RES not eating as much these days.

[Zinnia]

Hi. I recently received a 5 year old female Red Eared Slider along with the tank and food as a gift. I simply adore her and am surprised about how much joy she brings me. I let her walk around my house and she loves it. I have hard wood floors and she has only relieved herself once. I notice she prefers walking around the house than being in the tank. At night, she sleeps under a blanket on the floor. At times she crawls onto my feet and just sits there. I also noticed she has stopped eating. I was told they experience this from time to time. Should I be concerned?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

She needs to be in water to eat. She needs to be in her enclosure at all times. A blanket does not keep a cold blooded animal warm at night. You have an aquatic turtle that should not be roaming your house. She needs a large aquarium (with area to bask) or a pond. No turtle is well suited for roaming a house but an aquatic turtle definitely shouldn't be. You have to house her appropriately else she will not be able to eat.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello
and a water turtle needs heat to diegest it's food in the water when it gets cool turtles stop eating because the food don't diegest in the turtle .

 

[hingeback]

Welcome to the forum. She needs to be in the water and give her some land in her enclosure as a basking spot. They feed in water.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I think you're misinterpreting your turtle's activity when on the floor. She's scurrying around looking for a way to escape (or hide), not scurrying because she's happy.

Red ear slider turtles are semi-aquatic. They live in water with occasional forays onto dry land to sit in the sun. While in the water, she will search out a hiding place, a place where she feels safe. So a large aquarium with some sort of cave would be good.

Once a female RES gets to be full size, it's pretty hard to keep the aquarium clean. It's really a good idea to set them up outside in some sort of pond.

Here's a link to a good care sheet:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome !

 

[dmmj]

I've had red eared sliders for 30 years in my experience they just don't stop eating from time to time mine never have there's a reason why its not eating. salutations.

 

[TerrapinStation]

Hello and welcome-

Agreed that you have a turtle that absolutely NEEDS to be in water with a warm basking spot on dry land available for it to get the proper heat and UV needed for digestion. Whatever food it has in its stomach is/will begin to "rot" as it sits undigested..... thus making your turtle sick.

Can you post pictures of the turtle & setup that the turtle came with? I am sure plenty of us will be able to help get you on the right track.

 

[Zinnia]

She needs to be in water to eat. She needs to be in her enclosure at all times. A blanket does not keep a cold blooded animal warm at night. You have an aquatic turtle that should not be roaming your house. She needs a large aquarium (with area to bask) or a pond. No turtle is well suited for roaming a house but an aquatic turtle definitely shouldn't be. You have to house her appropriately else she will not be able to eat.

Thanks Sarah for your response. She stopped eating long before I started letting her out of the tank. I have a device in the tank to keep the water at the appropriate temperature and I had a basking area inside it along with the heat lamp and uv lamp. She climbed up and tried to jump out of the tank. I will revert back to having her in the tank at night. I want what's best for her, but I have received different opinions about letting her walk around the house. I will keep researching. Thanks again.

 

[Zinnia]

Hello and welcome-

Agreed that you have a turtle that absolutely NEEDS to be in water with a warm basking spot on dry land available for it to get the proper heat and UV needed for digestion. Whatever food it has in its stomach is/will begin to "rot" as it sits undigested..... thus making your turtle sick.

Can you post pictures of the turtle & setup that the turtle came with? I am sure plenty of us will be able to help get you on the right track.

I no longer have the setup she came with. I am open to ideas. She is currently in a 50 gallon tank with a terrain filter and heating device. Any ideas (pictures and details preferred) to create the right environment are welcomed.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Walking on the floor stresses them out. It's too cold on a bare floor. Their insides must be at 80 to 85 degrees to digest their food. They can only eat with their head under water.

 

[Markw84]

I no longer have the setup she came with. I am open to ideas. She is currently in a 50 gallon tank with a terrain filter and heating device. Any ideas (pictures and details preferred) to create the right environment are welcomed.

Zinnia
Welcome to the forum. You came to the right place to get info on the proper care.

I have kept turtles now for 50 years!! I have a large 10.000 gallon outdoor pond where they live in a fairly "natural" environment. Hatchlings and yearlings I keep indoors in fairly large tanks. I have hatched and raised several hundred turtles of various species

First of all, aquatic turtles HAVE to be in the water to eat. They need the water to help push the food down their throat as they do not have movable tongues with which to swallow. They HAVE to be able to get their body temps up to the mid 80's and higher to properly metabolize food. With Red Eared Sliders, it they have to way to get their body temps up, they will stop eating. A RES will normally not leave water unless it is basking (to regulate its body temperature), to lay eggs, or because it doesn't like where it is and is in search of a new place more to its liking. Otherwise they are always in the water. Some of my aquatic turtles - like diamond back terrapins will often leave the water and hide under a bush and dig in the ground for a few days, but I have never seen RES do that unless there is something wrong with them. RES want and need to be in the water. They always sleep in the water.

A healthy adult RES needs a fairly large space to act normally and thrive. Unless you are talking about a tank of probably 200 gallons or more, you will end up with a turtle that eventually adjusts, but gives up on many natural behaviors. Can she do "OK" in a 50 gallon tank? Probably if everything else is correct, but she won't thrive.

She needs water that is deeper than she is long with a place to climb out and bask and dry out under a light. In your case probably a 75 watt flood light would be best. That light needs to be on a timer and set for optimally 145 hours a day if you want her to stay active year-round.
I prefer water temperatures of the mid 70's to keep them active and healthy. with a basking light where the temperature directly under the light at turtle basking level is about 100.

I feed mine primarily aquatic turtle pellets as their staple once they are adults like yours. For all the information on best foods commercially available, read the thread and watch the linked utube video one of our members, Anthony, made that is posted on the top of the water turtle section of this forum. she will love the occasional treats of shrimp, or chicken, earthworm, etc. but will do great on the pellets once she is used to them and recognizes them as food if she currently is not used to that.

Thanks for looking out for her best interests.

 

[Markw84]

Just reread my post. Guess my fingers are too fat!! The timer should be on 14 hours per day.

 

[Zinnia]

Zinnia
Welcome to the forum. You came to the right place to get info on the proper care.

I have kept turtles now for 50 years!! I have a large 10.000 gallon outdoor pond where they live in a fairly "natural" environment. Hatchlings and yearlings I keep indoors in fairly large tanks. I have hatched and raised several hundred turtles of various species

First of all, aquatic turtles HAVE to be in the water to eat. They need the water to help push the food down their throat as they do not have movable tongues with which to swallow. They HAVE to be able to get their body temps up to the mid 80's and higher to properly metabolize food. With Red Eared Sliders, it they have to way to get their body temps up, they will stop eating. A RES will normally not leave water unless it is basking (to regulate its body temperature), to lay eggs, or because it doesn't like where it is and is in search of a new place more to its liking. Otherwise they are always in the water. Some of my aquatic turtles - like diamond back terrapins will often leave the water and hide under a bush and dig in the ground for a few days, but I have never seen RES do that unless there is something wrong with them. RES want and need to be in the water. They always sleep in the water.

A healthy adult RES needs a fairly large space to act normally and thrive. Unless you are talking about a tank of probably 200 gallons or more, you will end up with a turtle that eventually adjusts, but gives up on many natural behaviors. Can she do "OK" in a 50 gallon tank? Probably if everything else is correct, but she won't thrive.

She needs water that is deeper than she is long with a place to climb out and bask and dry out under a light. In your case probably a 75 watt flood light would be best. That light needs to be on a timer and set for optimally 145 hours a day if you want her to stay active year-round.
I prefer water temperatures of the mid 70's to keep them active and healthy. with a basking light where the temperature directly under the light at turtle basking level is about 100.

I feed mine primarily aquatic turtle pellets as their staple once they are adults like yours. For all the information on best foods commercially available, read the thread and watch the linked utube video one of our members, Anthony, made that is posted on the top of the water turtle section of this forum. she will love the occasional treats of shrimp, or chicken, earthworm, etc. but will do great on the pellets once she is used to them and recognizes them as food if she currently is not used to that.

Thanks for looking out for her best interests.

Thanks for the link and the detailed information. Most appreciated.

 

[Zinnia]

Walking on the floor stresses them out. It's too cold on a bare floor. Their insides must be at 80 to 85 degrees to digest their food. They can only eat with their head under water.

She did eat much better today. Thanks.

 

[TerrapinStation]

Sounds like you should be on the right track. best of luck and keep us informed!

 

[popeye tortoise]

Hi and welcome to the forum. As you can see the out pour of information from all theses awesome keeper I am a newbie compared to a lot of these keepers. The information is worth its weight in gold. Good luck with you slider.

 

[Zinnia]

Hi and welcome to the forum. As you can see the out pour of information from all theses awesome keeper I am a newbie compared to a lot of these keepers. The information is worth its weight in gold. Good luck with you slider.

Thanks

 

[Zinnia]

Sounds like you should be on the right track. best of luck and keep us informed!

Thanks