General Care Discussion :: Tuna addiction ongoing...

[scriabin]

It's been three weeks and tuna is the one thing they really love. They love it so much, it seems to be the only thing that helps them overcome their fear of me. I am the tuna provider instead of just another abusive human. They nibble (barely) at lettuce and carrots and eat a pellet here or there, but as soon as there is tuna in the tank they race to the surface and gobble it.

I know this is not a balanced diet but the thing is - well they've had a hard time recently, had terrible care before I found them and now I've had to move their habitat to an adjacent city and we're moving back next month, and so I want to do something to make up for all the turbulence. Also, I'm spending absurd amounts of money on them and I want them to like me.

I have veggies in there every day but I'm still giving them tuna every other day. I know, that's terrible, right? I know I've got to phase it down to a much smaller percentage of their diet - it's just with moving the habitat again in three weeks, I really want to do whatever I can to make them happy/like me. How long can this go on before I'm really hurting their health?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[cprcheetah]

Too much protein over time can cause shell issues. My Zeke was super picky when I first got him. What helped was just offering the same thing EVERY day. He eventually got so he LOVES most vegetables. You may want to check out the Jello Shots post in the Food & Nutrition section, that may be helpful. Have you tried soaking the lettuce/veggies in Tuna juice? I know that helped Zeke some too.

[megcornell]

The question isn't really how long it can go on before the level of protein causes shell/organ damage. That can take a while.
The bigger risk you run is having your turtles become finicky eaters and ONLY eat tuna. Then you're in for a fun time of tough love and trying to force their will to go back to eating balanced meals.
I know you're trying to make up for their rough start and the recent stress, but feeding them tuna isn't doing them any favors. You'd be doing them a greater service by feeding them balanced diets to make up for the poor eating habits they've had their entire lives.
I'd stop the tuna feeding immediately. It's good that they're curious enough to nibble at other foods. Give them a chance to develop other tastes and in a few months or so feel free to give tuna as a once a month treat. I give my turtles a special treat of shrimp on days like Christmas, a high protein treat is fine once in a while, but you don't want to make a habit out of it.

[scriabin]

Thanks for the great advice, Meg. I'll put the tuna away for a while. What do you think about sprinkling veggies and pellets with tuna juice - good idea at this point or bad...?

[megcornell]

If your turtles refuse to eat, then I'd bribe them by sprinkling foods with tuna juice.
If they're fine with the changes, I'd let them be.

[scriabin]

wadayaknow ... they finally went for the lettuce and carrots - it only took three and a half weeks to get them interested. I took Meg's advice and went cold turkey on the tuna for a few days and today I cam home and for the first time all the veggies were eaten (or rather, a lot was eaten and the rest was shredded and scattered all over the tank ... oy...)

[meltedspork]

wadayaknow ... they finally went for the lettuce and carrots - it only took three and a half weeks to get them interested. I took Meg's advice and went cold turkey on the tuna for a few days and today I cam home and for the first time all the veggies were eaten (or rather, a lot was eaten and the rest was shredded and scattered all over the tank ... oy...)

Awesome! And I know what you mean about the rest being shredded and scattered all over the tank! I gave Toby anachris for the first time last weekend and I will NEVER do it again! He ate about half of it and the other half was EVERYWHERE. I had to do a 100% water change and clean out the entire filter (including the hoses) because those little leaves were in every crevice. It was disgusting.

[Bascomb]

scri-bin -- I think your turtle is training you I might suggest that you stay off the tuna and any high protein for a while. I would suggest that you stick to pellets until you break them on the tuna. They will turn up thier noses at it for while but after a few days they will come around. I can assure that they will be passive for a while but will come around. Good Luck. b.

[scriabin]

Hey bascom - how come you spell my user name without the a?

[Bascomb]

scri-bin -- I usually do that as my entro to get your attention. I have had turtles for over 25 years and a senior citizen and I am allowed a few
idiosyncrasies. THANK YOU

[scriabin]

bascom - no worries - although you don't need to get my attention, I read everyone's posts pretty carefully.

Congrats on so many years of good turtle keeping. My cocker spaniel has been with me for 14 years and won't be around forever ... I knew when I decided to adopt a RES it could be a lifelong companionship...