General Care Discussion :: RES suddenly stops eating because of stress?

[rancho]

I've had been taking them out of the tank to feed for about a week or two now. Today when I put one of the little guys in the feeding container, it kept trying to climb the walls as if it wants to get out. Not even food will calm it down; it just ignored it like it didn't see it. So I placed it back into the tank and tried to offer it food there, but he kept ducking and hiding as though he's scared. Have I overstressed it? I feed it twice a day (a daily meal split into two feeding times) and I do a partial water change once a week because I don't have a strong enough filter.

How long can it go without eating? It's about 1.5 inches long.

[missibsu]

RES can go a few days without eating. In the wild they don't everyday.

If you really want to feed in the separate tank, then don't try to feed them in the regular tank. By moving them back to the other tank and then feeding them, it reinforces that if they don't eat one place they'll be fed another.

[rancho]

Update: When attempting to feed it again tonight. I've noticed that it is blinking one of his eyes more than the other. I also caught him rubbing it with its paw. Is he having an eye infection? It is not swollen or anything.

[missibsu]

Have you treated the water that is in the tank? The feeding bin?

If so, when is the last time that is was cleaned?

How much conditioner do you use and what kind?

Could be irritated from lack of conditioner, chlorine in the water, amonia from waste, or too much conditioner.

[rancho]

Thanks for the help!

I have been treating the water in the tank. I didn't treat the water in the feeding bin.

The last I changed the water in the tank was Tuesday. I did a partial water change and added the appropriate amount as said on the bottle.

I use Aqua Clear.

It doesn't show any signs of swolleness or anything.
Whenever I go near it, it runs away as though it developed a sudden fear of me. It hasn't eaten today, either and it's unnerving as one of my RES died after not eating for a few days.

[missibsu]

Have you tried making the food smelly with tuna juice? You can soak the pellets and veggies in it and the smell should help attract the turt. Or, have you tried live prey, maybe an earth worm?

[marisa]

Has the turtle been eating the week or two you've been taking him out to feed him?

If the tank water is clean, take some of that out to put into the feeding pan (and replace the water in the tank if it's a lot).

[rancho]

Thanks for all the help!

I went out to the pet store and got a new brand of pellet. I was using Raffy P and I now bought Nutrafin. It has a bit of a different and stronger smell, and I got it to eat a bit of it, which is a relief. But I bought a can of tuna just in case.

I suppose it just got bored of its food? What I don't understand is why it seems so scared of me.

Also, it use to gobble down the raffy pellets in one bite. Nutrafin pellets are smaller, yet it seems to be having trouble eating it, even when I break it into smaller chunks. It would bite it, and spit a bit back out. Should I be worried?

@Marisa: Yes. It has been eating well in the feeding container until just 2 days ago. It ate, pooped and I put it back into the tank. The next morning, he refused to eat which alarmed me. Although given, it was more difficult to get this turtle out of the tank than the other one.

Thanks again for all the help!

[rancho]

It stopped eating the new pellets, as well. It did, however, eat a few shrimps this time. I don't know what it wants. It's not showing any other symptoms.

[CountryGirl68]

The water temperature needs to be right in order for the turtle to eat. Proper water temp helps in digestion.

Turtles are also picky eaters. I'd try the smell technique that missibsu mentioned.

[amazingcc]

Give the turt some time to get used to different foods. And - of course - if you feed shrimp, he/she will hold out for that! Shrimp should be a very rare treat, because it's very high in protein. Turts also don't die from "not eating". Usually a decreased appetite is a symptom of an underlying condition/illness.