Feeding and Nutrition :: Turtle newbie here - Myne only seems to like canned shrimp!

[SmileyTurtles]

I ought to be feeding my turtle variety but this little thing seems to only have a voracious appetite for canned shrimp.

it won't eat crickets (dead or alive).
it won't eat vegetables (I've tried sweet potato, squash, romaine, peas)
no fruit either ( papaya)

I can't find small feeder fish (and I'm not apt to kill them either!)

It did eat cooked turkey

The shrimp I am feeding it is canned and marketed for turtles as a "turtle treat". I'm not sure if this food source can be fed as often as 2x/day allowing the turtle to eat as much as it wants.

Am I doing something I shouldn't? I'm worried about things like nutritional deficiencies.

So far, the turtle looks really good. She's been becoming more and more active. I've had her for a few weeks (since July 17th). She was a rescue.

I wasn't given much info about how the former owner's fed her but they did give her Reptomin pellets. I tried feeding these to her, she doesn't eat them.

Now, don't get mad at me, but I am trying to rehome her to an experienced turtle person. But that's not my point (however, a shameless advertisement isn't a bad idea, if I can by chance find a GOOD dedicated turtle home).

[wiccabrat]

Why would we get mad? I see nothing wrong with rehoming, it's the dumping most will get mad about.
Go back to the pellets, they can go for a pretty long time without eating and he will refuse the good food for the junk food (like a kid with broccoli and candy). As long as you give him the shrimp he won't want other stuff.
Try zucchini and strawberries, mine all love these. Once you get him eating some than you can try other stuff.
Why would you kill the fish? They like to chase them. Try guppies or rosies. Almost any pet store has them. Or try earth worms.
How big is the turtle? He shouldn't get as much as he can eat, it's as much as would fit in his head. Twice a day feedings is one to many if he's a baby and it should only be every other to every 3 days if he's not a baby.

[SmileyTurtles]

Wow, that sounds so mean to me (LOL!) but as long as it's in the best interest of the turtle, I'll do it. It is a 2.5 inch turtle. I've clearly been letting it enjoy a free buffet of shrimp twice daily. Are the Reptomin pellets really that great? I've read about introducing a variety of various plant/protein foods, which I'll just keep trying! I guess it's like a little kid that won't eat anything but Mac & Cheese.

I can try to find feeder fish. My problem was that the stores I tried only had fish that were much too large.

[SmileyTurtles]

This turtle has been rehomed (and to a very very good home too!). Just had to say that yeah, she finally did eat some romaine lettuce (before transferring to new home). But, the Reptomin pellets? no way, no how. I guess that stuff is like diet food. No, she wanted only shrimp. It was cool, she'd actually pop her head out of the water until I gave her one to eat.

[theartbook35]

Well, you can either eliminate canned shrimp completely, or just feed it as a treat. If you keep incorporating other foods on the feeding list here, like romaine/leaf/butterhead lettuce, tomato, carrots, and other plant/veggie matter that is very bright, they will eventually take to it. You should definitely have staple pellets in there, and you can either try hand feeding the pellets, or dipping them in tuna juice to give them a stronger smell. Once they take to pellets, you won't need the tuna juice anymore.