Feeding and Nutrition :: How do I know he's getting enough?

[BullDog]

I've always thought Ralph looks "slim", but of course, next to Frankie, the Pillsbury Doughboy looks slim.
I feed him a headfull of Reptomin pellets every second night, but he usually only eats about half. This was especially evident this morning, after the first time he's been fed pellets with his new filter, since the strainer on the FX5 is just the right size for Reptomin to get stuck in. He's usually pretty good with his veggies, and eats most of "the basics" (ie lettuce, carrots, squash, sweet pot. etc.).

I thought I'd try feeding him half a headful of pellets every night, and see if he eats them all (as well as his veg).
I guess I'm just a bit worried since I thought RES were opportunistic eaters, and would eat until they puke (I've seen Ralph do it once). Plus, it's hard to tell if a turtle is underweight, especially since I haven't found good guidelines saying something like, "A 7" RES should weigh approximately X grams."

So am I safe in assuming he's eating enough to fill his belly, then he stops eating?

[TheComputerGremlin]

I have just the opposite, my turtle can eat and eat and eat! I would say trying doing the half a head-ful every day instead of every other day, but I think you just have an exception to the rule. My two cats, for example, couldn't be different. Supposingly cats will only eat when they are hungry. My one cat is exactly like that. My other cat, though, will eat until she throws up. So we have to monitor their intake because of her. Maybe your Ralph is just a good little turtle and eats what he needs!

[marisa]

None of my turtles pigs out, even when they have the chance to. If your RES is healthy and is otherwise eating a varied diet, I wouldn't worry about his not stuffing himself.

[BullDog]

Good to hear. He does eat a little bit of everything, and is pretty good about cleaning up his veg. Thanks for putting my mind at ease

[untsmurf]

Sorry to slightly hijack, but this is pertinent to the topic so...

I have been wondering this lately as well. My turtle doesn't have eating issues, he eats like a pig if I give him the chance. But I'm very strict when it comes to monitoring his food intake. He doesn't eat two days out of the week, so when he does, I give him a 1.5-2 shell sized piece of lettuce (red or green leaf, not ice berg) . He gets pellets every two to three days and an occasional couple of blue berries. And he eat it all within a few minutes of it entering his tank.

The thing I've been wondering about is I've seen several turtles on the site and a lot of them seem to have bulges in front of their back legs. I realize that when it bulges out that like for a male, it's a sign of obesity, so I don't want Mikey to look like that. But, he looks like he could be too skinny. Is there a way to know if your turtle is within a healthy weight range besides appetite/activity level or going to a vet?

Here are some pics of his back end:






I don't have any straight on pictures of it, I'll try and get some tomorrow. I've weighed him within the last month or so and he weighs about 200 grams and he's 4.75'' long and we've had him for a little over three years.

[steve]

My female RES has no preference as to what she eats -- she just wants as much as possible. She hunts down lettuce as if it were a clueless minnow. I have to watch how much she gets. My male RES does like to eat carrots and pellets but will casually munch on his lettuce/anarchis. I just change/add lettuce every couple of days.

As for guidelines regarding weight/size... there are none. I would love it if there were detailed guidelines for reference but there isn't reputable information of that nature out there that I have come across.

I think bulges aren't necessarily obesity, it more likely be when a turtle can't pull all his limbs in. As for too skinny, I haven't dealt with many RES to give you a reference either but when you see pics of wild RES, you get a good idea of what they should probably look like.

[megcornell]

In terms of eating, my male always leaves food behind. Whether it's his daily feeding or if I've skipped a feeding because I was out of town for a day. I don't know if he's rationing or if he just doesn't have the appetite I assume he should. My female on the other hand ALWAYS eats and eats like she's been starved.
Neither one looks obese or thin to me, so I don't worry, I just assume it's a normal difference in them. And, it reflects their other mannerisms. In general the female is more robust and outgoing so why shouldn't she hog all the food I feed her.

As for their limb size, I've noticed with the turtles on this site that they start "bulking" up once they hit the 4 or 5 inch mark. It seems like once they're growing slower they tend to fill out more.