my baby red sliders wont eat !!!!

Question
For my birthday, a friend gave me two small{about the size of a half dollar} red eared sliders. They were given to me in a small plastic tank about 8x6 inches. I bought them dried shrimps and two kinds of pellet/log turtle food but it appears to me that they are not eating and I am very worried. I am not able to afford a nicer home for them at this time( i am a starving college student} bu. If you have any suggestions on how I can get them to eat  eventually would like a tank, toys, trees,filter and uv light for them. I do clean their little house 2x a week , I put them in an old butter tub with a little water and wash plastic tank with hot and soapy water .and rinse very well and dry well.If you could please give me any suggestions on how to get them to eat and take better care of them please let me know. thank you

Answer
Hi Elizabeth,

I'm afraid turtles, especially hatchlings, need to be kept correctly in order for them to eat and be healthy.  The main reasons for lack of appetite are too warm/cool, lack of UVB, dehydration, and parasites/illness.  Your turtles aren't kept dry, and while they may have parasites the most likely problem is that they don't have adequate basking temperatures and UVB.  I'm going to tell you how to keep them correctly, and you'll have to decide what you can manage and if you can't afford more right now, just hope for the best--but do be aware that while hatchlings are pretty tough, there is a limit to how long they can survive without having their basic requirements met.

I don't know how much you know about RES, but they are the #1 pet turtle in the world; they are also the #1 turtle in rescues and an invasive species around the world.  This is because they get quite large and need a considerable amount of room when adult--females can reach 12".  They are best housed in outdoor ponds, but can be managed in large indoor tanks (100 gallons for two turtles would work).  They need very good filtration, proper heating and lighting, and a varied diet that include plant and animal material.

For your hatchlings, if you can get them into something larger that allows more swimming room, that would be much better.  It doesn't have to be a tank--anything that holds water will work, such as a dish pan, plastic tub, even a kitty litter pan.  They need water heated to about 78 degrees and deep enough to swim in (about 3-4" at this size), and a basking area where they can get out of the water and warm up.  This should have a basking light so that the temperature reaches about 90 degrees.  They also need a good source of UVB, and my recommendation is to have a combination heat/UVB bulb (I use the T-Rex Active UVheat bulb).  Without UVB, they can't metabolize calicium, which leads to shell problems.  Natural sunlight is best, of course, but would be hard to manage this time of year.  Young turtles are more carnivorous than adults, but should be offered some plant matter (turnip greens, dandelion, collards, spring mix, kale, endive, etc.) along with animal matter such as boiled chicken, shrimp, worms, fish, mealworms, crickets, etc.  Pellets are OK, but variety is important.

Here's a website that will give you more care information:  www.redearslider.com.  If you have more questions, please post back and I'll do my best to help.  Good luck!