General Care Discussion :: Stuffed Fish

[danny123]

okay, so i was with a friend and i told him that my baby RES wasnt eating pellets and only meat( i know its bad for him). so he told me to get a gold fish and stuff it with pellets


what do you think about that?

[BullDog]

Gold fish are generally not recommended since they are fatty, and often carry disease.



If your turt isn't eating pellets, you could try soaking the pellets in tuna juice, then giving them to him. If he's otherwise healthy, you could try the "tough love" approach. Only give him pellets for a day or two. Young turtles are more carnivorous than adults, but you could start offering veggies too.

[marisa]

Welcome. If you're going to feed fish, goldfish aren't the best kind to give---they're fatty, notorious for having parasites, and contain a substance, which, if given frequently, will interfere with the absorption of B vitamins. So, I don't think it's a very good idea.

When you say "meat," what are you referring to?

What kind of pellets are you offering him? If you don't have them, try to get some Reptomin Baby, a pellet which is made for smaller turtles and which has a bit more calcium in it (good for growing turts).

If you keep on giving him "meat," he'll expect it (already does) and will continue to refuse other foods. You could try getting the scent of the meat on the pellets and see if they interest him then. Or, you could soften the pellets and mix them with the meat, let them harden, and see if he'll eat the combination. If he will, gradually reduce the proportion of meat to pellets until he's just eating the pellets. You need to provide variety in the diet so he doesn't get used to only one food and refuse everything else.

[danny123]

Welcome. If you're going to feed fish, goldfish aren't the best kind to give---they're fatty, notorious for having parasites, and contain a substance, which, if given frequently, will interfere with the absorption of B vitamins. So, I don't think it's a very good idea.


When you say "meat," what are you referring to?

What kind of pellets are you offering him? If you don't have them, try to get some Reptomin Baby, a pellet which is made for smaller turtles and which has a bit more calcium in it (good for growing turts).

If you keep on giving him "meat," he'll expect it (already does) and will continue to refuse other foods. You could try getting the scent of the meat on the pellets and see if they interest him then. Or, you could soften the pellets and mix them with the meat, let them harden, and see if he'll eat the combination. If he will, gradually reduce the proportion of meat to pellets until he's just eating the pellets. You need to provide variety in the diet so he doesn't get used to only one food and refuse everything else.

I've tried Reptomin Baby and T-Rex. He likes to eat Minnows and Mealworms and I've offered him a variety of vegies and fruits but he wont eat it. I'm trying the "tough love" approach. i haven't fed him yesterday and i tried giving pellets today but he's still not eating so I'm probably not going to feed him today

i have also kept the minnows and goldfish in a separate tank for about a week, do you think that lowers the chance for them of having parasites?

[marisa]

Mealworms have virtually no nutritional value and they're hard to digest. This is a really bad food to give on a regular basis (although turtles do usually love them).

It's not really surprising that a hatchling wouldn't go for certain veggies or fruit. Some do, but it's more likely they won't. You should keep offering them, though. Have you left a leaf of leafy green like red-leaf lettuce or dandelion in the tank for him to nibble on? Anachris (an aquatic plant) is also good if you can buy it.

Try to get the scent of something smelly on the pellet.

As for lowering the chances of parasites if you keep the minnows and goldfish in a separate tank (from each other?)---I really don't know. If one is infected and they're in the same water, they could just keep reinfecting each other. I think the chances of having parasites would be much lower if they were kept for a while in clean water that was changed often or if they were bred and the offspring were used as feeders. I would not make goldfish a regular food; I wouldn't use them as feeders.

[mat012]

My res would only eat crickets when we first got him. And then only after a few days of not eating. I fed him the crickets for a couple of days (they seemed to get him eating) and then fed a combination of the crickets and pellets - limiting the crickets and increasing the number of pellets until he only ate the pellets. Just keep offering the pellets - since mine wouldnt eat them readily I had to get the ones that floated too. The other types sank and/or disintegrated. Our turtle wasnt interested in searching too hard or in eating them quickly at that point. It took a while but eventually he took to the pellets.

[TheComputerGremlin]

When I first got my turtle (and he was little then), he didn't eat for probably 2 weeks. I didn't think to give him real meat or anything, just kept trying those pellets. Finally he started to eat. What are your water temps at?

As for stuffing fish, what's the point of getting him to eat pellets if he's already eating enough protein with the meat. All you would be doing is increasing the protein and causing potential harm.

[PcBuilder14]

I'm still working on getting mine to eat veggies. I'm starting the tough love thing tomorrow.

[danny123]

all of a sudden my turtle started eating pellets and red leaf lettuce today!! hahahaha =)

[BullDog]

Awsome! Persistence is the key ^_^