Urgent Care :: SLEEPY not EATING baby

[redearlover]

HELP! My baby "Arturtle" is not eating and sleeping A lot! I have the right temp in water 75 to 78,basking area is around 82 and I have uva & uvb and filter.I took Arturtle to the vet and he did not see anything wrong with him. He said he does not show signs of respiratory problems and said that it sounds like I am doing everything right with the tank, so basically he did not know what was wrong with him. He said they can go months without eating so not to worry about it too much. BUT THIS IS SO NOT LIKE HIM!! He use to "beg" for food. He just looks at the food now and looks like he might eat and then turns away.?? There is another baby turtle in the tank but I don't think it is the problem because they sleep together?
<tear> does anyone have ANY advice?
THANK YOU!!

[DaddySkittles]

How long ago did you get him/her? And how big is Arturtle?

[redearlover]

Arturtle for a month and a half. Other turtle for 2 to 3 weeks.

[redearlover]

Oh and sorry....Arturtle is approx 2 inches long. Other turtle is about the same, jist fatter in the neck area.

[DaddySkittles]

Ok I really don't know whats wrong with Arturtle so just hang in there until more experienced people reply.

[megcornell]

How large is your setup?
How does the other turtle behave?

I'm thinking either the new turtle brought some illness with him or perhaps Arturtle is the submissive one and is too intimidated to eat. You could try feeding them separately or at different ends of the tank if it's a large enough set up.

Also, if Arturtle is gasping or open mouthed breathing, then as RI is a good possibility and perhaps you should seek out a better vet.

[redearlover]

Ok, I have a 10gal setup and the other turtle is a bit more agressive, but loves to sleep on top top of Arturtle. I thought that he might be too intimdated as well and have been trying everyday to feed them seperatly, by taking the new turle completly out of the tank for feeding time. Arturtle just looks at the food,smells it and then turns his head away. It has been about 12 days since Artutle has eaten. How long can they go without food when they are so small? He did seem to be not as sleepy today, but NO EATING!!
No open mouth breathing, he opened his mouth a couple of times under water about 3 days ago but it was for a short period of time like he yawned.

[SpotsMama]

What's the water temperature? For little bitty turtles like yours it should be 80 or 82 degrees fahrenheit.

[steve]

I would keep them separate for now. Make sure the water is clean and well filtered. Try some of the feeding options here: www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

Also, can you answer some of these questions: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

[SpotsMama]

I assume you've read all the info on nuitrition on this site - including the suggestions on how to entice eating. If not, then read, read, read.

If it were me I'd offer him the most enticing thing I could think of, just to get him started eating, then wean him later to more healthy food. I've heard turtles LOVE canned cat food. My turtle would jump through a hoop for a raw shrimp. I've heard a live (wriggling) earthworm is irrisistable. If it's too big for your little guy, you can cut it (the worm) up in pieces.

There's a limit, of course, to how long he can go without eating - it's not months. Are you sure he's not eating when you're not looking?

[redearlover]

OK, I took out the other turtle and fed Arturtle tuna. Wow he ate it!!

However,about 3 to 5 min after eating, he kept "flintching" like he might throw up. His head went in and then back out quickly. I've never seen this before. He didn't throw up but he "flinched" two more times. Do turtles burp? Or do you think something is wrong with his digestive system, that is why he has not been eating but he just couldn't resist the tuna. I watched him 30 min after eating, he hung out in the water awhile and then went back to bask and fell asleep. I'm not sure the vet I took him to can help since he said he looked perfectly normal. Is there something for turtles for digestive sytems? Is there a way to see if he is blocked?
Thank you for all you help!

[marisa]

How big were the pieces you fed him?

If he were blocked, he wouldn't be able to poop. Keep an eye out for poop.

[DaddySkittles]

I think the peice you fed him was to big and he just kept nibbling at it, then was moving his head in and out to try and break the peice off while his hands are clawing at his food?
Did he spit the food out and try to eat it again?

[redearlover]

Ok, I have not EVER seen poop. I don't know if it is just so small that I cannot see it or it disolves in the water quickly. Anyway the flintching happened again last night.....hours after he ate. I don't know if it is normal turtle behavior or something is wrong. I will see if he eats today and watch him again.

[Zarjulius & Miaomiao]

One of my baby RES was sick with RI and the vet prescribed Amikacin shots for him, and he has finally gotten better. While he was very sick, I never saw any poop either. Once he got better there were suddenly loads and loads of it, even several times a day in the tank. Almost like the the shots helped open up his digestive system. He also eats a lot more now than before. Sometimes also they eat it right after they poop or the filter, if powerful enough, can suck the poop in, so you wouldn't see any.