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Thread: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

  1. #1
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    Exclamation Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

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    Hi guys,

    I'm a new owner of a baby RES I bought on 21st July. Since then, my RES had not been eating.. till date only seen it eat like 5 times. I tired various method. I soaked pallets from zoomed and nutrafin into tuna water .. dry shrimps(ate the first time i feed it and subsequently ignoring it).. it all didn't work ..

    I saw from a lot of forum saying that most of the RES that people owned are always begging for food.. however my RES is like always sleeping on the basking dock, and seldom go down to the water ..

    My RES is about 5 cm long. Whenever i feed him i'll pick him up and put him in a different container to feed. Sometimes i have to "wake him up" if not he will just stay still closing the eye ..

    He had always been like this since i bought him..

    I'm not sure what to do. Can anyone please help and advise me.

  2. #2
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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Hi Nachocheese,

    I think I can help (used to keep 2 RES until they died of old age)

    I need some additional information,

    1) How much sunlight/warmth is it receiving?
    2) It is still excreting faeces even when you don't notice it eating?
    3) Are its eyes cloudy? (a whitish thin film over its eyeballs)
    4) Does it have any problem swimming? How big is its tank and what is the quality of the water? Terrapins require very heavy filtration to maintain good water
    5) Where did you buy it from? Was the living conditions in the shop healthy? Many shops here overcrowd RES in order to maintain highest cost-profit-space ratio
    "something smells fishy."

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Also, was your 'tuna water' a spelling mistake?
    "something smells fishy."

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Hi Grey,

    1) How much sunlight/warmth is it receiving? - Everyday after work i'll let him bask with a 25w UVB light around 20cm from his shell.
    2) It is still excreting faeces even when you don't notice it eating? - Nope, BUT sometimes there's some white thing around his tails.
    3) Are its eyes cloudy? (a whitish thin film over its eyeballs) - Nope, looks normal and not swollen.
    4) Does it have any problem swimming? How big is its tank and what is the quality of the water? Terrapins require very heavy filtration to maintain good water - I don't have a water filter.. i change water every 3 days. Had not bought anti-chlorine too, any recommendation ? My tank is not very big .. bought from PLC along with a basking platform..
    5) Where did you buy it from? Was the living conditions in the shop healthy? Many shops here overcrowd RES in order to maintain highest cost-profit-space ratio - I bought at clementi blk 328.. turtle was sell in a pail outside the shop.. not a lot of turtle was on sale in the shop though.

    Please see my reply in red...

    Thanks!

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Quote Originally Posted by grey View Post
    Also, was your 'tuna water' a spelling mistake?
    Nope, i saw from some website that to entice eating that's one of the method to soak the pallets in canned tuna water... thats what i did

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Quote Originally Posted by nachocheese View Post
    Nope, i saw from some website that to entice eating that's one of the method to soak the pallets in canned tuna water... thats what i did
    Hey Nachocheese, I would recommend that you immediately cease soaking the pellets in the canned tuna water. They often contain high levels of salt (sodium) and mercury, it also might be a little bit too fatty for the terrapin's digestive tract (like any other animal, juveniles have more sensitive stomachs)

    To encourage feeding, perhaps you could try feeding live foods like chopped earthworms or baby crickets. If you are unsure about how to feed live foods, you can also try uncooked whitebait (your ikan bilis, just raw, can buy from any wet market or supermarket, remember to wash it with water first), and also small chopped pieces of raw prawn/shrimp. Do also remember to supplement it with fresh pesticide-free veggies (iceberg lettuce has very little nutritional content but somehow terrapins and tortoise love them, you can try it to encourage eating) You can also try adding water plants (hydrilla, duckweed) to the tank and see whether it nibbles at the plants to rule out the possibility that he just dislikes his current food.

    Light-wise, I am guessing that means it receives the UVB light at night? If it already receives ample sunlight during the day, the UVB light at night will be a tad overkill. If it doesnt receive enough sunlight in the day, consider setting the uvb light on a programmed timer so it mimics the natural day/night settings, using a night viewing light (exoterra has a few good options, though pricey if you buy retail in Singapore) for your viewing pleasure after you get home from work.

    The whitish skin thing might be fungus, but cannot be accurately diagnosed without photos, fungus infection is caused by poor water quality, I did not use anti-chlorine when i kept my RES as they were in a pond and the chlorine evaporates fast enough, what are the dimensions of the tank and the water depth? Do give it the biggest space you can afford. C328 has very good tank options at reasonable prices.

    Do also provide photos if possible! i hope the little guy is doing better.
    "something smells fishy."

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Hello Grey, thank you so much for your prompt reply.

    I will try those raw prawn and earthworms .. but i have no idea why is my RES not going down the water at all.. and usually i have to like bring him down in fear of him getting too dry. BTW which shop do you frequent at C328 ? There's a lot of shops and not sure which will be more reliable ..

    The tank is small .. 20cm by 18 cm.. thought it will be sufficient as its the first time owning a turtle

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    Quote Originally Posted by nachocheese View Post
    Hello Grey, thank you so much for your prompt reply.

    I will try those raw prawn and earthworms .. but i have no idea why is my RES not going down the water at all.. and usually i have to like bring him down in fear of him getting too dry. BTW which shop do you frequent at C328 ? There's a lot of shops and not sure which will be more reliable ..

    The tank is small .. 20cm by 18 cm.. thought it will be sufficient as its the first time owning a turtle
    No problem at all Nachocheese, hmm.. what does your little guy do if you plop him in to the water? is your water room temperature? if the water is too cold (too near the air-con), it might affect as well.

    The tank size is currently fine for its size but do take note that you will have to upgrade quite soon as these guys grow big and fast if it is happy, mine grew to the size of my face, and i have a pretty huge face, to compensate for the tank size, you can do frequent water changes or install a filter, a cheap hang on back filter will suffice for now.

    I usually visit all the shops, but mostly buy from the one right beside the coffeeshop (the oldest looking one, when facing the front of the block, the one at the extreme right), because they bring in the fishes i like (wild bettas),

    Are you able to take any photos and share it here?
    "something smells fishy."

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    Re: Baby RES / Terrapin Help !

    oh yeah, is your little guy very shy? does it retract itself in the shell and stay in that position most of the time?

    Another cause might be the basking dock might be leaching some kind of chemical... but that is very very rare
    "something smells fishy."

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