I Have two questions about feeding a young RES.
I have a RES, maybe 1-2 yrs old (?)...his carapace now measures almost 2-3/4"long.
His previous owner bought him in Chinatown and to the best of her recollection, she said he wasn’t a tiny hatchling when purchased, but his shell was maybe 1-1/2" to 2" long. He was kept in a very small ‘Death Bowl’ (NO area to really swim, NO basking area, NO UVB, NO heat lamp, NO correct water temps during winter, previous caretaker fed him exclusively with Baby Reptomin pellets [only 4 per day] and a rare [once every 1-2 weeks?] very small portion of lettuce and carrot; also he ate VERY little during winter..maybe he was cold?) until I adopted him just 2 months ago.
Now, Mr. T. Has all his habitat needs taken care of now (37 gallon tank/UVB/H2O Heater/Heat lamp/basking area/XP3) and he is getting a balanced diet. In the past 2 months he has had a growth spurt: he grew almost 3/4", some skin shedding etc... When I first got him he had some minor pyramiding of his shell...I can now see the new shell scute growth area is coming in smoothly. He is much less stressed out now: he will even bask when I am hovering over the tank and he will climb on top of his basking log if my fingers are there. He is relaxed and we are best of friends.
His diet varies day-to-day: Reptomin/carrots/Rosy Reds/Meal Worms/Cuttlebone/other veggies.
I ALWAYS feed him cuttlebone and Romaine lettuce EVERY day. However, I notice that even on days he gets other food (Pellets and/or Rosy Reds, Meal Worms, etc) he still DEVOURS the lettuce leaf in his tank. I place a single large leaf of lettuce about the size of my entire hand in the tank every day.
Question #1:
Is it OK to ALWAYS have lettuce in the tank?
Is this OK? Can he over-feed on lettuce? Should I place a smaller lettuce portion in his tank, or is it OK to always have a piece in there in case he is hungry?
Question #2:
Food Quantity?
I think Mr. T. May have had some stunted growth due to diet and habitat conditions before I adopted him. As stated above, his new conditions were a radical upgrade.
Now, I feed him pretty much every day (unless he gorges himself: ex., catches all three Rosy Reds and eats them within 10 minutes...in a situaion like that I will not feed him the next day).
When I first started caring for him, I would give him daily about 6-8 Reptomin sticks (regular, adult size sticks, not the Baby Reptomin), Romaine lettuce, and also some cuttle bone and maybe some little pieces of carrot.
But now I vary his diet:
He pretty much always gets Romaine Lettuce and cuttlebone as his foundation baseline staple diet. I add to that portions of different foods during the week. My feeding portion guideline is to feed him a quantity equal to his head size daily...although this measurement does not include the lettuce because he probably eats one third his body size per day in lettuce alone.
After researching a bit, I started targeting his diet to 25% Food Pellets, 25% Live feeders (minnows, meal worms, etc), and 50% veggie.
Because I am attributing the minor pyramiding of his shell due to a previous diet consisting exclusively of Reptomin Pellets, I have been backing off on the Reptomin so that now I only give him about 2-3 sticks/per day (again, in addition to the Lettuce/cuttlebone foundation) and maybe a few tiny chips of carrot. Some days he gets NO Reptomin at all (often on live feeder days).
To balance his diet, once a week or so he gets a couple Rosy Red Minnows/lettuce/cuttlebone (nothing else). On another day, he’ll get 3-4 meal worms, lettuce, cuttlebone, maybe one stick of Reptomin.
I also mix up the veggies, introducing whatever I may have at the time instead of carrots: zucchini, squash, red/green pepper, etc.
Maybe once a week I’ll give him a few tiny crickets, a cockroach, or he’ll kill a moth that flies into his tank and/or a treat of a couple dried Krill (he loves these).
On the rarest of occasions (once every couple weeks) he will get a teeny tiny ever so small taste of strawberry, banana, or tiny taste of cooked chicken.
To sum Up:
I think his growth was stunted, but he seems to be thriving and growing well due to his new habitat and diet variety as well as quantity (feeding his equal to his head size daily + eternal supply of lettuce.
However, have I overcompensated in the other direction...overfeeding?
Should I continue with this diet quantity for some time longer, or should I back off now and only feed him his head size ONCE EVERY OTHER DAY?
Thanks a bunch for any insights.
Veggies every day are good, turts love to graze. But if he should get the "runs" or very loose poop, cut back a little. As far as all that protien, it is a bit much, but after what he has been thru, he deserves it, at least for now. It also helps with the "bonding" you two are now in the middle of. I've got 1 61/2 yo turt, Bozo, in his own 90 gal tank, and three babies, Gomez, Beaker, and Big Daddy/Momma in a 65 gal. Here's the play by play, food-wise:
