Urgent Care :: Help New Hatchlings!

[firstimeturtlelover]

Hi! Got a 2 little hatchlings a couple of days ago. They both bask but one of them just sleeps and sits in the corner on the floating rock, and the other one does the normal stuff one i come to look at them like jumping in the water and trying to hide or whatever he's doing. Neither of them are eating though. Since at least one of them is acting normal i thought there might be another reason why they're not eating.

[emma]

It takes a while for them to get used to their new home.
But if they dont start eating soon, in like the next couple of days... thats a problem.

[geekyturtle]

What are you trying to feed them? When I got my hatchlings, I tried feeding them all kinds of different pellets, but they only ended up eating the Reptomin Baby pellets for the first few months.

I've seen others suggest soaking them in tuna juice so they might taste more appetizing.

And when I had two turtles, one was more aggressive than the other and I had to feed them separately or the aggressive one would eat all the food.

[LeslieMW]

my hatchling did the same thing. didn't eat, and hid underwater at all times.

it took her a while to get used to her new home. and she didn't eat for 2 weeks, but finally took a mealworm and a live feeder fish. now she eats alot of lettuce too.

[Sk8gal]

I used to have a hatchling a long time ago, and he just stayed on the wet corner of the floating dock and never really wanted to swim. He had an RI and died

I would take your turtle to the vet.

[grey goose]

The one with little or no activity should be a cause for concern. Is it yawning or keeping it's mouth open? Swollen eyes? Does it go in the water at all? If it does can he submerge or does he just float on top like a cork?
Babies should be kept in warmer water, 80-82F. Basking should be about 90-92. Double check the temps and also keep the tank away from drafts or air conditioners.

As far as eating, place a few pellets in the tank and walk away. Don't stand and stare! Also leave a small piece of romaine and check it for tiny bites. Avoid handling them and keep the noise and stress levels down and they will get used to their new surroundings and start eating a lot quicker.

[firstimeturtlelover]

well i just checked on them a little while ago, I try to stay away from they're cage as much as i can, and I think at least one of them is eating but I don't know if both of them are eating or which one is eating. i started out trying to feed them in a separate container but they just freaked out so i started feeding them in the tank. Um lets see what have i fed them I've tried a bunch of things lets see two different kind of pellets, krill, collard greens, and my own version of turtle jello shots, which is what they started eating. I wasn't sure if they were big enough to have feeder fish. They're really small turtles. What kind should I get?

[firstimeturtlelover]

One other thing I know this isn't really urgent care but am I supposed to turn they're light off at night. Oh and I'm not sure if the air temp is right but I do know that the water temp is right.

[untsmurf]

The air temp should be around ninety. It'll help with younger turtles if you hand feed them, even if it is in the tank, because you know that each one is eating. The lights need to be turned off at night, you can plug them into a timer to make your job easier. They should be on a 12 hour light/12 hour dark schedule. They're probably too small to eat feeders, but it'll give them good exercise to chase them around, so you can get like 2 rosy reds for the tank.

[grey goose]

Place a thermometer on the basking area. One of those cheep digital ones they sell in the pet stores are best. Leave it there about 15-20 min. to get a good reading.

I've started mine out with baby Reptomin and they took to it rather quickly. If you can only find the adult Reptomin, just break the pellets in half and serve. Also get one of those veggie clips (also at the pet store) and clip a leaf of romaine to it. Turts LOVE krill but it should be only be offered as a treat or to tempt one thats not eating.
Turts require a day/night cycle. I keep my lights on 12 hrs, off 12 hrs. you can get a timer to take care of that.....

You have to make sure the lethargic one is getting food. Moisten a piece of krill and put it right up to his nose. Try the jello shots and Reptomin also. He must be in the water when you try to tempt him with food. If he's on the basking ramp he will not eat.

[firstimeturtlelover]

That's another thing I put food in the water and as far as I can tell neither of them ate any of it so just to be safe I put some on the basking rock and which ever one ate ate it off the rock.

[firstimeturtlelover]

Sweet. I just checked on them and I saw the biggest one eating I'm so glad that I know which one is eating so now I can focus on getting the other one to eat. Oh and I was wondering about shrimp like you buy at the grocery store. Is it ok to feed it to them, and if it is do I cook it or feed it to them raw.

[untsmurf]

I don't know about the grocery store shrimp, i'd be worried about preservatives and stuff. But I don't feed my turt shrimp so I've never looked into it. It might say on the nutrition section whether it's good or not.

[firstimeturtlelover]

its the shrimp that you buy like over were the deli is the fresh stuff where you pick it and they wrap it up.

[spaceapple]

It's ok to feed cooked shrimp, but it should just be an occasional treat. Your turtles' main staples should be pellets and leafy veggies. Also, once your turtles get a little more used to you, you can try feeding them by hand. This is a good way to monitor how much food each is getting, especially when you have two turtles.