my husband and i found a baby painted turtle. he is no bigger then a quarter, so i assume that it is a hatchling. being the turtle lover that my husband is (we already have 3 different breeds) he wanted to keep this one. i set up an aquarium for it, half live land half sand with water for him to live in. he is not eating. we have tried to put in apple slices, cabbage leaves, and even the aquatic pellets, and from what i can see, he hasnt touched any of it. am i feeding it the right stuff? is his housing correct? please tell me anything you can on this little baby, we want him to live, and care for him. thank you so much!

It may be a hatchling or from last year (and hasn't grown much yet). Hatchling turtles prefer small live animals. Turtles eventually will eat pellets and fruits and vegetables but they really need something alive to trigger eating. My page on hatchlings is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/hatchling.htm and includes a list of foods and setup information. I found that live blackworms are the best.

i used to have a turtle, and would feed it dehydrated worms.