Feeding and Nutrition :: HELP!!

[Katherine]

I have 2 male RES that I found as hatchlings about a year and a half ago. Mr. T is the over-eater, while Michaelangelo is the reasonable one. However, within the past few weeks Michaelangelo has completely lost his appetite for almost everything. He's been very fussy about eating at all, and when he does he'll ONLY eat shrimp.

Their typical diet is turtle pellets, Romaine lettuce, crickets, bamboo, and freeze-dried krill or shrimp. Last week I introduced mealworms to get Mikey interested in something else, but he won't even try it.

AND it doesn't help that Mr. T tries to eat all of the food before Michaelangelo has even decided if he wants to eat. I've tried removing Mr. T from the tank, but they both get upset and won't eat at all if separated.

WHAT CAN I DO????

[marisa]

He is otherwise active and his eyes are open and clear? I would not feed them together, even if you think this is upsetting to them. I'd take out the piggy and put him somewhere where neither can see the other, then feed the slower eating one. It sounds like it wouldn't take much time for Mr. T to get used to eating in a separate container of water.

Their diet sounds rather high in protein and doesn't really contain much plant matter. Bamboo???

What's the water temp and basking area temp? Are there any marks on Michaelangelo that look like he could be being harassed by Mr. T? Does he swim around with his tail tucked in?

[marisa]

You need to resize your avatar...

[Katherine]

Oops I thought I resized the picture, apparently I didn't! I'll have to fix it.

Yes Mikey's eyes are very clear and healthy, and the two actually get along really well, there's no aggression between the two. Their basking temperature is usually 90-95F, and the water is about 75F. I also have tried to keep their habitat as normal as possible so that they'll be comfortable. I guess that's why I'm so stumped...

Haha, the bamboo plants that you can get from pet shops. It started as decoration, but as they got older they started stripping away pieces of it and eating it. The bamboo is holding up fine, so I figure it's ok.

I've been giving them their extra protein (crickets, shrimp, etc.) much more sparingly, but their diet IS still too high in protein, I've just discovered this website though, so I'm going to have to figure out a good variety of veggies now! Do you have any suggestions that your RES loves?

As for Michaelangelo's food habits, I thought of a possible problem. I've switched from baby Reptomin pellets to the adult Reptomin pellets. There doesn't seem to be a big difference, but maybe it's significant enough to bother a fussy RES... I'm going to the store tomorrow to buy the baby pellets to see if it will make a difference.

If that doesn't work and there's no other suggestions, I think I'm just going to shell out the money for a vet visit.

[Moose]

check the sticky flagged on this forum, of what to feed your RES and what NOT to feed your RES.

E&B love collard greens, romaine lettuce, turtle pellets, sweet potato, and carrot slivers! I'm trying blueberries and apple peels nxt week!