Feeding and Nutrition :: turtle not eating

[monolithmaji]

i got too baby res less then a year old the both of them. They just now got big enuff for me to tell that one of them is female and the other is male. the female is starting not to eat regularly. I feed them both every mourning when i wake them up about 5 pellets each and some lettuce. the female will eat like one pellet then no more but if i try to feed her later she will eat a few more.. it happens off and on sometimes she will eat some times she wont. do females eat less then males? she seems to spend alot more time basking preffering to bask and let the male eat all the lettuce. ive seen them steal food from each other but ive never seen the male be overly agressive towards the female when there is plunty of food.

[industrial_girl_2000]

How big are the turtles & how long have you had them? What does your set up look like (how big, what kind of water heater)? Can you post a picture?

[Starchick]

Not eating and basking excessively can be signs of a respiratory infection. Do you see any other symptoms, like open mouth breathing or yawning, swimming lopsided, bubbles or discharge from the nose or mouth? What is your water temperature? For hatchlings it should be 78-80 degrees, with the basking spot about 10 degrees above that. Since turtles are cold-blooded, water that's too cool will slow down their digestion and they won't be inclined to continue eating. If your temps are good, maybe try feeding them one at a time in a separate container? That way you can make sure the male isn't getting too much to eat, and if the female won't eat enough you can try soaking pellets in tuna juice to make them tastier.

[monolithmaji]

i have had them for less then half a year there less then half a year old. i dont belive she has a respiratory infection cause she has no other signs.. the water temp i keep at 80 the basking is kept at 90. ive tried feeding them in seperate containers either of them wont eat when i put them in a diffrent kind of box or container.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Some turtles get stressed out when you move them to a different container. Will they eat in their tank? If so, just feed them in the tank & change the water more frequently.