Feeding and Nutrition :: my RES is chubby

[LurycNitsuj]

After reading a couple posts on here, ive come to terms with the fact that yes, my turt is a little fatty. Ive been a bit over feeding it, and it has the puffy areas by the back legs, and I think it grew way to fast. Hes still awesome and active though. And quite a begger. I am going to feed him about 5-10 pieces of ReptoMin sticks a day, plus whatever veggies he has floating around (carrots, lettuce, ect.) I also just bought some anacharis for him to munch on. He seems to like that, he takes a bite every once in a while. But, I just wanted to thank everyone here for bringing to my attention that he is a little overweight, I just dont know what I would do if he became unhealthy.

[emma]

How big is your turtle?

[marisa]

There's a difference between 5 and 10 Reptomin pellets. How big is your turtle's head (don't include the neck)? How many pellets would you estimate would fit into his head if hollow? That's the number he should be fed...

[LurycNitsuj]

my turtle is about 3 inches, hmm, its hard to estimate how many pellets would fit inside his head, im going to guess like 6 or 7. Should I take some pellets away if he is also eating veggies?

[mikee]

Lu Nij -- I would suggest that you feed him every other day. I would slowly cut back on the daily and then the every other day. It is hard to do as they are the world’s best beggars and we feel like heels if we don't feed them. You know, a guilt trip or something.

[emma]

Yes. Start to feed your turtle every other day with the pellets. You can feed veggies everyday. That is what I am doing. You can look in the feeding section on the site if you are wondering what to be feeding your turtle.

[pauperez]

Hey everyone! I was looking for a post that might have the same question I have about my RES and this one seems to fit perfectly:( My turtle is pretty chubby too because for the first 3 months that I had him I overfed him. He's about twice the size as the second turt I got so I realized he's been eating most of the food I put in for the two of them. Now I feed them seperately, on a smaller tank I use just for feeding, but I feel like even if it will break my heart he should be on a diet for some time. I'll follow the same advice you gave LurycNitsuj, but I was wondering if there is anything else I should be worrying about, like pyramid shell or something? I don't know how that looks so I don't know if my turt has it!
I'll apreciate some advice on any other thing I should keep my eyes open for:)

Pau