General Care Discussion :: eating problem

[greenwave]

i've had both of my RES for about 2 years now. i was stupid and young and i didn't know much so i got them as hatchlings. i did all of my research and i looked up every kind of food that was possible for them to eat. as hatchlings i knew they needed meat, so i gave them hamburger meat and chicken..they wouldnt eat it. i tried my hand at fruits and vegetables....they wouldn't eat it. now, two years later they still won't eat anything but the pellets, and i'm worried. their shells arent what they should be any i'm out of ideas on how to get them to eat other foods. i've even tried to make carrots look like their pellets and they will show interest untill they smell it and find out that they have been tricked.

does anyone have any ideas on how to get them to broaden their horizons?

[Daniel3507]

do you ever offer calcium?

[Raphulk]

what kind of pellets are you feeding them?

yes, calcium too, try cuttlebone.

[greenwave]

the pellets are Reptomin

and yes, i do give them a calcium supplement with their pellets called ReptoCal. i just feel like this isn't enough.

[Raphulk]

at least you have them on the right kind of pellets.
and you still supply them with calcium


how big are their shells now?
any deformaties you can inform us with? (i.e. pyramiding, rot, retained scutes)

[ScrewZoo]

try some freeze dried crickets, or a live plant jsut to spice it up mine didnt eat veggies till i threw a live aquatic plant n there then he tore it up..

[SpotsMama]

When my turtle was young the only veggie he was interested in was fresh basil. You can grow your own fresh basil in a flowerpot - it's pretty easy to grow. Another thing most turtles are wild about is steamed sweet potato. You might try these, just to give them variety and get them started on veggies.

Don't worry about them not eating meat. The pellets are a better source of protein. Once in awhile as a treat, you might get a few feeder fish from a pet store (they only cost about 10 cents each) and put them in the tank for them to chase and eat.

Next time you are at the pet store, look at getting them a few strands of an aquatic plant called anacharis. it's found in the fish section and is quite inexpensive. They may just tear up the aquatic plant but they'll probably eat some of it too, which will be good for them. Be sure and wash the plant off thoroughly in the sink before putting it in the tank to get any snails off.

If you continue to have difficulty, here's a link on enticing turtles to eat various things:

http://www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

[greenwave]

thank you everyone. i actually grow basil and i gave them some yesterday and they ate it! so that's a great start i assume. whenever i can im going to make a trip to the store and get the aquatic plants.

[Turtlebiz]

i'm glad ur turtles ate the basil! that does sound like a great start. good luck with the aquatic plants!! lol it's fun to watch them tear them apart....it's also messy, but fun