Feeding and Nutrition :: A couple interesting notes I found out about pellets...

[BullDog]

The first thing: I was thinking of trying Mazuri pellets, but according to their site, they're only available at 1 retailer in BC. I call them up, and long story short, they're wholesale only. She said you can talk to your local pet store and they can special order it for you, but since my local pet stores over charge anyhow, I've basically written Mazuri off.

Next thing: I has checking out ATP and saw one of their recommended foods is Rep-cal. I check out the Rep-cal website, and besides finding they have no Canadian retailers listed, I find this for feeding instructions:

Method 1
Feed every morning: Offer slightly more food than your aquatic turtle can eat in a 5-7 hour period, and allow your pet access to its food for the entire daylight period. Important: Be sure to remove uneaten food at the end of each day.

Method 2
Feed turtles in a separate "feeding" tank: This method reduces waste and debris and helps maintain water quality. Put turtles in their "feeding tank" with slightly more food than they can eat in 1-2 hours every day.

Scary.

The third thing is just a rant about big als online.
As you know, Big Als has a Canadian site and a US site. I'm running low on pellets again, and I seem to be burning through the little containers quickly. I found on the Big Als site they sell a 2.5 pounder for 54.99 (CAD), which works out to be 1/2 the price of what I pay for the smaller containers (not to mention the gas money to drive all the way to walmart every time ). Curiosity gets the better of me, and I decide to check out how much they charge on the US site. It blew me away when I saw it was only 24.99 (USD) for the same thing!!! That's over 100% markup! I add the shipping costs (generously, assuming the cost would be at least $5 more than listed) and the cost in CAD still works out to be ~$40!!! Can you say inflation?? GARRRRRRRRR!!!

Ok, I feel better.

That being said, I think I'm going to order it from bigalsonline simply because it's not available any where else -.-'

[steve]

This was my rant:

Overfeeding
Feeding directions on these products are often too generous and vague. An example would be (from Ecotherm Aquatic Turtle Medley): "Feed daily, do not feed more than turtle will consume at each feeding. The amount per feeding will depend on size and preference of your pet." The overfeeding of pellets is a serious problem and a general guideline used by most experienced keepers calls for the amount of pellets to be in proportion to the size of their heads (excluding their necks).

www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

[pumpkinsherbet]

i feed the pellets to my turtles like i'd feed vitamins to a kid. a necessary supplement, but by no means a meal. i do put in enough veggies for them to munch on throughout the day.

[marisa]

I do give my turtles pellets as a meal, and I don't consider them to be a supplement---they are a necessary part of the the diet, especially for hatchlings. However, I don't overfeed, and depending on the age, they don't get them every day.

[pumpkinsherbet]

sweety that's what a supplement is, part of a whole.