General Care Discussion :: too fat?

[hcmg08]

this is my red eared slider who we cleaverly named.. "turtle".. we feed him 3 reptomin sticks 2 times a day and about 2 to 3 times per week he gets "treats" (baby shrimp, krill).... when we got him (1 yr ago) he was sick (swollen eyes not eating etc..) and we nursed him back to health and hes doing GREAT now =) (i think hes still very small for 3 yrs old).....but recently ive noticed him getting alittle "fat" arround his head i dont know if this is a normal size but he is 3 inches long and 2 3/4 wide, i dont know his weight but hes pretty heavy.. his shell looks real good (no pyramid shell or soft spots) so if anyone can look at him and tell me if he is fine or if we need to put him on a "diet" that would be great! thank you!!!!!

[Daniel3507]

cut back on the treats to around once a month. shrimp and krill are too high in protein to be given any more. feed him however many pellets could fit in his head every other day.

[Caphits]

My turt is about the same size as yours I think. I feed him 3 pellets every day, along with a fairly large piece of red leaf lettuce (about the size of his shell, maybe a bit bigger). I also give him dried steamed sweet potato or carrot occasionally (about the size of a reptomin pellet).

I would just cut back on the pellets, add veggies, and only use treats once a month. (I pretty much never use a treat, I just use variety with veggies and whatnot)

And to finish: I dont think he really looks very fat.

[BullDog]

He is looking a bit chubby. I agree with Daniel, reduce the shrimp and krill to once a month max.
And since he's about a year old now, you can start feeding him the amount of pellets that would fit in his head every other day. Or, if you prefer, you can feed him a "half-head" sized portion every day.
And like Caphits said, you can start adding veggies to his diet. Check out the nutrition section of this website and the feeding forum for some ideas for veggies good for RES

[SpotsMama]

Have you had his stool checked for parasites? It's pretty easy to do and shouldn't cost much. Just take a sample to your vet. He is pretty small (though plump) for his age. One of the reasons a turtle doesn't grow or grows slowly is internal parasites.

[mike hill]

Hc-08 When mine get that size I start feeding them every other day. I would also make sure of the basking temp with uvb lighting. The basking temp should be 90 to 91 degrees and the water about 74 to 76 dgrees. They will always beg and you may have a tendency to give in.

[ozh]

Yes, I think "Turtle" is quite small size for his age. 3 of my sliders I got since July 2015 at the size of baby have reach the size of 3 1/2 inches now. However, I am unsure if your turtle is a male and that might be normal for its size.
If you think it is doing great, that is good. Most important is that it has a good appetite.