baby missisipi map turtle not eating

by ali

i have had him for about a week he is kept in a 20 gallon long tank 1/3 full uvb and uva bulb basking area is 83 degrees and water temp is 79 he is also kept with a yellow bellyed slider who is slightly bigger when i feed them i put in the pellets ,sliced carrotts etc in the tank and the yellow belly eats right away but the secound the map turtle sees me he runs away and hides in the corner and does not eat i have tried taking him out and feeding him seperatley but thi doesn't work. they are both healthy and bask each day is it that the map is still settling in or is there something i am doing wrong the yellow belly settled inn after 4 days and is eating but the map is not the map is active untill i eneter the room he gets scared please give me any tips you have


many thanks

Comments for baby missisipi map turtle not eating

Click here to add your own comments

Sep 10, 2009
 Baby Mississipi Map Turtle Not Eating
by: Susan

Hi, the basking dock could be warmer, 90 degrees. They are very good aquatic swimmers, half the tank filled with water, temp is fine.. break up part of cuttlebone in water for calcium,remove outer shell.
Make sure water is kept. very clean, have water checks at pet store, weekly or do the kits yourself. We have a 5 month old map in a 20 gallon tank, we bought him a month ago, very shy, took about 4 days to get used to us...started to feed him by softening the (HALF) pellets first, and broke in half.. hand fed in water...also eats out of his floating log. now we just break pellet in half, and feed him and he eats it right away....we have a separate smooth rock for him to climb on, as well as basking area..He might be intimidated by slider, so I would try to hand feed him while slider is eating on his own..as slider might be intimidating him since Maps are more shy....get a floating log, put food in there for slider to eat, while hand feeding the map, maybe that will work.....they like the floating log. maybe you could send more information to me, how old they are, did you get them at the same place and time. Now my map gets the wardley pellets fortified with calcium, and he loves them. tried a bit of apple so far, but he is a bit young, but loves the calcium pieces...if you want to send me more info my email is s-u-s-a-n1@rogers.com ....I hoped some of this helped.

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Ask Your Turtle or Tortoise Question.