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Whats wrong with my turtle2007-11-24 2:03:55

I have a turtle that you can get for $5 including its cage and food. It is supposed to live for like a couple of days and then die, but my turtle is already 13months old. When i got it, it was oh say the size of a dollar coin(the big one) and now it is the size of a medium sized rock. Before, it could eat 5-6 pellets and now it hardly eats 3 pellets. Is it hibernating? It doesnt move a lot but i know it is alive. i have had another one of these turtles before and it also had a good appetite and then it just stopped eating and slept a lot. i thought it was dead so i threw it out and thought it died because i had dropped it once.

Can anyone help me? I really love this turtle, even though it is one of those small ones. :(

Answers:

It sounds like she has a Red Ear Slider from a stupid mall or flea market vendor and she has him in a "death bowl" otherwise known as a lagoon. Anyway, you were misinformed sweetie. It can grow very large if you give it proper care and it can certainly live a long time but only if you are a responsible owner and provide for it.

1.First, take him to a Herp Vet http://www.nytts.org/nytts/helpnet.htm.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vets_for_h.

2. Get rid of the death bowl and get him the largest tank you can afford. A good rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell BUT he will get larger so it just makes good sense if you buy big. If you can't afford a traditional tank, get a rubbermaid bin. For substrate, use river rocks larger than the turtles head or nothing. You probably have a slider so fill the tank. Your vet will confirm what you have though.