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I've read all of the lists of what my turtle should eat but she really doesn't like the pellets. I give her ham as a treat and absolutely loves it, but my main concern is about what I can feed her every day or every other day as a staple. I buy her red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, turnip greens and she has hornwort in her tank (not that she's interested), anchoris (that I can't keep in her tank ) she's had water hyacinth's. I know that they are natural beggers but she always seems hungry and without the pellets is she getting everything that she needs? She also gets turtle yummies and carrots as a treat. Also, how can I get the back off of the cuttlebone??

You should really try to get him to eat the pellets, try to soak the pellets in tuna juice, and let it try, it may help

read over this section

http://redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

Thanks but I've read I think this whole site a couple of different times. When I took her to the vet he asked me how much I fed her the pellets (she used to always eat them) and I told him about 25% of her diet but now she doesn't really eat them at all. What I don't understand is what is in the pellets since in the "real" world they don't eat them in lakes, swamps, and rivers? What are they eating instead? I'll try the tuna thing, I did read that and have yet to buy any pellets. Every time I did she would show no interest and I would take them out b/c if you ask me that's what makes the water the dirtiest. And I think that the pellets went stale easily too. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the advice

What kind of pellets do you have?

I always get her the reptomin. She used to eat them all of the time I would get her the really big container but she just lets them float now. I thought that maybe it was b/c she was getting older and wanted more vegitation.

The problem is that in a tank you can't normally provide all the variety that a turtle needs to have a balanced diet if you're not feeding pellets. I mean it's possible to give a balanced diet without pellets, but it's hard. Pellets make it easy because they are formulated to provide that balance. In the wild, turtles will have a vast array of edible things to choose from - all sorts of plants, insects, snails, etc - that we can't provide in a tank. And frankly, the turtle probably gets a better diet with good quality pellets in a tank than he would get in the wild, even with the greater variety of food options to choose from. A well kept pet turtle will normally live longer than a typical wild turtle.

It's odd that your turtle doesn't like pellets. Maybe it's an off brand of pellet. My turtle loves some brands but won't eat others, for instance. With pellets, quality counts.

On getting the backing off the cuttlebone, it's not a real easy thing to do. You have to pry it off with a knife. The cuttlebone will break into pieces in the process. That's really ok, because you can feed him the cuttlebone a piece at a time and make it last longer. I'll do several cuttlebones at a time and keep the pieces in a baggie to feed to Spot over the next couple of months.

I don't know maybe I'll try it again....I always have given her the Reptomin. Thanks for explaining to me about the outside verses the inside eating habits, I just always wanted to know and now I do I think that I'll try the same thing with the cuttlebone. Why do they have to put the hard layer on the outside anyway???

The hard layer is natural I believe as in it isn't added to it, though I could be wrong. I found taking a butter knife and just barely pushing under the hard layer sort of chips it away and I just do that until I work all the way down the bone..gently and slowly.

Yes, cuttlebones are natural! A cuttlebone is the endoskeleton of a cuttlefish, a squid-like creature. If someone could breed a cuttlefish with a bone that doesn't have the hard layer, wouldn't that be great!

Reptomin is usually a brand that turtles love but then, turtles all have their own individual taste. It's a top quality type of pellet. I've heard that some turtles love Monster but Spot wouldn't eat it. he didn't like the zoo med pellets either though some turtles swear by them. He prefers Reptomin and Mazuri.

Is there a chance that the pellets have gone stale? If she hasn't been eating them, maybe they're past their expiration date.

Pellets go stale? This is news to me! My turtle loves HBH turtle bites which I feed with Nutrafin..maybe they are attracted to the colors and it might taste a little different.

Well, I think pellets can go bad - maybe stale isn't the right term. I left a container of Reptomin outside (in a sheltered place) in the summer for awhile last summer and then noticed that they started really stinking. I mean really. I thought maybe they were just hot but when I cooled them off, they still stank. I think the heat and humidity had gotten to them and they were spoiled. I threw that container out. Nowdays I keep the pellets inside where it's air conditioned.

Try Mazuri , RepCal or Pretty Pets pellets all are very high quality foods

Kayra, do you mean that hard backing on the cuttlebone? That is added on (you can see the glue on it) because it's made for birds who will peck at it. The backing prevents the cuttlebone from breaking/falling apart when it is clipped onto a bird cage.

You can try a different brand, HBH turtle bites have red and green round pellets.

how many pellets a day should a turtle eat?

Only as much as would fit inside its head if it were hollow. Feed pellets once a day. every day if they are under 4 inches.