Hi, I am hoping to get some answers regarding a red eared slider I acquired from my daughter. She got him when she was little, so he's 18 years old. Long story short she can't take care of him anymore and asked me to take him on.
I took him to the vet back in September to get him checked out and was told he's healthy and happy. They sent me home with a bunch of paperwork on the proper care and requirements for him. But, having never owned a turtle before he's got a crazy characteristic that I can't find anywhere online to know what he is doing.
I bought him a 125 gallon aquarium, some decor and live fish for enrichment, and a basking platform (platform is only temporary, I'm going to build a bigger platform to go on top of the aquarium once I'm fully moved into my new home).
I am thoroughly enjoying having him in my life. He's such a character.
I am completely confused however by one thing he does. I will spend 20-30 minutes interacting with him, he chases my finger back and forth the length of the tank, and also will just sit and stare at me if I sit down in front of the tank. What I don't understand is when I walk away from the tank. He gets up and wedges himself between the ramp to the platform, and the glass and starts splashing the water with his front and back legs. He will not stop until I come back to the glass and interact with him again. He will do this continuously all night. And the second he sees that I'm coming back, he unwedges himself and drops to the bottom of the tank and waits for me. Why is he doing this? I'm not feeding him every time I interact with him so I don't think he's expecting food every time he does it is he? He gets pellets every other day, a freeze dried medley 2-3 times a week, romaine lettuce once a day, and a thawed frozen shrimp once a week for a snack.
I have read all the paperwork from the vet and researched online and I think he has plenty of enrichment with the decor and fish? Is he bored? Or just wanting constant attention?
Thank you for any answers you can give me! I love the guy, and just want to understand him better so I can give him what he deserves.
I don't know how to upload a video so I took a screenshot of one of the videos I've taken of him doing it and hope it makes sense to someone.
I took him to the vet back in September to get him checked out and was told he's healthy and happy. They sent me home with a bunch of paperwork on the proper care and requirements for him. But, having never owned a turtle before he's got a crazy characteristic that I can't find anywhere online to know what he is doing.
I bought him a 125 gallon aquarium, some decor and live fish for enrichment, and a basking platform (platform is only temporary, I'm going to build a bigger platform to go on top of the aquarium once I'm fully moved into my new home).
I am thoroughly enjoying having him in my life. He's such a character.
I am completely confused however by one thing he does. I will spend 20-30 minutes interacting with him, he chases my finger back and forth the length of the tank, and also will just sit and stare at me if I sit down in front of the tank. What I don't understand is when I walk away from the tank. He gets up and wedges himself between the ramp to the platform, and the glass and starts splashing the water with his front and back legs. He will not stop until I come back to the glass and interact with him again. He will do this continuously all night. And the second he sees that I'm coming back, he unwedges himself and drops to the bottom of the tank and waits for me. Why is he doing this? I'm not feeding him every time I interact with him so I don't think he's expecting food every time he does it is he? He gets pellets every other day, a freeze dried medley 2-3 times a week, romaine lettuce once a day, and a thawed frozen shrimp once a week for a snack.
I have read all the paperwork from the vet and researched online and I think he has plenty of enrichment with the decor and fish? Is he bored? Or just wanting constant attention?
Thank you for any answers you can give me! I love the guy, and just want to understand him better so I can give him what he deserves.
I don't know how to upload a video so I took a screenshot of one of the videos I've taken of him doing it and hope it makes sense to someone.
