Urgent Care :: Help me......

[jessie]

hi....i have 2 RES.....but they dont eat anything except pellet....i try to feed them vegetablesand insects but they dont eat any.....is this normal??they are almost 2 years old....im also confusing if they get enough food...the container of the pellet said i should feed them 2 to 3 times daily but i read some websites and they said i should feed them once in two days....which one should i follow????

[cam722]

eating just pellets isn't all that harmful, not the best diet in the world for older turtles but it's ok. It's more the amount that you feed them that is the problem. Older turtles, those over a year old, should be fed the amount of pellets that will fit in the size of your turtles head.. Once every OTHER day. You can also break that amount down in half and feed them that every day if you feel as if you're starving them but trust me they'll be just fine. Wild turtles can go for day without food. Keep offering them veggies and eventually they will eat them. If you offer the veggies on days they don't get pellets, it makes it a bit easier.

[jessie]

thanks......but what did you mean by "the amount of pellets that will fit in the size of your turtles head"??? sorry.....i dont really understand..

[cam722]

I know it can be confusing.. lol I just kind of estimate. Depending on the type of food you use, just estimate how many of them would fit in your turtles head, (say if it were empty). I feed my 2 -1.5 yr old turtles approximate 10-12 sticks every OTHER day. Along with veggies of course. Just depends on the size of your turtle and it's head. Oh, the part of the head is just the head not including the neck. I've never gotten a definitive answer on what amounts others come up with so it's kind of a guessing game.. But it's safer to err on the lesser amount than a larger amount due to the high protein in pellets.

[jessie]

ic......thanks....