Feeding and Nutrition :: Getting Pudgy Again

[RunninWideOpen]

Squirt was quite pudgy when I got her awhile back, mostly around her legs and butt. She kinda bulged out of her shell. She lost a lot of her pudginess for awhile, but I just noticed it's starting to come back. Crush isn't getting fat at all.

Crush and Squirt are in the same tank. I hand feed them both about 8-10 pellets every other morning (the size of their head), so I know exactly how much they're getting. Sometimes I will give them a couple less pellets and give them a mealworm each or a shrimp. Then I put in a whole leaf of lettuce every morning (different kinds) and they both chow down on that. I think Squirt might be getting a little more lettuce than Crush because she eats really fast, but it's probably close to 50/50.

I can't figure out why Squirt's getting fat again. I'm not over feeding am I? She swims a lot and gets lots of excersize. Any ideas?

[turboturtle8]

My one male turtle is chubby like bulging out of his shell like you said.He usally eats most of the food I put in the tank.Maybe we should cut back on the food

[RunninWideOpen]

Yeah, I was going to put Squirt on a diet, but I don't want to under feed her either. I make sure to feed her no more than would fit in her head.

On the other hand, she's kinda got a big head too, lol.

[turboturtle8]

same here maybe they should start a weight watchers for turtles

[Starchick]

LOL. Hercules is a chubber too, his last owners had him in a 10 gallon tank with very little water and fed mostly pellets. He's slowly slimming down a little at a time, with the bigger tank and more veggies. Last night he was even able to suck his head all the way in!


I don't really have a good answer to your question though. Maybe cut back by a pellet or two and substitute some kind of veggie?

I don't want to scare you but I have to mention the possibility, when I took Hercules to the vet and talked to him about his weight, he told me that most likely he's just fat, but if a turtle gets poochy for no reason, it could be because of some kind of growth or tumor inside the body taking up space. It's unlikely, but if he continues to get fatter, even with diet changes, get him to the vet.

[RunninWideOpen]

Thanks Starchick. If he keeps getting fatter I'll definitely get her in.....hopefully to a vet that won't throw her across the room. I hope it's not some kind of tumor. She's not quite as pudgy as Hercules, but pretty close. I was just concerned cuz she started to slim down, but now it's starting to come back.

[Starchick]

Is she the one that got thrown? Did it start before the vet visit? I'm just wondering if it could be swelling from an internal injury?

[RunninWideOpen]

No no, she's not the one that got thrown. I'm just still bitter so I had to trow that in there, lol.

[industrial_girl_2000]

It's possible she might have eggs in there. When a female has eggs, the fat starts to bulge out of the back legs & that's totally normal. All the bigger turtles get a bit saggy after a while....I guess there is no such thing as "botox" for them, LOL. Sheba permanently has little fat bags in front of her hind legs from previous egg-laying. I posted a picture of her fat bags a while back in the photo section (prolly about 4 months ago)!

Then again, your phat turtle might just be thriving under your good care too!