General Care Discussion :: hi

[iamcharlesyim]

my turtle eats about 22 pellets in the day and 17 at night then it poops like a maniac and then eats some of his poop back is that normal. i have 2 turtle one loves to eat the small pellets and dried shrimps but other turtle just loves to eat dried shrimps is that bad

[iamcharlesyim]

o yea how do i know if my turtle has salmonella? if they do as they grow older will it dissappear

[SpotsMama]

Check out this thread on diet:

http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

You didn't say how large your turtles are so it's hard to say how much is normal.

Also, it's not surprising that your turtles love the dried shrimp. It's like chocolate cake to them! But it should only be given rarely as a special treat, like once a month. It shouldn't be a regular part of the diet like the pellets. If your shrimp-loving turtle doesn't have anything else to eat, he/she will learn to love the pellets!

[Pizza]

Unless you take your turtle to the vet and do some testing (commonly done by taking a feces sample in for analyzing), there is no clear way to determine if your turtle has salmonella. Salmonella has a pretty low chance of dissapearing as a turtle ages, but know this:

90% of all turtles, reptiles, or even other animals (chickens for example) contain salmonella, it's a very common occurence in pets, so don't be alarmed if your turtle does have salmonella, i'm pretty sure most of the people here have their turtles with salmonella, and don't do any testing unless they have a fat wallet, .

Most of us don't check our turtles for salmonella, it's pretty much what comes with owning a turtle (or any other pet). For many people that come in contact with salmonella, there will be no reaction, or some small side effects such as diarrhea, only a small percentage of the population will experience serious symptoms from exposure.

Salmonella most commonly exists in the insides of a turtle, and the best way to reduce or eliminate the release of large amounts of this bacteria is to simply make sure that your turtle is healthy and lives in a clean environment.

The important thing to remember is wash your hands under warm water and using a good hand sanitizer such as antibacterial hand soap after handling turtles or any other pets, it's the simplest way to protect yourself.

[marisa]

Even if your turtle tested negative for salmonella, it wouldn't necessarily mean that your turtle didn't have it. (BTW, humans can be included among the animals who can carry it.) The bacteria is shed from the intestine when a turtle is stressed or ill.

Keeping your turtle healthy with a good habitat and diet, and washing your hands well after handling your turtle or the contents of his tank are the best ways to protect yourself from getting sick.

You are feeding your turtle way to much. Look at the info on how much to feed (how old/big is your turtle?) and what to feed as well.

[rocketright]

Hi, You are feeding your turtles way to much... That's why they are pooping so much... You should NOT feed the turtle just shrimp, they will get pyramiding... And your turtle will just eat this because it tastes so good... You just have to not feed him anything, and keep offering him pellets... You should feed vegetables to it should be 50% of their diet.

[Pizza]

I forgot to mention earlier, it's not the best for your turtle's health (you should remove it if you see it and you have the free time), but yes, it is very normal for your turtle to eat its own waste, or even the waste of others, and generally pose a small to no risk in terms of health. One of my turtles is a regular at eating the waste of its own and others, it's kind of sick really. It jumps at the sight of fresh waste.

Unless your turtle is a grown adult turtle or is large, then 22 to 17 pellets a day is overfeeding. However, if your turtle is fairly big in size (like a few of mine), then 22 to 17 is fine, it depends on the size of your turtle. What size are they by the way?

The general rule followed here for the right amount of pellets to feed your turtle is feed it as many pellets as they would fill up your turtle's head if it were hollow (not including the neck), so for a hatchling, 2-4 A DAY is fine, for large adults, 10+++ every other day is fine. Large, adult turtles do not need to be fed daily, but the most you should ever feed your turtle, regardless of size is once a day. Ignore the instructions on your bag or can of turtle pellets about feeding them something like "as much as they will consume in 2-3 minutes", it is highly inaccurate, and unhealthy.