Urgent Care :: new hatchlings; excesive basking

[shady1616]

I lost the old reply that I wrote because I had to login so many times, I'll try to make this reply shorter...

ok, so right now Bubbles is in my tank probably basking and I'm at school on my computer. Bubbles is kind of lethargic. Sometimes he goes in the water to swim and hangs out by the dock in the water or on top of the plant. But most of the time he's basking and sleeping.

I'm a little confused of where to put Sunny and Bubbles. Sunny is in the pond right now and is loving it. Since you guys said not to put him in the pond, then where do I put him?? All I have is The death bowl and a 2 gallon container. I think i'll keep Bubbles in the tank and put Sunny somewhere else, but where?

Bubbles can get on the basking area easily (its a ZooMed basking ramp).
I am feeding Bubbles in a seperate container but he still won't eat. I don't have any vitamins or anything but I'll try to feed him the smelly stuff when I get home.
Thanks for all the advice!

there is no school tomorrow because of the hurricane so I might not get in touch. Also the light may go out so that not good for the basking light, the filter and the heater . The stupid hurricane is making everything all worse!

i'll keep you guys updated when I can

[shady1616]

Hurricanes gone so i'm good, no damage done.

Bubbles still isn't eating. I tried tuna, egg whites, baby krill, cooked white chicken, shrimp, cuttlebone, baby romaine lettuce, and of course, pellets. he won't eat at all. But the good thing is, is that he is pretty active and goes in the water a little more. when i get home from school, he's always on the basking dock sleeping. But then he wakes up and goes for a swim.

I'll try again today and see what happends...

[marisa]

I've forgotten, but what are the temps of the water and basking area?

How exactly are you feeding him? Are you putting the food in and leaving him for a while so he has privacy?

[shady1616]

the water temp. is 80deg. (one of you guys told me to put it to 80) and the basking temp. is 90deg.

and yes, that's how I feed him, i put some food in the container, with water of course, and I leave him there while I go feed my other turtles and the dog.

[shady1616]

YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOD NEWS!!!!

Bubbles ATE a pellet!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! I know it's a small amout of food, but it's just a start. i actually kind of forced him to eat the pellet but he ate it with my help.
Even thogh I picked him up and fed him by hand, I'm still happy that he ate a little. he refused to eat some more so I put him back in his tank, but its a start. Something is better than nothing

[marisa]

Well that's good news. What do you mean that you forced him to eat it?

[JessicaTS]

He probably refused to eat some more because he was out of the water. Turtles don't produce saliva and they need the water to swallow down their food, otherwise they will choke.

But well done Just feed him in water the next time

[marisa]

Aquatics have reduced salivary glands, true, but they have fixed tongues which do not allow them to push down the food, and therefore they need to eat in water to get the food down.

[shady1616]

well yeah, I put him back in the water after I put the pellet in his mouth. He spit some of the pellet out but he chewed and swallowed the rest of it. I'm so glad he ate something

I didn't really force him, I like waved the food in front of his nose and rubbed the pellet on his "lips". It's difficult to explain how I fed him, but I fed him

[tini]

That is how I started Neptune on veggies, But iun the water *nods*

[shady1616]

Thanks for all the advise! Now Bubbles can't live the rest of his life peacefully

[marisa]

If you rub the pellet in something smelly, he may be more apt to eat it.

[shady1616]

yeah, he's getting better and better each day. I'll dunk them in canned tuna "juice".

Thanks!!!

[knite]

Bloodworms/earthworms are usually great for stimulating them to feed. I think it has to do with the worms squirmy that makes them want to bite them. Liver is also great, it provides at least a minimum to sufficient source vitamin A.

My turts don't usually bite off the cuttlebone in whole but when I break it into smaller, chewable pieces, they go crazy!

[shady1616]

I fed him some bloodworms for the first time today and he loves it! He ate more food today than yesterday and I'm really proud of that! But I'm still feeding him by hand, he won't take the food from the water.

well, i got to go, the library is closing in 10 minutes!