General Care Discussion :: Help. Turtle not eating.

[Captain Rotundo]

I have to turtles. They were both about an inch to an inch and a half when I got them. One is very outgoing and NOTICABLY bigger than the other. He seems to eat anything that you put in front of him (that is edible). The smaller one is shy and not eating much, I have seen him eat, and seen him appear to be bullied away by the big one. So I decided to seperate them to eat. I took the small one out to a seperate container, he didnt eat. after several days of this I have tried the other way around. THe big guy eats everything right away in the smaller tank, but the little guy still doesnt eat even when I leave him in the main tank. Any suggestions?

Also - I picked up the little guy, and checked him out, he appears healthy and his shell looks and feels fine, except for one thing I am not sure about. The very back of his shell (maybe the last half to a full centimeter on top) is very flexible, almost feels like a fingernail in its give. Is this normal, if not what should I do?

[marisa]

Are you referring to the scutes above/near the tail? If so, in hatchlings there can be some give to the shell, which usually hardens up at about a year. I'm not sure how flexible your turtle's shell is from your description, though. If he's not eating or if his diet isn't balanced, eventually his health (and shell) are going to show the effects of a lack of nutrition. What foods are you trying to feed him? I'd try something live, like pieces of earthworm, and see if that doesn't tempt him to eat. It would also be good to increase the calcium in his diet.

Do they have proper lighting to bask under (UVB light and a heat source)?

[grey goose]

His shell is probably ok, being a youngster and all, As far as feeding, the one who is willing to eat in a seperate container, continue feeding him that way! The one in the tank, the shy one, put a few pellets in and walk away, out of his line of sight. If he eats them, give him a few more. (renforcement). Only don't stand there and stare at him! He's probably afraid of the dominant one, and afraid of you also. If he dosent eat, try some krill, or a different brand of pellets, or pre-soak them in tuna water.
When they are both in the tank, take a veggie clip and put a piece of romaine on it , and attach it to the tank near where the shy one hides out. Take another piece and let it float freely. The dominant one will key in on the moving leaf leaving the shy one alone.....assuming the tank is big enough. If all else fails, you may have to seperate them. Good luck.

[Captain Rotundo]

Thanks... I figured the shell was young, the bigger guys shell has a little give but not nearly as much... and both shells are hard and good looking as far as I can tell. On to diet:

Well there is a variety of lettuce in the tank on any given day (today its green leaf, it has been romain and baby greens) there ussually are pieces of cuttlebone (left them out since this weekend when I did a full water change/filter clean. They never touch the cuttlebone.

Also there are feeder minnows that appear to get eaten (or dissappear ) at about 1 every other day or so, until it gets down to 4-6 at which point they all hide - This sunday, I think, I put in ten (had 5) and can now count 10 or 11. So thats 4 in 5 days (unless one or two is hiding). I have never seen a turtle eat a fish, only the active one ever chases them.

I have proper basking light and UVB light (Haven't measured temp at basking site... will get a thermometer tomarrow, any recommendations?

The pellets I've been feeding are baby turtle floating sticks. I have gotten both turtles to eat cooked chicken in the past on ONE occassion.

I've looked at can't find a local pet shop that has anacharis (which this site recommends) but the turtles seem to love hiding in the bunches of lettuce and chewing on them... the little shy guy sleeps on a lettuce leaf at night recently.

Oh and I've spyed on them with a webcam from work to see that most days they both bask for several hours... only the big one does the neck stretch, the little guy seems to lay flat.

[grey goose]

Then it appears they are getting along....for now. I've got 3 5mo. olds in a 65 gal. tank. (A 90 gal. is waiting in the wings) Outside of a bit of fluttering, all is quiet, although I began feeding them pellets by hand, mostly because I don't trust Big Daddy (the biggest one in the tank, thus the name). I suspect he may be eating more than his share somehow.....I like the Tronic heaters with the guard, been using them for years, no problems. Others swear by the Stealth heaters, all metal, no glass. Go to bigalsonline.com, they have lots of turtle stuff at reasonable prices, much less than the chain stores. You could also get a digital temp guage there, you don't have to get anything fancy, I think I paid $12 bucks for mine.
As for anacharis, my guys just play around in it, they don't really eat it, just shred it, but give it a try.