RES Soft Shell

[peckster]

I have a Red Eared Slider hatchling. He was born a few months ago and his shell is flexible. He basks for a few hours a day and i have a heating lamp in there and when he is basking his shell is firmer after basking. I did a little research and i heard mostly that it is due to an insuffient diet. I have tried almost all foods except for live food and the only thing he will eat is lettuce! Any suggestions?

[AndiJ78]

No lettuce, none at all. It is nutritionally devoid and takes more calories to eat and digest than it gives back. Start by putting a calcium block in the water to nibble on, even a cuttle bone sold in the bird section broken up into pieces will work. Get a good commercial diet that is balanced, but that should still only make up 25% of the diet. At this age they eat more meat than veggies, so live feeder fish (they have really small ones out there), freeze dried feeders like crickets/mealworms, dandelion greens, kale, earthworms, guppies, and the like. We also treat ours with krill or bloodworms every once in a while.

How hot is the basking area? How hot is the water? Do you have the UVA/UVB bulb (strip light, not coil) in addition to the heat source?