Help for baby Amazon water turtles

[Ku-Ku's Mom]

Hi everyone. Just joined the Avenue & we have a TAG, Ku-Ku. I have a question about my son's pair of Amazon water turtles. We have only had them for a week. They don't seem to be eating? They swim around alot & seem healthy. We are feeding them AquaFin turtle food. We have them in a large, glass fish bowl with a rock for drying out on & rock gravel on the bottom. Is it normal for them to not eat alot? Maybe they are eating when I am not seeing? Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[Ku-Ku's Mom]

No replies yet...anyone know? Thanks

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

I do not know any thing about turttles but hope they are eating while you are not around

 

[Greycloud]

Jennifer, can you post pics so we can see what they look like? Are they wild caught? It may just be stress from if so. Maybe they would do better with live food. Many turtles here eat live feeder goldfish. Poor fish. The circle of life though.

 

[waterfaller1]

I think they should eat readily every day once or twice. First, are you changing the water frequently? Turtles are very messy, and in such a small container the water will foul quickly. Please use a dechlorinating liquid such as Prime by Seachem to remove chlorine or chloramines. I would also suggest you get a reasonable tank and set it up for them. No turtle remains small enough to be kept in a bowl, and as I said, the water will be very challenging to keep clean

Here are some turtle forums that look decent
Turtle Times Forums
Turtle Forum.com

 

[BethySue]

I agree with Carole. Get them a proper set up--a tank with a filter and the proper lights, both heat and a UVB bulb, as well as a heater. I'm not familiar with a turtle called Amazon water turtle. Do you have any pictures of them? How big are they? How much water do they have in the bowl they are in? Water turtles have to be in the water when they eat so that they can swallow.

When I first got my two African sideneck turtles, one of them ate without any problems, but the other one preferred food that sunk. She has since gotten over that and will now eat food that floats. That is the only trouble I've had with any of my three turtles eating.

In addition to the two forums Carole listed, I recommend checking out Austin's Turtle Page. The Turtle Forum is connected to that page and that site has a lot of helpful information.

 

[Ku-Ku's Mom]

Thank you all so much for the links & advice. Sadly, they didn't make it. They both died. We were planning on keeping them in the fish bowl until they grew & then setting up a tank with a filter & lights for them. I was changing the water, daily. They were the size of a half dollar. I don't have any pictures to post but they looked like red-eared slider turtles without the red line on the face. Instead, they had a yellow line. I will try to look for the dechlorinating water product. In the past, we had a 50 gallon tank with angel fish & neons. They were with us for years. I feel terrible...I went back to the pet store & the few turtles that were left, were dead...so I think that from the start, they were going downhill.

We will try again but from a different store. Thanks again for all of the help

 

[BethySue]

Aw, I'm sorry they didn't make it.

I would try to get turtles a little bigger. It always seems to me that the really little babies are more delicate. Also, put them in a tank from the beginning--no need to wait for them to get bigger. Make sure they have a UVB light, a heat light, a basking spot, a filter, and a water heater. Good luck with the new turtles when you decide to get them.

 

[expressmailtome]

I am sorry that they died.

Matt