All Turtles Message Board

sesame · Level 1 Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 11

hi! first of all, this message board is great!

i just got a new baby RES at Chinatown in Chicago on Sunday and have been reading up on how to make him happy. his (or her?) name is Sesame. my first pet in years!

i bought him in a small travel tank (8"x4" or so), and have transferred him temporarily to a rubbermaid shoebox with water, some rocks, and a hiding place. i'm moving on Saturday, and plan on getting him a turtle dock for his new 20 gallon home.

after braving Chicago public transportation it's probably a wonder he's still alive right now. but he's also pretty stressed out because of my packing and moving this weekend should be hectic too.

my biggest concern is he hasn't eaten since i got him, though i try to put a turtle pellet in his makeshift home each day, and yesterday put in some carrot and just added a piece of melon. he has no interest in any of it and it's worrying me! is this normal? how long will he be ok for without eating? i hope to have Sesame for a long while so i'm doing everything i can!

and and all advice is appreciated! thanks!

Debby and Sesame

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

Right now since he is still fairly new to his enviroment he will not eat. Instead of putting him a 20 gal home. Buy one of the biggerrubbermaid containers this way you can save for a bigger tank when you get settled down in your new place. Alot of people on here have thieir turtles in a rubbermaid.
Since he is still a baby I do believe that he is not ready for fruits and veggies.
http://www.allturtles.com/care_sheets/water_turtle_carefeeding.php
Check out this link for feeding. And welcome to the board.

dixieee · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:44 am Post subject:

welcome to the board debbs Smile

sesame is a cute name for a baby turtle! Very Happy

ok so like turtle_grl77 said, it is normal that he doesn't eat for the first week or two but u can try with smelly food like tuna and by giving him some darkness and privacy.

enjoy the little guy and if u have anything to say, ask, share..make sure that u do it Smile

btw, got pix for little sesame?
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

trtlduv · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:15 am Post subject:

Welcome to the board! Dixieee's right, Sesame is a great name for a baby turt!! I love it! We'd love to see pix! Laughing

_________________
shade & sweetwater!

sesame · Level 1 Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 11

the 20 gal tank i'm getting is free, so i'm going to go ahead and put Sesame in and wait for him to grow. what do i need for the tank? i'm going to go get one of those turtle docks, but how about a filter or a water heater or a UVB lamp? any suggestions?

thanks all for your advice!

Debby and Sesame

dixieee · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:51 pm Post subject:

ok that's a nice deal Very Happy

a floating turtle dock is good, it saves up space since he can swim under. u will need a UV bulb (make sure it is UVA+UVB cz both are essential, a heat bulb which is a normal bulb but i'm not sure about the watts, a filter (if u're not planning to make daily water changes) and it should be 4x the tank's size cz they're made for fish and turtles are much messier, a water heater to make sure that temps stay stable (in the high 80's F), and hmm i guess that's it.

did u read the caresheets above? u'll find all the info u need there Smile

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

hoover05 · Level 3 Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 137

I personally suggest that people try lunchmeat before tuna. It doesn't make the water so yucky. That's what I started my turtle out on. But still offer her some veggies and pellets every day.

Not eating is normal. I think it was at least a week or so until mine ate... as soon as I found out about the lunchmeat trick I tried it and she ate it right away!

Simply get a little chunk (sliced thin, if possible, to make it easy on your little turt) like 1/2 the size of your turtles head. Then rinse it off lightly to remove the extra grease and put it inside the container... Try to put it in a place where she can see it really easily. I say half the size of your turtles head because yours is only little and I'm not sure how well little turts are at chopping things apart. Mine knows how to get the lunchmeat apart if I give her a peace that is to big Laughing

How deep is the water you have her in now?

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
_________________
I love my turtle....

My wonderful sister payed out the wazoo to get me her so I guess I better love her Smile

sesame · Level 1 Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 11

hi! i'll try the lunchmeat trick as soon as i get Sesame settled into his new home.

right now i have about an inch of water in there, just because i don't have enough rocks for a proper area for sesame to get out of the water if he wants. i'm going to buy the turtle dock, water filter, and possibly water heater tomorrow, and i'm moving Saturday and going to set up Sesame's new tank as soon as i get everything into my apartment.

i feel really bad traumatizing poor little Sesame with my move. he seems really stressed out. he's always trying to swim out of his cage and he's sleeping a lot. is this normal? i'm hoping he'll be better once he has a nice 20 gal tank to swim about in.

i'll post as soon as i set up and let you all know how it goes!

Debby and Sesame

turtbert · Level 3 Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 272

bloodworm is brilliant for little turtles too mine have all loved it and you can get it in most aquatic centres, make sure its the frozen variety and not the freeze dried though! Wink

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

Trying to swim out of the tank is normal. Mine have tried it for the year or so that I have had them.

billz · Level 1 Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Chicago, IL

HEY I just bought a turtle from Chinatown Square in Chicago too! I'm still trying to find a good tank, lighting, and food for it.

trtlduv · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:32 am Post subject:

Congrats on your new turt, billz!!
_________________
shade & sweetwater!

sesame · Level 1 Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 11

hey that's great! just read up on this mailing list to see what to do with the little guy - everyone on here has been a big help figuring out what to do with the new baby - i come on here to ask my questions first!

which of course i have a couple more of. Smile

after almost a week, Sesame has definitely begun eating! now i put him in his separate little travel tank (to reduce waste in his big tank) with some broken up pellets and bloodworms that i bought yesterday and he gobbles them up. i was going to go buy some romaine lettuce today, too, and see how he likes that. i put in 3 pellets and 8-10 bloodworms this morning and yesterday. is that a good amount to feed him? he seems to now like the worms better than the pellets. should i feed him once or twice a day? maybe i should feed him pellets once a day and worms once a day? is there anything else critical to his diet that i should be including?

i've called a couple pet stores too looking for things, and i've gotten mixed opinions on the necessity of a UVA/UVB light. Sesame is in his tank in a corner of the room that gets quite a bit of sunlight during the day (provided it's sunny out), and i've heard this is enough. others say that i absolutely need a separate bulb (which is expensive!). so what do you all think?

thanks!

Debby and Sesame

trtlduv · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:54 am Post subject:

I'm not sure about the feeding questions, my turt is already an adolescent! Crying or Very sad

She eats every other day. I think you're turt likes the bloodworms best because they're available.... he's getting spoiled! teehee! We like to do that to em! Maybe try just the pellets, and you can put some romaine in the tank if you're worried he's not eating enough.

As for the light, yes, it is imperitave that he have a UVa/UVb light, even if the part of the room he's in gets sunny, he's not getting the rays because glass will filter it. If you are able to take him out into direct sunlight every day then you won't need the light, but if you can't then it's best to purchase one. Yep, they're expensive, but it's a must for a healthy turt!

Hope this helps... someone else will know more about the feeding ?'s you have so hang in there!! Laughing

_________________
shade & sweetwater!

dixieee · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:06 pm Post subject:

glad to know sesame started adapting Very Happy

mealworms should be given as treats (no more than twice a week). pellets are the basic diet and babies also need meats (tuna, fish, boiled/grilled chicken and turkey, cooked meat,...) also as treats. u can add romaine but i doubt he'll give it any attention. try slices of carrot though, he might like that more.

like trtlduv said, it should be unfiltered sunlight so if u can open the window and screen it'll be ok but u'll also have to put him in another heat-proof container cz aquariums get too hot for them.
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u