General Care Discussion :: New RES will not bask or eat

[Matt1234]

Hello, I recently got a RES since I have taken care of water snakes and lizards before. I thought I would get a turtle. I got him yesterday and so far he has shown no interest in basking or eating. His water temperature is 77 degrees, his basking temperature is just over 90. I have a UVb bulb and a filtration system.

The first day I tried to feed just pellets, today I tried pellets, green leaf (not iceberg) lettuce, and shrimp. He doesn't give the food a glance and has not come to bask. He doesn't seem terribly frightened. He swims from one side of the tank to the other and sits for awhile. Could it be stress? I have read as much as I could about the issue and I really haven't found anything talking about new RES not eating except with environment issues, I believe my setup is correct but please let me know if it is not.

Thank you.

[ljapa]

RES don't seem to like change. Mine didn't eat when I first got her for a few days. Refused to bask when I changed the basking area.

Refused food ans basking when moved to a larger aquarium.

I wouldn't worry too much yet.

[steve]

How big is your turtle?

[Matt1234]

Thank you for the responses.

Steve: He is 4 1/2 in

[steve]

He's a good size, so a few days like ljapa mentioned is fine. If there is a lot of activity around his tank, I would try to offer some more privacy.

[Matt1234]

Thank you. As an update he is eating, somewhat. He completely ignores the food until i leave the room. I will come back in half an hour and it is all gone. Still no basking. I can hear him climbing when i am asleep but that is the middle of the night when the basking lamp is not on. I am feeding him in the tank for now since he seems so stressed. I will work on socializing him once the basics are taken care of.

He does like to hang out below the floating dock i have as my basking area. He stretches out and sticks his head up between the glass and the dock beneath the light. He is getting some heat but i don't believe that is exactly helping his shell

His tank is in my room. When i am not in it the door is shut.

Thanks for the advice

[ljapa]

He may be basking when you're not there, if he's that shy about food.

Put some pellets on the basking area. I'll bet they disappear.

[Matt1234]

Thank you for the advice and confirmation on what was going on. My RES (who I couldn't resist naming Raphael) is basking, eating in front of me and swimming up to the side of the tank to say hello now (after the initial jump into his hiding spot when I enter the room).

These forums overall have been a huge help on preparing and caring for my turtle.

[steve]

That's great to hear!