My Girlfriend just got two baby turtles, a river cooter and a yellow belly. The yellow belly has been eating like a beast but we have not seen the river cooter touch anything for the 3-4 weeks she has had him. She has been feeding them meal worms, pellets frozen turtle cubes and has tried romaine lettuce but neither of them seemed to take to that. She also has a piece of cuttlebone floating in the tank. I believe she has a 90 or 100 G tank with a thermometer keeping the water mid 70 C, a low power filter and a basking 60 watt UVA bulb. Also a UVA UVB strip bulb going along the length of the tank. The cooter just seems to bask all day, everyday and when we come home we can tell he has been out a long time because his shell is very dry. We have tried feeding him in the tank, feeding him in a seperate smaller tank by himself, and feeding him in warmer water but nothing works. Please Help!

Thanks

70 C? Are you trying to boil them or did you mean 70 F? Anyway... I have no experience with turtles, but I just read that "these guys do best in warm water and should be kept in water temperatures in the 80s F." But I don't really know.

Yes my mistake i did mean 70 F.

Warm everything up to proper temps, make sure the lights are on a 14 hour on cycle (summer hours), and make sure there is plenty of room for both to bask properly under the UVB. Hopefully that sets them both on a proper cycle so they don't attempt to hibernate.

Thanks Strange wings. We have upped the temp to the mid 80's and he seems a lot happier in the water. He has also started to shed on his back legs and although he is not a complete pig like the yellow belly we did see him take a couple of bites out of some kale so things are looking better!

Thanks again.

I had a red eared slider a bit ago who suddenly stopped eating and soon died. I never did figure out what happened but the symptoms where:
-not eating
-growing weaker and weaker
-swollen eyes that where usually closed
-stayed out of the water
Can anyone tell me what killed my little friend? Thank you.

Maybe starting your own thread for this would help? :wink:

But to answer your question. Swollen eyes are usually caused by respiratory infections and/or vitamin deficiencies. If your turtle was kept too cold, it could have easily caught a respiratory infection. As for what ultimately killed it... did you try taking the turtle to a vet when you first noticed signs of illness?

Jack up the temps to around 80. with a 85' basking area. it's tooo cooooolllldddddd in the water!

Def too cold in that huge tank. Keep it in the 75-85 range...make sure the food is floating, they don't like to eat on dry land or things that sink to the bottom. Assist gently with the shedding issue by peeling off dead skin/shell. Try apples cut up - what was the place feeding it that you got them from?