baby yellow belly

Question
we recently bought a baby yellow belly, we have had her for 4 days and it took 2 days for her to be shipped. She has not eaten a bite. I have offered the pellets that came with her, freeze dried blood worms and banana. I am getting really worried now that she will starve. Any help?

Answer
Shipping is stressful and it can easily take a week for it to get to normal.

In the meantime, make sure the tank size, temps, lighting, etc. are rock-solid at good sites like http://www.redearslider.com and http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Don't bother with bananas again- pond turtles like this don't usually do well with fruit.

The most important things you can do now are to keep the stress levels low (minimal noise, vibration, handling, light flashes, staring giants, etc.), keep the tank warm (even a bit over the usual 75-80F range), and keep things clean.

Keep offering a little food every day, mostly pellets at this point, and clean them out if the turtle ignores them after about 30-90 minutes.

If after a few more days, it is still not eating, ask again and let me know about the basic cares, such as
- tank size and layout
- basking set-up
- temps and how maintained
- lighting
- filtration or cleaning program
- diet

Good luck!