Urgent Care :: Turtle bites food then spits it back out.

[chocoberry64]

My 13? year old male RES has been biting his "Omega One Diet" pellets recently and spitting him out immediately. He has been eating those pellets for probably 3-4 years? and he DOES NOT eat anything else, no veggies, no fruits nothing EXECPT shrimp and pellets. But now, he doesn't even eat them. I have seen him actually eat 1 or 2 pellets, and 1 shrimp but the rest, he would spit out every few days??

He is swimming normally and playing with the rock at the bottom of his tank. And he would bite at the filter's extension tube and even at the glass. This has been going on for probably or week or so.

Water temperature is 82-84 degrees
He has a filter and basking rock including heat lamp.

Is this normal? I brought him to a vet already for a possible respiratory infection and has given him 2 shots of Baytril even though the doctor had said he looked perfectly healthy and that the inside of his mouth looks fine. NOTE that the spitting of food has been occurring before his shots. I don't think this has happened before so I don't know what to do.
Does he not like his food anymore? Is he sick? Should I buy him new pellets??


Also, I sae him have an erection last night, and he is doing the mating ritual with a rock.. Is he not eating because he wants to mate? If so, how long will it be untill he eats again..

NOTE: he is extremely picky

PLEASE HELP im desperate!! I've had him since he was a baby =/

[penelope]

I can't speak to the mating ritual, but sometimes they simply don't want to eat and/or get bored with their food.
The water temp is a bit high. Normally water that is too cold affects appetite, but you never know.
If every thing seems ok otherwise, them maybe just ride it out a bit and see what happens in a week or so.

[ljapa]

Is it a new container of pellets? Maybe the formulation has changed slightly.

One trick I've read here is to pre-soak the pellets in the water drained from a can of tuna.

[chocoberry64]

Would soaking pellets in tuna cause the water to become oily?? And what kind of canned tuna do I get?

[ljapa]

Get the tuna packed in water, not oil. There may still be some slight fouling of the water, but it should not be too much.

Very nice looking RES.

[chocoberry64]

thank you =] and I will look into it. He does not seem to be into the goldfish yet =/ maybe ill see one missing tomorrow

[ljapa]

He looks healthy, but trying to sneak some veggies in would be a good thing. In the wild a turtle that age will be getting most of its food via plant matter.

Have you seen the recipe for turtle Jell-O shots?

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17486

[chocoberry64]

I will try it. I am 99.99% sure my turtle wont even touch it though. He doesnt even want to eat his Omega one pellets anymore, he hates the zoomed pellets, and he doesn't touch vegetables or fruits of any kind whatsoever. I did see sponge that he pooped out though that became reddish orange.. and he doesnt seem interested in the goldfish. I don't think he is sick, but becasue he is extrremely picky, I am almost certain he wont even bother with it. I bought him the banquet blocks- with calcium. he bit it one time, and ignored it ever since.. wasted my money.

[steve]

What's his diet normally like? Baytril and other antibiotics could actually suppress diet.

[chocoberry64]

His diet is composed of only pellets and on occasion dried shrimp =/ I know its bad, but I am trying to be a good turtle owner and is now trying to feed him veggies as well and less pellets if only he would eat =/

[steve]

Did you try the tuna yet?