Feeding and Nutrition :: One of my 6 RES just died =(

[puiyanpuiyan]

I have 5 RES, the older one (12.5 years old) just died yesterday and I'm still very upset over it...he had the metabolic bone disease and with the zoo med UVB light problem I stopped giving it to them while waiting for the new light to come in, he unexpectly died.

I want to know which vitamin do you think it's good for the rest of my 5 RES to use.
(3- 2 year olds, and the other 2 are 12.5 year old)
I feed them Reptomin food sticks every other day, cooked carrots and chop them up into little pieces once a week and chop up fruits once a week. They also have cuttlebone with the back pilled off floating in their tank on a daily basis.
Question 1- I still think their diet isn't too banalced and I want to make sure the rest of the gang gets enough supplement. (especially Vitamin D)

When the new UVB light comes in (which I ordered Retpti Glo 5.0-26W), I'll turn in on 10-12 hrs/day.

Question 2- Are does those turtle block (Reptoguard) helpful? Do they need them in the tank to prevent bacteria like it said on the label?

Thanks~

[megcornell]

I'm so sorry your turtle died, that's always so sad, especially if it's unexpected.
Are you thinking that he developed MBD in the interim time while you waited to get a new UVB? If so, that's really not possible, especially if there is always cuttlebone around. MBD takes a long time to develop and get to a serious level. Could you describe what your set up is like? Do you keep all the turtles together?
You are correct in thinking that the diets aren't too balanced. It would be very beneficial to feed veggies every day and to feed a variety of them. Take a look at the nutrition section... there is a sticky note labeled "what to feed" and it's a very good selection of foods to pick from. Cuttlebone is an excellent calcium source, it's great that you provide it. Once you balance their diets, further supplements really shouldn't be too necessary.
And finally, the turtle blocks are not helpful, you shouldn't bother buying them.

[puiyanpuiyan]

Thanks megcornell!
I'm still upset about the one that died, he's been around for so long and it just felt weird not seeing him hanging out in the tank anymore.
My set up is not that great, I live in New York City and the space is extremely limited, with my 6 turtles with different ages, I had to keep them separate as well.

my 3 oldest turtles (13yo) got into a bad fight with bleeding involved when they were around 10yo- after that I had to separate them into 1 guy and 2 girls in diffferent tanks. the vet was seen and I was so upset seein the guy hurting so badly (even though it was his fault in trying to mate with the female turtle and got beat up!)

Now all 6 (or now 5) turtles are in separate tanks...meaning a 60gallon storage boxes, with a big rock for them to bask, a heater, UVB light and a basking lamp. I don't have a filter anymore- used to think that the eye infection was caused by the filter not knowing there was a problem the ZooMed UVB light. I change their water every other day. I have to say I cannot provide them with a deep swimming area- about halfway filled the storage box.

The cuttlebone wasn't there until about 1 month ago, I was having a lot of problems cutting the back off and then finally saw an useful tip on soaking it overnight and had been using the advice ever since.

The turtle that died has MBD before, he was treated with shell rot about 3 years ago and developed another shell rot 1/2 yr ago....I just feel so guilty for the whole thing.

And want to make sure the rest of the gang wouldn't have the same problems, considering the other 2 big ones are just as old- I got all three of the 13year-olds together at the same time.

Any suggestions on how I can have a better set up with such a limited space in the apartment? Now both the 13yos are living by themselves in a 60gallon clear storage box (so they can see me and ppl walking around), they are only 7.5inches long from head to tail.

[mikee]

pu-pu-yan – MBD is a long term disease and it is from the husbandry. Proper diet and UVB lighting and a warm basking area is absolutely necessary . The uvb and heat is needed for proper metabolism.

[megcornell]

I would look into stock tanks, they are much sturdier and you can fill them up more. Also, filters are very important... I'm not sure if you meant the turtle who passed didn't have one of that none of the turtles have one but they need them so try to budget a way to get some.
Adding the cuttlebone and veggies to the diet will go a long way to improving your turtles health. Just update the habitats as you can afford to do so. I know money and space is limited in NYC .

As for your concerns about the other two older turtles, since they didn't show previous shell issues in the form of MBD and shell rot I'd say they have a good chance of maintaining their health once you improve the diet and living conditions. Clean water goes a long way to ensuring good health, so it's good you're maintaining that. I can't imagine changing 6 tanks, how intense!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear your turtle died! I know this can be very painful to deal with especially when you have cared for your turtles for that long.

If it makes you feel better, Reptomin is a very good pellet (fortified with Vitamin D) & I have had Sheba on it for almost 18 yrs straight. Her lighting was not always ideal since way back when there was very little information about turtles (and not nearly the selection of supplies like nowadays) so I had to just muddle my way through. She often had a broad-spectrum plant light for lighting because that's all the store had. I often housed her in very hard water so she would get enough calcium (dissolved those water-neutralizer calcium blocks in her tank) and she got mostly pellets as well as many other things like cooked chicken, earthworms, cooked fish, shrimp once in a while too for variety. I never even knew she could eat veggies until I found the redearslider website 2 yrs ago.

Nowadays, I no longer use those calcium neutralizer blocks in her water (they leave whitish/gray water stains on a turtle's shell which make the shell look very gray). She still gets reptomin pellets every 2 days, but she gets some kind of plant/fruit/veggie every day and eats almost every kind of veggie I give her!

I have never given her any kind of vitamin supplement (reptomin is well balanced) so as long as you add some green lettuce, romaine, collards, or some other leafy green to their daily lives, I'm sure they will thrive! The natural foods are better for them anyway. Take good care & keep us updated!