New to turtles...got one Red Ear Slider..please help me with its health..

[phani7789]

Hi All,
I am new to turtles world. One month back i have vrought Red Ear Slider turtle from a pet shop, kept it in a tank of 30cms length,10cms
width, 20cms height with a small basking area (with out any extra uv light),along with this i have put 4small size mollies fish..
they all were fine for one month, after one month the turtle stopped eating food n swimming in water, it satyed all the day in the basking
area and dont make any sound but for every 10minutes once it opened it mouth wide and raised it up(generally it use to make small sound all
the day).
i have asked the pet shop person about this and he gave me "Mr Green" drop saying it may be because of bacteria in water, asked us to put
5-7 drop evry time after aquarium cleanup. We did it like he said, but our turtle dead 4days back.
Now we brought a new Red Ear Slider turtle, Can anyone guide in the care to be taken. I have been thru many sites they have mention tipe
to be taken care off, i am following them like Arranging basking area, providing seperate turtle food, taking it and
put in sunlight for 10-15 min evry day..should i take care of any more thing??

NOTE:In my place in india we dont have any vet for animals, So i cant show my turtle to any vet, only shop keppers are the source of any medicines and even they are not completely aware of fishes or turtles.

 

[wellington]

Hello,and Welcome. Someone better versed in turtles should be on soon. Sorry about the loss of your turtle. Hopefully someone will be able to help you with your new one. Good luck.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

http://theturtleroom.com/blog/2012/04/27/commercial-foods-benefitsuses-staplessupplements/

 

[phani7789]

Hi Wellington Thanks for your kind words..
Hi Russian, Thanks for providing link, in India we dont have these many varieties of turtle food, we have normal fish food(Small red,green colored ball shaped) and one turtle food(1cm in length)..

 

[Yvonne G]

It sounds like your turtle has a respiratory infection (open mouth breathing, staying on dry land under the light).

 

[tglazie]

That shop keeper is taking you for a ride. Your turtle's problem arises from the fact that you don't have a water heater. A submersible aquarium heater is a must for keeping young turtles, I find. A friend of mine breeds yellowbellies, and the first ones he had were wild caughts that he kept outdoors. When he first successfully incubated the eggs, he put the babies in unheated tanks. Most of them died. When he started using an aquarium heater to warm the water, all of them lived. Babies in an unheated tank can't achieve the sort of temperature that exists in the wild. Also, use a filter. Filtration is the key to keeping down filth and anerobic bacteria, not magic green drops. Sorry this happened to you and your turtle. This sort of ignorance on the part of people selling these animals just makes me furious.

T.G.

 

[phani7789]

Yes Yvonne G, I too think the same...What is the medicine for this problem.? Is there any natural solution for this like kepping the turtle in Sun,,,,some thing like this...I am asking for natural solution since i cant get chemical medicine here.

 

[phani7789]

Hello TG, Thanks for you reply.
I will try to get a aquarium heater(if possible i can get one online site), untill then can i boil normal water on stove and put them in aquarium.I read in some post that the water temperature should be 70-75F...Is it correct??
It would be appreciable if you come up with Temperature related stats..
Thanks in advance

 

[tglazie]

Yes, just make sure to get an aquarium heater that is the proper wattage for the volume of your tank. For young ones like that, I generally find 75-78 is good for a water temperature. By boil water, I assume you mean make the water warm, given that we wouldn't want to boil the turtle. But ultimately, this is a time consuming pain to be constantly trying to heat the water with the stove. A submersible heater is definitely the way to go. I use one of the unbreakable type, given that the glass ones will eventually become too delicate to be used with an adult turtle.

Make sure that the water is deep enough. The turtle should be able to swim. And make sure it has a haul out area. For the little ones, the turtle docks sold by zoomed are probably most ideal. You can find these online as well.

T.G.

 

[phani7789]

My tank length is 20*size of turtle, width 7*size of turtle, height 10*size of turtle..
Is it good enough for the turtle?? and basking area is 4*size of turtle....