Feeding and Nutrition :: My turtle won't eat pellet food.

[Into_the_Mystic]

I feed a baby carrot once a month. They should be used as a occasional treat. I think once a month is a good amount.

Oh wow.. O.k. I will cut back to that now as well.

So pretty much lettuce is about the only thing that can be given daily?

[steve]

You can use most things daily, but you have to adjust the amounts.

[Into_the_Mystic]

How do we know what the correct amounts are? How much lettuce is too much?

I give two leafs and sometimes just one if I know it is pellet day.

[steve]

Lettuce and veggies are trickier to measure out but mine also get roughly leaves. If the stool is very loose, then I'll reduce the amount temporarily.

[Into_the_Mystic]

He eats his stool but when I can see it before he does, it looks o.k I guess.. Not really a "Poop" expert

[steve]

If it's dark and breaks up easy (leaving pieces everywhere) I'll throttle back on the veggies.

[Into_the_Mystic]

How does his shell look to you? Pyramidy?

[steve]

Not really, maybe at the tiniest levels. A real good shed is in order.

[Into_the_Mystic]

Well he has shed a couple scutes this past week. They look like finger nails. I give him Blueberries once a month and have given him jello shots twice in about 6 weeks.

I give him a variety of pellets every-other-day and they are ReptoMin sticks, Wardley sticks abd Rep-Cal pellets. I only fede the size of his head as directed. He aslo gets slivers of carrots once in awhile. I tried the green beans, but he took a couple nibbles and I guess decided he didn't like those too much.

Any suggestions as to what else I could incorporate into his diet to help? How fast should he shed them? Is the pieces of finger nail looking things normal?

I did notice that he seems a bit itchy lately... Was trying to rub his shell on his tree and whatever else he could find yesterday. Is that due to him shedding? He's been more "normal" today.

[Into_the_Mystic]

He also basks normally during the day I thin kwhen we are not at home. He does it sometimes when we are home, but I am sure he does it more when it's quiet in the house.

It is too cold to take him outside for the real UVA/UVB light, but maybe I should get him a new bulb. It's been about 4 months since I replaced it. Not sure if that will help though.

[steve]

Some think wheat-germ koi pellets help with shedding but I think basking will help the most.

[Into_the_Mystic]

o.k.. Thanks.. I do think he basks quite a bit when we are not at home and we have been letting him roam the house (under watchful eyes) in the evenings for about an hour. He actually looks forward to it I think ...lol So maybe being dry for that amount of time will help as well. He gets upset when we put him back in his tank it looks like because he swims eratically at the glass and fans his feet like he wants back out. He is such a sweet boy and I know some say the less you handle them the better, but he really doesn't seem to mind and like I say, seems to enjoy his freedom from the tank.