General Care Discussion :: excersize and feeding

[kaizen]

So my turtle probably swims about 80% of the day. Seems like she loves to swim and chase her fish friends till she eats them and play hide and seek with the pleco. She will go bask on and off for a bit but soon after basking she will dive back in and play. I have a floating dock and a basking light over it. I feed her 3 turtle pellets in the morning and at night. I offer her veggies every day but she wont eat it. I always have 1 or 2 feeder fish (she does not eat them everyday maybe one every few days) and the pleco in the tank at a time. Should I feed her more due to her constant activity?

[CactusJohn5]

No,

How old is she? Sounds like a pure protein diet, which for an adult turtle is VERY dangerous, and unhealthy.

Sounds like its time for the "tough love diet"!

[steve]

How big is she?

[kaizen]

She is just over 2inches. 5 months old, so to my knowledge she is still a baby.

[steve]

Does she have a UVB light? The amount of pellets sounds OK, I would add some veggies for her and cut down on the fish.

[kaizen]

Yes Steve I have a uva and uvb. ill keep with 6 pellets a day and ill keep offering veggies. ill take the fish out. Thanks for the help.

[michaelg]

Do you know what the water temperature is? If the water temp is really warm, your turtle won't need to bask as much for energy. He/she will need to bask for good shell health though.

Is your turtle afraid of you? It may be that he/she is too stressed when basking and that's why it doesn't bask much. You might want to try to give him/her a little more privacy to see if that increases his/her basking time.

I think you can keep the fish, just don't add any more. Definitely don't feed any more. Reptiles, including turtles, get their energy by raising their body temperature. They don't get energy from eating. They eat for the nutrients and for growth.

-Michael

[kaizen]

water temp is at 78 degrees at all times. she is not afraid of me. she wont run when i walk to the tank.