General Care Discussion :: buying food in bulk?

[ziggnick]

I've been buying the zoo med pellets ever since i got my turtles 13oz container is costing me about 8 bucks every 2 or 3 months for 2 turtles 5inch and 3 1/2inch... Im not sure if this is about normal but i feed the suggested amount on container except when.its a fruit and veggie day or a feeder fish/crawfish day

personally i think the price Im paying is pretty ridiculous when you look at what one ounce of that stuff looks like for a price of 1.62 an ounce

so i went on a little hunt for bulk price food and found my turtle foosin bulk for 106 bucks for a 50 pound bag 800oz which comes out to 13cents an oz! !!! Obviously i cant possibly use a 50 pound bag but this proves there are cheaper prices out there but is there something more reasonably priced i can buy and save some coin?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

http://www.mazuri.com/mazurifreshwaterturtlediet.aspx Mazzuri, cant go wrong getting bulk of that. Its is the leader of all turtle foods you can buy in bulk for a good price plus with most turtle keepers its rated #1 for combination of quality and price. 25lbs for $46.99 or 1lb for $11.49 but out of stock right now though. Though id google mazzuri for sale, as alot of people buy a 25lb bag then sell off couple pounds at a cheaper price cause they dont need that much.

A good second placer is Aquamax Grower 500, just has a little more protein and fat than Mazuri. Again google and see what you can find for people selling random pounds for cheaper.

Haha if steve lets me when i buy my 25lb bag of mazzuri again ill sell some lbs off real cheap to anyone who wants some.

[steve]

As long as I get a "sample" too

Ziggnick, Mazuri also has a free shipping promo and should be back in stock soon.

[ziggnick]

diamond if you would be interested i would be more than happy to split a bag with you?

[Gracie Turts]

I'll buy a couple pounds (if the 1lb. doesn't restock soon).

[PridgNYC]

13 oz in 2-3 months sounds like you might be overfeeding. I use the Zoo Med as well, and my turtle was 4 inches when I got him a year ago, he is now 4.5 inches and I have gone through maybe 8-9 ounces of pellets (not including lettuce) in the past year. The label says give a level teaspoon per turtle and let them eat for an hour then net out the uneaten food and discard. It also says that if they finish the food in less than an hour, consider upping the amount to a tablespoon. This is wrong, you should give only as much pellets as will fit inside the turtle's head every other day, (my turtle can eat this amount in a couple of minutes). Give plenty of leafy greens every day.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

13 oz in 2-3 months sounds like you might be overfeeding. I use the Zoo Med as well, and my turtle was 4 inches when I got him a year ago, he is now 4.5 inches and I have gone through maybe 8-9 ounces of pellets (not including lettuce) in the past year. The label says give a level teaspoon per turtle and let them eat for an hour then net out the uneaten food and discard. It also says that if they finish the food in less than an hour, consider upping the amount to a tablespoon. This is wrong, you should give only as much pellets as will fit inside the turtle's head every other day, (my turtle can eat this amount in a couple of minutes). Give plenty of leafy greens every day.

You know i didnt even think about it this. That is alot of food to go through for only two turtles. takes me a month to feed that much and im feeding close to 20 turtles.

Also i wont be buying food till next spring everyone. Its been in the 50s at night and my turtle's appetites have dropped big time and then I will be hibernateing all but i think 4 turtles. Ill make it no problem now through winter.

[Linus]

I buy in bulk, and just not to this extent. For the pond, and I buy the big bag of reptomin that goes for $39.99 around here. I'm not home so I don't have the oz. But it lasts me about half a year or maybe a little less. And that's with me feeding 2 turtles, and 15+ large goldfish with it.

[ziggnick]

i guess i will have to cut back i just feel bad because the larger one could eat that amount in less than 20 seconds so.I've always gave more... more leafy greens it is for me i guess

i normally feed morning and evening with pellets when its a pellet day is this wrong also?

[Gracie Turts]

The feeding times are OK. It's the amount of food that you feed that really makes a big difference. Like pridgNYC said, try to feed as much as what would fit inside of the turtle's head. Think of it like filling a jar full of candy.

i guess i will have to cut back i just feel bad because the larger one could eat that amount in less than 20 seconds so.I've always gave more... more leafy greens it is for me i guess

My turtles does this too. It really does take strong self-discipline to not over feed. But as long as you have food, you know the turtle(s) will get more to eat, just not right now.

[PridgNYC]

What I said was; try to feed as much as would fit inside their head every two days. If you want to feed twice a day, then it will be a couple of pellets (the amount that would fit inside of the head every other day). It is better to refrain from feeding them every day, they need to have a solid pellet of food in their gut to digest properly. I'm not referring to the individual pellets that the food is packaged in, but the amount of food they eat in one sitting. Turtles take days to digest one meal. Their digestive system is as simple as most reptiles. It relies on that food being in there for an extended period of time so the the gut bacteria can help with the digestion. When you feed often and too much, then they poop much undigested food, making it harder to keep the tank clean, and giving them too much which contributes to too rapid growth.