's lethargy and lack of appetite likely is a result of improper conditions--too cool, lack of UVB, and poor diet. A turtle needs several things to be healthy: a roomy tank with excellent filtration, a basking area with heat and a source of UVB, and a good, varied diet. At this point, your turtle doesn't need a large tank yet, but 10 gallons is too small even for a hatchling. Get hold of at least a 20 gallon tank for the time being, but be aware that you'll need about a 75 gallon tank for it when it's bigger, along with a good external canister filter rated for higher than the tank capacity. Don't try to cheap out on this, because having room and good water quality is essential, and it'll save you trouble in the long run by keeping your turtle in good health.
The gravel is OK as a substrate as long as it's too big for the turtle to ingest, but you need to be able to keep the tank clean. A good filter and regular partial water changes will help with this. You need a basking platform that's big enough to offer a temperature gradient (warm area/cool area). There should be an area with a basking temperature of 85-90 degrees; the water temperature should be 75-78 degrees. You also need a source of UVB. Without it, a turtle can't metabolize calcium well and will eventually develop severe health problems. Get a ZooMed Powersun bulb--it provides heat and UVB in one.
Hatchling yellow bellied sliders are fairly carnivorous, but should be fed a variety of animal protein, pellets, and greens. The web pages I've linked below will give you a good list of foods. Once the tank is set up correctly, his appetite should come back. Feed daily for the first year, and then no more than every other day after that. Also put a cuttlebone in the tank so the turtle can nibble on it for extra calcium as needed.
Here's information on tank setup, care, and diet. Please read everything carefully and make the necessary changes. If you have any questions, please post back and I'll do my best to help.
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/trachemyscare.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-yellowbelly.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm
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