Feeding and Nutrition :: my baby RES won't eat!

[lildoraemon]

Hi,

New poster to this former.

I've brought my 3 RES from a pet store. They came in a healthy environment. I don't have a filter, heater nor a UV light for it yet, however I do change the water 1 to 2 days and put them in a warm environment and give them as much sunlight as possible. It's been 3 weeks since I first got them and 2 of them won't eat. It's really weird because they all have different personalities. The first one just moves around the tank and climbs on turtles. It's super active but I have not seen it eat. The second one just sleeps all day and won't eat either. The third one like to eat and hides under the dock all day long, unless it comes out for food. What I do is throw pellets into the water and let them eat, however recently I've been noticing that the third turtle might have been eating all the food. Since I have not seen the first and second one eat at all. I'm really concerned that they haven't ate since i bought them. So I've tried to feed them into a separate container, however they just go all crazy on me, like they are trying to escape. Once I put them back in the tank, they are fine and continues what they usually do. Most of the time, they stay on the top part of the dock and sleep. It seems like they have alot of energy even thought they aren't eating anything. I'm also not quite sure how often and how much to feed them. I'm not sure what I can do... someone please help me!

[steve]

Hi, welcome to the site.

How big are your RES and what are the water temperatures? Do you mean they came from a healthy environment? RES do need have certain basic necessities, and you do need to get the appropriate setup to allow your turtles to thrive.

As for feeding, you might have to feed them separately as it is common for one RES to outcompete others in the same tank. What's their diet like?

[lildoraemon]

they are around 1 1/2 inch or 4cm in diameter. The water temperature is around 23 - 25 degrees. Yea they came from a heathly environment. Well, I give them rocks, dock and water for now. I'm going to get the other stuff in a bit. I don't know what their diet is because 2 of them aren't eating. I've tried separating them when feeding them, however they refused to eat. I even tried to soak the pellets in tuna in water. They still refused. what should i do?

[steve]

Leave the one you want to feed in the main tank and take out the others. Try other things, like live feeders, boiled egg whites, etc... http://www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

[marisa]

They sound small (you measure the length of the shell down the spine from behind the neck to above the tail to get a more accurate measurement). The stress of being placed in a new environment often affects eating for a while. Since they're small, however, they're more sensitive to warmth and the water temp you gave sounds a little low. If they're getting sunlight through a window, they're not really benefiting except for getting a little warmth. Do some reading on what they need to create a good en enclosure for them.

If they're comfortable in the tank, feed each of them individually in the tank. You didn't say what kind of pellets you're giving them, but you might look for a smaller pellet like Reptomin Baby. Feed each about as much as you think would fit into just his empty head (not neck). You could also try some smelly foods---bits of tuna or sardines have worked well for me.