Frequently Asked Heath Questions:

Frequently Asked Heath Questions:

Q My turtle won’t eat, what should I do?

A This is normal for a few days in a new environment. Try favorite foods, if unknown try live foods like crickets, worms and snails. Also try some greens like Duckweed. Raise temperatures to sick turtle levels. Get vitamins into him with vitamin baths. Make sure they have proper UV lighting, this will help stimulate their appetite. Give them regular day and night cycles, with a day period of not less than 14 hours. To make sure they can get uninterrupted sleep, if you keep them in an area heavily traveled at night, cover the tank with a dry but dark cloth. If this goes on longer then two weeks or other symptoms are present, such as puffy eyes or open mouth breathing, it may be a more serious problem and they should be taken to a good herp vet. For more information please read the Sick Turtle Guidelines.
_____________________________________________________________

Q My turtle will only eat the shrimp treats, how do I get them to eat pellets?

A First try to only offer the pellets hopefully after a few days they will be hungry enough to eat the pellets. If they still won’t eat you can try to dampen the pellets and roll them in ground up shrimp. That way it smells like shrimp and they should eat it. You can also try making your own pellets. Here is a recipe for homemade pellets:

LittleMusk’s homemade pellet recipe:
Grind up the shrimp, (and/or krill) and food pellets.
Mix them together
Add liquid or powder vitamins and calcium
Mix in enough water to make a paste.
Make small pellets out of the paste
Let dry.
_____________________________________________________________

Q My turtle won’t bask, what is wrong?

A First what kind of turtle is it? Musk and Mud turtles don’t really bask much so this is normal. Is it new to its environment? Sometimes it takes a while for them to feel safe enough to bask. Some things you can do is tape some paper to the side of the tank around the basking spot or hang plants there to give them more privacy. What are the water and basking temperatures? For most turtles the water temp should be 75 - 80 degs F and the basking spot 89 - 95 degs F. If the water is too warm they won’t bask.
_____________________________________________________________

Q My turtle has white spots on it’s shell, what is it?

A It may be shell rot, fungus or just hard water deposits. Please read the Sick Turtle Guidelines.
_____________________________________________________________

Q My turtle is swimming sideways and/or can’t dive down, what’s wrong with him?

A This is a sign of a Repertory Infection. Get them to a good herp vet ASAP, they need antibiotics to get better. Please read the Sick Turtle Guidelines.
_____________________________________________________________

Q My turtle has a lot of loose skin peeling off is this normal?

A Yes it is normal for skin to shed. If it seems to be excessive or the skin has a funny color or smell you should take them to a good herp vet.
_____________________________________________________________

Q How do I tell the sex of my turtle?

A It is hard to sex them if they are under 4 inches big.
Males have longer tails
Males have longer front toe nails
Some species the males have dished plastron
Females usually get bigger then males
Some females will have larger heads
____________________________________________________________

Q My turtle’s eyes are puffy or swollen, is this ok?

A It could be a sign of a vitamin A deficiency, a respiratory infection, or with box turtles it could be due to low humidity. Please read the Sick Turtle Guidelines.