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I got two baby turtles probably in end of October. The one turtle is prospering and is now twice the size of the other one. The little one is still extremely small. A couple of weeks ago I got a new tank for them with the right lighting because I was afraid she might be getting soft shell. She definitely has it now and doesn't eat at all. She does swim around a little bit more now though with the new light and higher water temperature. Can I force feed her food? How do I do that? I'm also a college student, so I'd prefer not to go to the expensive vet so..but if I have too I will. Does anyone have any ideas to resolve this before going to the vet?

Do you have a UVB light?What do you feed your turtle?I would suggest some boiled chicken to make her eat.As for her soft shell.Definitely get cuttlebone,and maybe some calcium supplement.If she starts eating chicken,pellets,or other fatenning food,try giving her romaine lettuce.Also,when it gets warmer,let her out for about 15 minutes.It has to be at least 75 F outside,warm,and sunny.If any of this doesn't help,you will need to take her to the vet,she can't live forever without food

First, Welcome to the forum..

There are a lot of questions That need to be asked/answered so that someone can help you. It would be helpful if you used the questionaire at the start of this forum to give us some necessary information.

Please answer the questions contained in this post:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

How big is your turtle? very little..baby
How long have you had it? since october

What is the water temperature? 85 degrees
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? it's a 10 gallon tank..half filled
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? not sure
Is there a basking light? there is a UVB light
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
Is there a UVB light? ..yes

What have you been trying to feed it? pellots
When was the last time your turtle ate? not sure...i don't thinks she eats..

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gallon tank
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? yes, in a dorm room

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes. I was wondering how you force feed

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? She doesn't eat. She basks a lot, in and out of the water. She has stayed very small compared to her sister (twice her size), and her shell is soft. So I know she has soft shell..and i think if I could force feed her she would get better..but i don't know how to do it. Thanks

oh...she floats. i forgot to put that. She floats and she just kind of propells herself around.

Do you have a heat light in addition to the UVB light? UVB lights are flourescent and therefore don't give off enough heat to make them want to bask. they need both lights. The basking area temp should be around 88-90F for healthy turtles, you might want to raise it a degree or two since your turtle seems to be having some problems...Having the water at 85F won't make your turtle want to bask either. For a healthy hatchling, around 78F, for yours, I'd lower the water temp a bit to about 82F. Check both temps with a thermometer.

I wouldn't try to force feed the turtle (unless you had specific instructions to do so from a herp vet)--it's easy to choke if the food gets into the wrong tube. Being a hatchling makes it even harder.

When the turtle was eating, was he getting his fair share of the food? Is the other turtle grabbing the food before he can eat it? You may want to try feeding him in a separate container of water. Try smelly foods--bits of sardine or tuna in water, for example. Will the turtle take food from your hand?

How do the eyes look. Are they swollen at all? Any kind of film on them? Or are they bright and alert? Does your turtle just swim on the surface of the water or can he not submerge at all?

No, I don't have a heat light. I'll go get that tomorrow at Petco.

I'm so EXCITED! I took your advise and put her in another bowl to see if she would eat, because since the other one has gotten so big and does kind of gulp up anything that stays in the tank over 5 minutes. I put some really smelly krill in there and held her right in front of the food and she at it! It was small but it is an improvement!!! She kind of passed at after though... I think that's because she hasn't eaten in so long.

Um, her eyes look fine when they are open but she doesn't open them all that much. But when her eyes are closed I kind of see her eye..it's kind of weird. No, she cannot submerge herself at all anymore..well she doesn't try. She literally floats.

Thank you.

yeah...i think they are swollen too. oh no..

You really don't need to get a special light for heat, you can use a regular household lightbulb over the basking area in addition to the UVB bulb. Just make sure you test the temperature so that it's not too hot for the turtle. It should be around 90 degrees.

When feeding them in a separate container, you need to make sure the water is deep enough for them to see the food floating above them like they would in their tank. Remember they need to eat in water.

Yes. She did eat in water and since she was so small and doesn't really sink anyway...she ate.

So I just looked up the eye thing on the internet...i'm scared. A respiratory infection! I'm going to start the bath thing/soaking thing. I hope that she starts to get better...

What bath/soaking thing?

my little wolfgang died a month after i got him with pretty much the same symptoms, injury, floating, and not eating.
I would say first priority is trying to get him to eat... i don't think wolfgang died from his injury or whatever sickness made him float like that... i believe he simply starved himself to death.

Szuturon wrote:my little wolfgang died a month after i got him with pretty much the same symptoms, injury, floating, and not eating.
I would say first priority is trying to get him to eat... i don't think wolfgang died from his injury or whatever sickness made him float like that... i believe he simply starved himself to death.

More than likely the cause of death was an untreated Respiratory Infection (RI) a healthy turtle will not starve to death.