Hey, I have a pet turtle, lol. I have had him for about half a year now, he's my lil' bby.. and I am in complete love with himmm. But lately he's been acting weird.. He's not eating right, he's sleeping a lot, and he's very dry.. I try to keep his tank a lil' dirty, but a lil' clean for the "real life affect", is that wrong? Lol. And I also feed him cooked chicken, NO SEASON.. and lettuce, and sometimes some fruit, I believe that was great, cause he ate it every time, I feed him once a day, and some say I should only feed him every three days.. can you give me some more insight on all of this? Lol. Thanks to all that help! :]

Hi Mandy. Sadly I don't know anything about turtles. It's illegal to own them where I live so I've never had the pleasure of even holding one, much less having one as a pet.

I would recommend going to a vet but I think you're going to have a hard time finding one that specializes in turtles, or even knows anything about them. They're considered an exotic pet.

I can do some research for you but that will take a few days because, especially because I'd want to make sure that the info I'm getting is reputable and true.

Please check back often, maybe someone will come along that has experience with turtles.

I wish you luck and I'd love to see pictures if you're willing to post them. :)

He might be hibernating. Is it real cold in his tank? If you let the temp. drop during winter time, they tend to go into hibernation.

That's just a guess... Its been so long since I've taken care of turtles. You might want to try contacting a pet store. If you stay away from the chain stores, and go with the "mom and Pop" shops, you'll get a pretty good answer.

But I'm pretty sure he might be trying to hibernate... in which case, don't bother him. Just bring up the temp. again

I have a turtle and they are great, I also have a friend that is an aquatics specialist so I'm lucky in that respect too because it is near impossible to find anyone that knows much about them.


What type of turtle do you have?

What you are feeding it shouldn't be a problem, sounds good to me although I regularly stick with the recommended bought stuff and a little veg.

The tank needs to have some of their own natural bacteria in it so cleaning it all, including stones; which keep a friendly bacteria culture is not recommended all the time so you were right there. But every so often, I do it maybe once a month or every 6 weeks, everything should be removed and cleaned.

Turtles are hardy animals but they are also solitary animals who don't enjoy too much change in their environment so try to avoid changing the internals of the tank. Also try to lift him as little as possible. There is a possibility that he is hibernating, as wild turtles do, but if there was no change in his surroundings this is unlikely I think.

At this I am assuming that you have the proper conditions for him (you sound like you love him very much so I'm guessing but just in case) a basking area, pool area, sufficient tank space and filter, water heater, basking lamp etc. yes?

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Originally Posted by neverme

At this I am assuming that you have the proper conditions for him (you sound like you love him very much so I'm guessing but just in case) a basking area, pool area, sufficient tank space and filter, water heater, basking lamp etc., yes?

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I have everything listed except the water heater, my local store told it's not completely neccecary, but I would HAVE to have a basking, which I do.. lol. And yes I truly love him. I do have rock, a pool area, and a baxking area.. I set up a log like structure that hang slightley above the water, not too high as to hurt him.. and I have a 'hill' like structure of rocks, that decline as you get furture into the water..

The hybernation idea sounds to be a good explination, but I also question it, cause he does wake up every here and again, and never sleeps in the same place..

SOME Info Asked..

He's a painted Turtle,
I rescued him when he was a baby, he was basically dying on the side of the road, and I took him and fed him, with the intention of releasing him back after he got healthier, but I he seemed to be happy and I loved himm! I call my local store, as said before.. and they said it's okay because he was very young, and it's not a 'BIG' transition, so I did keep him.. I live in a warm summer, cold winter state.. and it is quite cold here right now, and until it started to get cold, he was honestly the hapiest lil' turtle! :DD

I think you would be better off investing in a water heater they are not that expensive and if you buy them from eBay they are next near nothing!

I know with my turtle, a yellow bellied slider it is absolutely essential to have a heater, I'm not sure for yours though.

I found this link

Western New York Herpetological Society

And it seems to me that a heater is needed.

I only had a quick look at the sight but it seems good, to me. I'll keep looking around and see what I can find.

Also you can buy turtle vitamins from your pet store you may think of this, but a word of warning, read the instructions very carefully my friend had a guy come once to feed his tropical fish, that he had for fifteen years! and give them a once a week vitamin, he gave it once a day.

Not good, came home to an empty tank :(

Wow, that helps so muchhh! Thank you! :]

Not at all, glad to help :D