General Care Discussion :: Helping a turtle adjust to a new home

[mariee]

Hello! I have a question about my new turtle, Thomas.

This may be long so please bear with me... Thomas came from my aunt. I just went up there for the past week to visit and for the purpose of bringing him back to live with me. He's a sweet and social turtle most of the time. I'm a little worried though. We traveled for 9 hours today and he didn't like being in his little box all day. I kept him moist with a spray bottle, and tried to keep him comfortable, but it was a long drive and I am sure it stressed him out.

He's all settled in his little temporary tank at the moment - I'm staying at my parent's house for about a week before I move back to my apartment for school - but I'm concerned. He hasn't eaten yet, and either sits still with his nose just out of the water breathing quickly (his neck is moving), or swimming into the sides of the tank... is this normal for a turtle adjusting to a new environment?

I'm a worrywart, but I just want to make sure he's OK and that I take good care of him. I know it will probably take him a while to be comfortable, but I am worried he'll become too stressed and make himself sick.

Sorry for all the questions. Any advice for making him comfortable, getting him to eat, or anything else I should think of/do? Thanks in advance!!

[ataraxiamb]

Both travel and adjusting to a new environment are stressful things for a turtle. It is normal for him to take several days or possibly a couple weeks to adjust.

Is he eating?

Does he have a basking area? If so, is he basking?

It's not uncommon for him not to eat or bask for a little while as he adjusts. You can give him treats like fresh fish, live prey, dried shrimp, or dried mealworms to encourage eating.

It's going to be more stress for him to move again in a week. I would leave him be and have as little contact with him as possible to let him settle in his new home.

[mariee]

He hasn't eaten yet that I've seen, but I just put a little of his food in the water, so maybe that will encourage him? He hasn't basked much either.

I'm trying to leave him alone and let him settle. I just worry that something will happen.

[devilduck]

Turtle typically hate change. Give him a little time to settle in. What is his tank setup like?

[mariee]

I'm giving him lots of space now. There is food when he's ready.

His tank right now is just a smaller one... I'm not sure how many gallons. He's got an area with some flat rocks out of the water to bask on under the heater light, and a filter on the other side. Decent area to swim in. It seems pretty lame at the moment though

But once I move back to my apartment he'll have a 55 gallon tank (it's 4 feet long), and I'm planning to build him a basking area on top of the tank so he can have more water to swim in.

I feel bad that I wasn't able to take him straight to my apartment and set him up there because now we'll have to go through the moving process again in about a week... there was no way though. Scheduling just didn't work for that Blah.

[steve]

He'll be fine. If you're traveling at night and can keep his box completely dark, he'll probably sleep the whole time.

[mariee]

Thanks everyone! He finally ate either sometime last night or this morning. Hopefully this is a good sign!

I also got the heater set up finally today - the first one my aunt had given me broke, so I just got the other one in. I have a question though, how long should it take for the heater to warm up and begin heating the water? Also, I'm pretty nervous about having something electric in the water (even though it's meant to be in the water!), so are there any extra precautions I can take with it?

Thanks!

[devilduck]

I only use a heater in winter and have it set around 78F. The heater should be completely submerged or submerged up to the indicator line of there is one.

[mariee]

Thanks. Turns out this heater doesn't work either So looks like a trip to the pet store is in order.

Would it be possible that the heat lamp would work well enough for a while? The tank he's in for this week is small - 2 feet long by a foot wide, and it's only about half full to prevent him from climbing out and allowing a basking area - so would a lamp alone be enough to warm it?

And if I do get the heater, should I just go ahead and get one that will work for my 55 gallon tank, and use it in the little one for now? Or can I not do that?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to learn as much as I can!

[steve]

Two things about heaters... get a good one like an Eheim Jager (the are reasonably priced) and use a GFCI outlet for your aquarium equipment. Don't try to have the lamp maintain water temperatures. What are they reading at? I'd rather put the money towards setting up your 55 gallon.

[mariee]

Thanks everyone! He's finally settled pretty well - he eats and comes up to bask (which he didn't do for a while).

Today we're moving back to my apartment, but it's a short drive so hopefully he won't get too stressed! He'll get to be in the big tank when we get there, so hopefully that will make him happier

One last question then I'll try to leave this topic... I am going to get a new canister filter today - this little waterfall one is awful on his small tank, so there's no way it would work on the big one! - what is the best I can get at a reasonable price? I'll probably buy the filter in-store rather than online just so I can have it today. Any suggestions?

[steve]

I'd still order online for a filter... I don't think I've seen a reasonable price on a filter at a local store. I posted a like for XP3 filters on sale... they'd be great on a 55 gallon.