Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:48 pm Re: Koopa won't eat and just sleeps
I've had my RES for five years, and it has gone through a week of not eating at least once a year, usually in the spring/summer. Never knew why, but it always started eating again. This year it went two weeks, and I made an appointment with the vet. Then it ate something the night before the appointment, so I canceled. Then it went three weeks, so I made a new appointment. Then it started eating again the night before the appointment, so I canceled. Then it went four weeks, so I made a new appointment. The night before the appointment, it laid eggs and started eating again. I kept the appointment.
So, your turtle could be a female like mine, just going through cycles that someday will produce eggs. Or not.
The vet I saw specializes in reptiles. Find one of those; otherwise you will waste your time even if the doctor shows up, as you've already seen.
The vet said my turtle was healthy and not eating for stretches of time is normal if eggs are on the way. Basically, the turtle is full, so they can't eat much. When I start seeing the signs (refusing to eat, lethargy, digging behaviors, i.e., it looks like she's trying to dig through the wall of her tank), I need to provide a container of dirt for her to burrow in and lay eggs. No clue how long she should stay there, though; could be a month. I'll need to have a water dish in there and get a new UV lamp that fits the container, etc.
She's laid eggs three times this spring/summer. The vet said they normally lay 20 or so. She laid 7 or 8 at a time. So next spring I'll have to have one of those big containers and some potting soil ready.
I came here because I just found out about pyramiding, and I happened on this thread. The vet didn't even remark on my turtle's pyramiding; I didn't know there was such a thing to ask about. I guess it is a health threat only at the time it is happening. Once you get the diet right and the turtle's insides catch up with the outsides, it is just cosmetic.
My turtle has pyramiding because I followed the feeding instructions on the food package (ReptoMin Floating Food Sticks). They pretty much tell you to give three times too much food. A turtle with a balanced but low diet will just grow slowly. My turtle looked liked a hatchling when we got it, but a year later we found out from the previous owner that it was 18 months old, and she just hadn't fed it much. But it had a very smooth shell.
The rule I found online was "one-third the size of the turtle's head, every three days" with no more explanation than that. Thanks, Internet. Another rule is "as much as the turtle will eat in a few minutes." The problem with that is that if the food is meat or meat-based, the turtle will eat it faster. I went to the 1/3 rule, but the vet told me I could feed every day; if the turtle eats it quickly (and she always does, in just about a minute), then it's okay. Plus leafy greens; my turtle didn't like curly mustard or collard greens, but can't get enough red leaf lettuce. Find a list of good greens (not iceberg lettuce), and see which ones your turtle likes. Apparently kale is good in moderation only, as it can have too much calcium.
I hope some piece of this is helpful to you.
