General Care Discussion :: Turtles really don't need to eat that often...

[zoologist]

ilcapo21: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17486

[1981camaroz28]

I agree with you somewhat people do seem to make it out like raising turtles is very hard when it's really not. I have 3 RES the oldest is 6 years now and I also have a land turtle living in my yard enclosed which I got when I was 16 years old I am turning 39 soon. People would say I over feed my turtles they get a little pellets everyday than every couple days frozen turtle food, raw shrimp. Live goldfish or rosies. Now my aunt feeds them twice a week and she has had turtles her whole life she is 67 years old. I guess there are pros and cons for everything. I treat my turtles like my children they are spoiled rotten

[Daniel3507]

raising turtles isnt a walk in the park either though

[untsmurf]

I agree with you somewhat people do seem to make it out like raising turtles is very hard when it's really not. I have 3 RES the oldest is 6 years now and I also have a land turtle living in my yard enclosed which I got when I was 16 years old I am turning 39 soon. People would say I over feed my turtles they get a little pellets everyday than every couple days frozen turtle food, raw shrimp. Live goldfish or rosies. Now my aunt feeds them twice a week and she has had turtles her whole life she is 67 years old. I guess there are pros and cons for everything. I treat my turtles like my children they are spoiled rotten

Compared to some other animals, turtles require more work. I think the reason why I would call them an easy animal is because they require such a large enclosure and people don't seem to realize that.

And fyi, it sounds like your turtles' diets are very high in protein. You should try and introduce some veggies into his diet. Since your turts are older now, their diet should consist of more than just protein. Read over the nutrition guide and you'll find a great list of all the foods he can eat.

Also, gold fish are very fatty.

[SpotsMama]

I have found that, since I got a good setup, taking care of my turtle has been pretty easy. But it took me a long time to figure out the setup and I made every mistake on the way. By the time I found this site and learned what to do, Spot had developed a pretty bad case of shell fungus and had the start of some pyramiding too. Treating the shell was a slow, time consuming matter. When his tank was too small and his filter inadequate, changing the water was a frequent and very arduous task, and the water never seemed clean enough.

Having good equipment and a right-sized tank makes all the difference.

[WeeSnack]

You guys are going to be so proud! I took out all the rocks and even the pretty little reserve and I put a floating dock in there and found really big rocks (my friend and I stole them from outside the petstore since they didn't have any big ones. I only have a couple plants in there but I'll get more soon. I got a new filter and all =] I've noticed that since I started taking better care of my older turtle, he's already gotten heavier and more filled out.

Aaaand my sister's boyfriend wants to trade me tanks, he has a really big one that he wants to get rid of and wants my old one, so they'll have a huge tank here soon! I guess I'll have to go steal more rocks

Let me know what you think

[octpusgirl8]

That looks great! I just caught up with this thread, and i'm super impressed with what you've done Please don't take it to heart when we criticize your setup, the folks here are only trying to help. There's so much to learn about taking care of turtles, and all the misinformation out there certainly doesn't help at all. If you haven't yet, read over the habitat section of redearslider.com, it does a great job of explaining everything. I know how it feels to spend loads of money only to realize that most of it was wasted, i've done it on more than one occasion! I would suggest that before you make any further upgrades, do some research, maybe run your ideas by us here, that way you can be sure that you're spending the money wisely. I wasted so much money on too small tanks and indaequate filters and lights before i found this site. Don't forget, we're all here to help each other out, so take full advantage of it!

[meltedspork]

Looking really good! I'm sure your turtles will love it even more when you upgrade to that bigger tank.

[untsmurf]

YAY!!!

That looks great! It's amazing how much bigger the tank looks now without the reserve.

Are you still thinking about putting sand in? Because I think would be easier for you to clean than all those big rocks.

And he definitely can't eat those rocks

You're doing so well with your turts and they're going to love you even more when they get the big tank. Just make sure to start saving up for the filter

[WeeSnack]

No, I think I'm going to skip the sand and just keep these rocks. I just bought a new filter, it's not the fanciest, but it's better than my old one. I would still like to get an even better one when I get that bigger tank.