I just received a new 3-striped mud turtle yesterday, UPS, from Floriday overnight to Tennessee. When he arrived, I put him in a small bowl with warm water and offered him some food. He was starving, it seemed and ate pellets and blood worms. After about a half-hour, I put him in his new tank and he was very active, swimming all over the place. Today, not so active. I fed him this morning and he did eat a small piece of salmon,, that's it and he's been sleeping all day since. I am getting reading to feed him his dinner but this laid back activity has me worried. They say at the Turtle Store that he was just nervous yesterday and today just tired from all the changes. I should handle him very little except to feed him but it just worries me so much because my other turtle died - didn't eat for 10 days and slept all the time. Am I doing the right thing? The problem is, when I don't see him in the tank, I hunt for him and they say, just leave him alone, which is hard if I cannot see him. I am so torn because I want him to live a long happy life. I am providing pics of his tank. He is in a 5 gallon tank which is actually placed in the larger tank that he will use when he gets older. He's too tiny now.
New Baby 3-stripe Turtle - Concerned About His Behavior
- Thread starter susieq450
- Start date
Pastel Tortie
Well-Known Member
@Moozillion and I can both tell you how easy it is to misplace a tiny turtle in a tank, even without a lot of decorations. 
Oh, they can be sneaky...
Your little one has already eaten. Good sign.
Laid back is a good thing for a baby mud turtle.
If your experience goes anything like mine, your baby will drive you crazy with worry until he or she reaches 2" or 2.5" SCL. ?
Oh, they can be sneaky...Your little one has already eaten. Good sign.
Laid back is a good thing for a baby mud turtle.
If your experience goes anything like mine, your baby will drive you crazy with worry until he or she reaches 2" or 2.5" SCL. ?
I am so stressed, only because I lost a couple of little guys! Once we reach a month here, I feel a little better. That's an old pic of me - at 70, I don't need this stress. I need a healthy baby like my other guy that I had for many years, from a hatchling. OMG!! Now he is not eating tonight. stress, stress, stress!!
Pastel Tortie
Well-Known Member
You can try floating tiny little pieces of cuttlebone or similar calcium source in the tank. Bold and Pinstripe certainly appreciated the cuttlebone pieces (and still do). If you do, try floating it at the front of tank, sit back a bit from the glass, and be patient (super difficult, I know!)... You just might manage to lure the turtle out from hiding. If he doesn't come out from hiding, it's okay.
Pastel Tortie
Well-Known Member
They may not have emotions the way we think of them, but they definitely pick up on our stress levels. Remember to breathe. Feel free to hang out by the tank and just sit there, at least pretending you aren't trying to watch. Read while you're just hanging out, or if you have a quiet(-ish) craft or hobby you can do to distract yourself, do that. The turtle will get used to the idea of you being around, and sometimes they become curious...either about you or what you're doing. When you least expect it, you might glance over at the tank and see a tiny little face spying on you.
Pastel Tortie
Well-Known Member
He may still be full from yesterday. He ate a lot then, right?
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