I have some concern about my son's new pet turtle. It just sits in the water and hides under it's dock. It never goes on top of the dock to dry out. I hardly see it eat or swim. I just don't know what to do. Any suggestions?????????????
Maybe his cage is in a location with too much activity around. He might like a quiet corner so he is more hidden. It sounds like he's hiding all the time. Maybe he needs some excitement. Do you feed live food (crickets, etc)? Then he'll have to give chase. Good luck!
If the turtle has webbed feet, then it is a type of water turtle and will like to be in/out of the water. If it does not have webbed feet, it is a land turtle and will just need a bowl of water to drink out of. The most important thing with turtles is the need for heat and UV light in order to digest their food. Turtles are cold blooded, therefore they seek heat from at outside source such as the sun. When indoors, you must set up two types of light: a heat lamp and a UV lamp such as a Vita-Light. They need both in order to survive. Also, for diet it is important that your turtle gets lots of veggies as well as protein, such as crickets or canned dog food. Do not give them iceberg lettuce, but any other veggie will work. You can try the frozen mixed veggies (thawed out) or fresh fruits/veggies. If you make sure you provide the correct light and food, your turtle should thrive indoors. You can email me at ____@____.com if you have any more questions!
Our turtle did that at first, I guess she was just shy but right now she tend to sleep during the winter then perks up in the summer. Also try checking the temp. of the water, if its too cold then turtles tend to keep still more. Hope that helps.
I am not sure what type of turtle you have or if you have it indoors or outdoors. We have had numerous turtles that we mostly keep outdoors. Most of our turtles have been land turtles and they usually hibernate in the winter. Some of them will dig in to the ground and we won't see them til Spring, others will just slow down and only come out occasionally. I agree with the other posts about the turtle needing to adapt and also, they do have different personalities. We have had very "friendly" outgoing turtles, but most are shy and withdrawn.
If you have the turtle indoors, do you have a special "reptile lamp?" The turtles that we kept indoors became sick and died, if we did not have a reptile lamp. Or you can take them outside some every day. They need sunlight or they become vitamin deficient. Mine would begin by getting swollen eyes that would eventually swell shut. Hope that is helpful. Good Luck!
What kind of turtle is it? My 6 year old daughter has an Asian Box Turtle and it behaved very similarly when we first brought it home. It still really likes to be in the water, under its basking rock with just its head sticking out of the water and sometimes fully submerged. I looked them up on the web and article after article said that Asian Box Turtles were very aquatic. Ours will come out to eat and now that it is colder it will bask on its rock more often. If you are concerned, just make sure you take your turtle out of the tank to exercise and dry off. Sometimes I just take ours out to feed. That way the turtle gets some exercise and the tank stays cleaner longer :) (cleaning the tank can be quite a chore.) Let's face it, turtles are not the most exciting pets. Once my daughter realized that the turtle wouldn't come when called, play with toys or learn tricks, her turtle became my turtle. I would suggest that you look up the type of turtle that you have on the internet and get suggestions for care and behavior there. That was very reassuring to me.
Buy it a another turtle!
We had pet turtles almost all the time when I was a kid...my dad worked (and we lived) at a fish hatchery. We rescued them all the time. We had mostly red eared sliders. They all have different personalities. Some were on the mean side, some were fast, some slow, some shy, etc. I would think that it is probably just a little scared since he is new to your home. He probably gets out more when no one is around. Is the food still floating in the water in whole pieces when you go back later? If not, he probably just eats in private :) Just give it time. Hopefully he'll come around. Oh, and another word of advice...if you take him outside and let him crawl in the dirt or grass, he will probably be faster than you think and could dig out of any kind of little fence you put up. I have lost a few pet turtles this way. Good luck, and have fun!
I wanted to say thank you to everyone who gave you advice because I was having the same problem with our turtle. I purchased a light for him, and now he comes out from under his rock more often. Hope your turtle is doing well too.
Daphne H. had the best advice. You should definitely email her. I was going to mention what she said: Turtles are cold-blooded. They can't warm up their own bodies in order to get moving, get active. Need outside heat source - - a warm basking spot - - like a flat rock under a heat lamp. Also, if they don't get the proper UV, or ultraviolet, light rays at the same wavelength as that from the Sun, I've heard that they can't make/process calcium (???) and get soft shells, go blind, die.
