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Hello! My turtle is acting funny. He's been moving funny lately. He moves his head fast, scratches his eyes, and kicks his feet in the water. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong with him? :/ Also, does he look healthy and do his poops look normal? I have recorded videos and taken pictures of him so you guys could see him, his tank, and what he's doing.







This is a close up video of him. He knew he was being watched so he didn't do those weird twitchy movements as much as he does when I'm watching him from a distance.


I recorded this video when I was further away and zoomed in so you could see him. I figured it would be better to take a video of him further away so he didn't feel watched and would act more natural. He does the weird head bob/twitch/foot thing enough times to make me think "what the heck?!" and it does not look normal.


Any suggestions/recommendations on what I should do?

It's mostly normal behavior when basking. Even head twitches, though I don't think it happens as often. You might want to cut down on the food a bit and look into a larger tank. Welcome to the site!

steve wrote:It's mostly normal behavior when basking. Even head twitches, though I don't think it happens as often. You might want to cut down on the food a bit and look into a larger tank. Welcome to the site!

Thank you for the advice! Another question I have is: Does he need a filter and a light? He hasn't had a filter or a light. We just keep his tank by the window. My boyfriend has had him for about 6-8 years and he says he's 6-8 years old because he was significantly smaller when he got him.

I've been reading about red-eared sliders and I read some people say you pretty much need a filter if you don't wash the tank every 3 days or so. We change the water once every 7-12 days and we suck his poops out with a turkey baster to keep the water clean lol. Is this detrimental to his health?

Thanks again! This site seems really helpful and I like reading other users' posts

he definitely needs bigger accommodations so he can swim around more. If you do buy a bigger tank, water changes will be more difficult so you would definitely wanna get a filter for the larger tank. Most recommendations I have read for turtles is buy a filter 2x-3x larger then the gallons the tank will hold. As for UVB and Heat lamps I can't comment. I am fairly new to pet turtle ownership. But from my novice eyes his shell looks really good.. Its not soft at all is it??

unclejoe wrote:he definitely needs bigger accommodations so he can swim around more. If you do buy a bigger tank, water changes will be more difficult so you would definitely wanna get a filter for the larger tank. Most recommendations I have read for turtles is buy a filter 2x-3x larger then the gallons the tank will hold. As for UVB and Heat lamps I can't comment. I am fairly new to pet turtle ownership. But from my novice eyes his shell looks really good.. Its not soft at all is it??

Thanks for the help! No, his shell isn't soft. It's hard. Actually, you can't really tell because it is barely noticeable but near the edge of the left side of his shell, it is slightly concave. He recently got that after he had problems with his left eye. His eye would be irritated and closed. We couldn't get him to the vet so we gave him eye drops and eventually it got better. His eyes look great now but I do wonder from time to time if it's alright that he got that slight dip in his shell and if it'll get back to normal. Besides that spot, his shell is good

I don't what to tell you about that since Phil is our first pet turtle and we have only had him a few months.. But I know in my research of turtles that I have read that glass cuts down on the amount of UVB, but your guy looks awlfully good for just window sunlight. I am curious to see what more experienced owners say, but I have put Philbert"s new tank under the window as well, cause I just want him to have the feel of natural light. Now I am wondering if he may also get some benefit from its UV rays. Yes more algae to keep up with but I just like how he looks and acts having real sun rays to swim around and bask in.

I don't know where you live but if funds are tight.. Petco and Petsmart have dollar a gallon sales up to 55g and lately I have been noticing really great deals on tanks and stands on Craigslist..

Did you use an antibiotic eye drop medication. I know I have some here from Canada and I have used them on the ferrets and dogs before.. Just curious..

Unless he is in an outdoor pond, then yes he needs light (+UVB), water filtration, and a water heater. Looks like there has been some irregular growth but his shell should get much better with the correct diet and after a few sheds.

No significant amount of UVB goes through normal glass. I do think they like being under some sun... the warm color and warmth is hard to beat.

unclejoe wrote:I don't what to tell you about that since Phil is our first pet turtle and we have only had him a few months.. But I know in my research of turtles that I have read that glass cuts down on the amount of UVB, but your guy looks awlfully good for just window sunlight. I am curious to see what more experienced owners say, but I have put Philbert"s new tank under the window as well, cause I just want him to have the feel of natural light. Now I am wondering if he may also get some benefit from its UV rays. Yes more algae to keep up with but I just like how he looks and acts having real sun rays to swim around and bask in.

I don't know where you live but if funds are tight.. Petco and Petsmart have dollar a gallon sales up to 55g and lately I have been noticing really great deals on tanks and stands on Craigslist..

Did you use an antibiotic eye drop medication. I know I have some here from Canada and I have used them on the ferrets and dogs before.. Just curious..

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely check out Petco and Petsmart! These are the eye drops that I used:




He would flinch when I gave him the eye drops but they made his eyes better!

Another question I have: is it better to feed a turtle small amounts of food everyday or is it better to feed a larger portion every other day? (I saw in another forum post that some people feed their turtle small amounts of food everyday)

This is the food that he eats:

The ingredients are pellets, cranberries, mealworms, and dried shrimp. On the back of the food, it says, "This food is formulated for aquatic turtles with a minimum shell length of 2 inches (5cm) or larger. Spoon out one level teaspoon of food per turtle. Let turtles feed for a minimum of one hour. If your turtles eat all of their food in a short time, you may want to increase the food amount to one tablespoon or more per feeding. Feed turtles every other day (four times per week)."

I fed my turtle 2 dried shrimp, 5 mealworms, and 5 pellets about an hour ago. He ate it within 5 minutes and seems to love his food. Usually I give him more because he eats a teaspoon of food under 15 minutes but I decided to feed him less based on Steve's recommendations. I transfer him to a container so his tank doesn't get as dirty. Before today, the last time he ate was two days ago. I didn't count how much he ate but it was a good amount of food. (Maybe about 10 pellets, 6 mealworms, 6 shrimp.) Now he's back in his tank basking and he's not doing those fast movements not nearly as much like he did yesterday.

You can do either, I use small amounts everyday since they sort of expect it.

steve wrote:You can do either, I use small amounts everyday since they sort of expect it.

Okay cool Thanks!