Red eared slider---help (not eating)

[macyfidlerr]

My friend has a red eared slider that isn't eating anymore and just lounges around out of water.
I know the problem could be many things... But what do you think?
Her temps stay room temperature -- 71-72 F. I told her she needs to raise it a bit, and sent her a care sheet. Does anyone else have any other advice? The turtle was purchased from a pet store and isn't a baby, but isn't an adult. About 5 inches long.
Thank you in advance.
If you need me to get pictures of the enclosure, I will post some.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Does your friend not have a basking light? Is the high temperature in the low 70s?

 

[macyfidlerr]

the enclosure

 

[macyfidlerr]

Does your friend not have a basking light? Is the high temperature in the low 70s?

Yeah.. Her water is room temp.. 71-72. I told her that's too cold.
She says one is a basking lamp and the other is UVV. What do I tell her?

 

[macyfidlerr]

I told her to get a Ceramic Heat emitter to put over the water. Any other suggestions?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I assume the UV bulb is a coil bulb by the look of it - if she gets a MVB it'll provide both heat and UVB so she'll only need one day bulb. Her current bulbs aren't angled correctly as is. By having the basking bulb on the side, she isn't directing all of the heat down and into the enclosure so she's wasting heat.

I don't know if a CHE is really the best way to heat the water. I think buying something designed specifically to warm aquarium water would be more efficient but I am not sure.

 

[Markw84]

Turtles need to raise their body temps to the 80's to really digest and utilize their food. Be sure they can bask and that area I usually will get to 90 or higher directly under the bulb. I keep the water at 77 using an aquarium heater - the enclosed type that has a housing around the glass tube.

Another big thing is photo period. I have found these temperate turtles will start to slow down to prepare for hibernation more dependent on photo period than temperature. If I don't keep the photo period over 12 hours, my turtles will slow down noticeably.

 

[macyfidlerr]

Thank you! I let her know all of this info

 

[Yvonne G]

The water temperature should be about 75F degrees or so, but he needs to be able to warm up while basking, and it looks like the lights really aren't allowing a "hot spot" on the dock. Is it possible to hang it pointing straight down?

 

[macyfidlerr]

The water temperature should be about 75F degrees, but he needs to be able to warm up while basking, and it looks like the lights really aren't allowing a "hot spot" on the dock. Is it possible to hang it pointing straight down?

Thanks so much! I told her to get a stand from a pet store that will hang over the cage. Hopefully it works!

 

[Alexio]

Is she using a canister filter? I see tubing above the tank. You can buy an inline water heater that is inserted in the return tube from the filter. Mine has an adjustable thermostat that can auto detect the temp and keep it at the set temperature. I shoot for around 77 degrees in the water and a basking spot 90-95. also what type of uvb bulb and how often replaced?