Feeding and Nutrition :: Pellet Brand Organization

[Gerstein]

Hello!

I have a (nearly) 16 year old Female RES (Dr. Shelldon Leo Kooper). I am in the process of re-organizing her pellet brands and could use some advice.

The diet I worked out with her vet is 0.5% of her Bio-Weight in food per day, with one Fast Day a week (Usually Wednesdays). At the moment, this is about 5 g of food / day.

75% of that daily intake (about 3.75 g) is her veggie meal (earlier in the day), and then the other 25% (1.25 g) of that is in the pellet meal about 6 hours after her veggie meal (to space it out).

How I have been organizing the pellets thus far is dividing the pellet brands into 'tiers', with highly rated ones being in Tier 1 and slightly less reccomended ones into Tier 2. Of the 1.25 g of pellets, 75% of the 1.25 g (0.95 g) is in Tier 1 Pellets, and the other 25% (0.30 g) is in Tier 2 Pellets. This is the best way to structure her meals for me, ensuring she gets mostly the best brand of pellets but also allowing for variety. I rotate the pellet brands each day for Tier 1 and Tier 2. All brands were for adult turtles (As Shelldon is 7'' in Standard-Carapace-Length)

At the moment, based on the list in the 'Nutrition' section of this website, my organization was as follows: With brands I have ordered and about to add to the rotation.
Tier 1:
OmegaOne Adult Turtle Sticks (Highly Recc on the Nutrition Section of this website)
Mazuri (Highly Recc On the Nutrition Section of this website)
Saki-Hikari Turtle*

Tier 2:
Zoomed (Maintenance Formula)
Reptomin (Adult Turtle Sticks)
Pisces Turtle Bites
Flukers**
Bought Recently (Petsmart): To Be Added: : Arcadia Turtle Gold Aquatic Turtle Diet
Ordered: To Be Added: Zilla Aquatic Turtle Sticks
Ordered: To Be Added: Rep-Cal Aquatic Turtle Food (Maintenance Formula)
Ordered: To Be Added: Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri-Stick (There are also Baby Turtle and Juvenile Ultra Fresh Foods; ergo my assumption is the standard 'Turtle Nutri-Sticks' are for adults)
***Wardley Reptile Sticks
****Nutrafin Max Granulous Turtle Pellets

Main Question: Does This organization of turtle pellets make sense? There are certain brands that have been more or less reccomended so I'm trying to organize and structure but some brands I am confused as to which 'tier' they belong to. For example: Omega One and Mazuri are both highly reccomended by this website and other sources. These are pretty much 'locked in' at Tier 1. In contrast, Zoomed and Reptomin are less reccomended by this website, which is why they were initially in Tier 2. But these two brands are more reccomended by other sources, which is why I am unsure. Likewise, I am uncertain about my placement of Saki-Hikari and Zilla, as these two brands have been both more and less reccomended depending on the source. I tried comparing ingredients and nutrition, but it is difficult for me to analyze which is better Tier-Wise.

Misc: Questions

*Saki-Hikari came to me at high reccomendation from an aquarist-friend/fellow turtle owner. I have heard concerns that garlic is used as an appetite stimulant, but said friend mentioned that Saki-Hikari is really reputable at not using dangerous amounts of such things. I could use some advice on this matter.

**Flukers is a bit odd. They were on the 'Nutrition Section' of this website, and I have been using the Buffet Blend. From the vet, and various other sources I heard to not use the mealworms due to impactation risk, so I have been picking the mealworms out. I have seen different types of Flukers Pellets, including the Flukers Turtle Diet (Which seems to have the Buffet Blend pellets without the meal worms and shrimp) and the Aquatic Turtle Frenzy Sticks, which seem different. When I'm done with the current buffet blend I'm using, my gut is telling me to just switch to the Flukers Turtle Diet and ignore the Aquatic Turtle Frenzy Sticks. I could use some advice on this matter though.

***Wardley Reptile Sticks: These were on the Nutrition section of this website, and I used to use these as a Tier 2 Pellet, and it worked fine. Recently, I have not been able to find these anywhere online. Have they been discontinued?

****Nutrafin Max Granulous Turtle Pellets: These are also on the Nutrition section of this website, but they seem a tad unusual. I can't really figure out what they are like even remotely nutritionally and despite having an entry in Amazon, I can't find any available, or details. Any thoughts on this specific brand?

Thank you. For reference: Here is the rest of Shelldon's Diet-Details

Veggie Meal: 3.75 grams
75% (2.8 grams) Various greens (Red-Leaf, Green Leaf, Dandelion Greens and Turnip Greens, Romaine used sparingly as 'remainder'/emergency lettuce)
25% (0.95 grams): 'Tier 2' Veggie, which has been carrot slices usually

Weekly:
Tuesday: Cuttlebone Piece used as replacement for 'Tier 2' Veggie (0.95 grams)
Wednesday: Fast Day
Thursday: Small PIeces of Zoomed Banquet Block used as replacement for Tier 2 Pellet (0.30 grams)

Monthly:
Protein Treat Day: Live Crickets (estimated 0.95 grams; usually 7 small crickets and Aquatic Turtle Freeze Dried Shrimp (0.3 grams)
Veggie Treat Day: Live Aquatic Plants (Usually Anacharis; 2.8 grams) & Fruit (Usually Banana) 0.95 grams

I know my way of doing things is a tad... shell-structured and I know I have a turtle-tendency to over-do, but I want to try as hard as I can for my Shell-Welly XD.

[steve]

Very interesting regimen. Right now, its really up to your and Shelly's preferences. Recently I would rotate between Mazuri and Omega One. Recently picked up an Omega One 3-Pack and they subtly changed something and one of my RES totally refuses it now. Mazuri also has a gel diet if you want add more variety for Shelly. You can also occasionally skip a feeding... it doesn't need to be that strict.

Mealworms are not considered very nutritious, so they are usually skipped. Same as shrimp... they are treated as treats. I also make sure the pieces are smaller to prevent any chocking hazard. You can consider "dusting" them and other pellets with vitamins and calcium if you feel they are lacking. A lot of the other brands were mid-tier back in the day. It's possible they've improved or declined but it's very much based on opinion. I don't know much about Saki-Hikari turtle food, but I do consider them a quality brand. I and others have used their koi pellets previously.

Overall, I think you're doing great. I'd make sure she's getting UVB and plenty of basking time.

[Gerstein]

Thank you very much. I'll get the new pellets and experiment and see what she likes and does not like. Aside from her cuttlebone, Shelldon is not exactly picky lol. She more chews on the cuttlebone here and there, so I leave the cuttlebone piece in for the week, and change it out the next Tuesday. She gobbles everything else down with enthusiasm. For now, I'll keep the 'Tier Plan' as outlined above, with the bulk of her pellets being the 'Tier 1' Omega-One, Mazuri, and Saki-Hikari

Shelldon is a good basker. She has her reptituff splashproof heat bulb and a reptisun 10.0 T5HO fixture hanging above her basking area on zoomed lighting stands in an arrangement. She had a morning bask, veggie time, then an afternoon bask today. She looked quite content XD. Basking Temp and UVB are measured daily, with goals of 88-92 for the basking area (measured in both the middle of the basking area and a rectangle directly below the heating lamp), and a range of 3.0-5.0 for the UVI (below the lamp anway; usually about 3.0 in the middle of the basking area). Her basking area consists of a 'throne' of sorts (OR Shelldon's Spot as I like to call lit), made up of Slate Tile Rectangle Pieces Zip Tied Together on top of a PVC Leg base. There is a Vinyl Splashblock ramp with some Dri-Dek on top to help weigh the ramp down (Plus Shelldon likes to go under the Dri-Dek Flap and massage her shell XD).

Her tank is a 75 Gallon (As she is currently a 7'' Turtle, monitoring her growth of course, but she has been 7'' for a while now. Will upgrade either when she grows up more, or when I settle down and no where I am career-wise. Whichever comes first). Daily Water Temp measurements are made, and her Dual Zilla Aquatic Reptile Heaters keep the water at about 76-78 degrees. Water Testing also occurs monthly, with her 407 Canister Filter keeping the around 50 gallons of water or so quite clean. We had her yearly appointment with her vet and clean bill of health!

[steve]

Exemplary turtle care. Sounds like you both are in a great routine. It's likely she won't grow much more so that the 75 gallon should be OK. Anything above a 90 gallon would require a new stand too.