Feeding and Nutrition :: Big turtle, little turtle?!

[noellemayes]

I recently adopted two turtles from devonian gardens here in calgary. I have a female and a Male not sure how old they are about the size of a growm mans full hand (fingers included) I am right now feeding them pellets which one is taking to nicely.. the other ( who seems to be a little more submisive, and is the female) is not eating or trying to.

should I be taking her away from the other turtle to feed?!
also I beleive they got a small variety of food where they used to live (basically pellets) and they are not too into eating blood worms that i've tried to give them. Will they eventually get used to a more varied diet or is it possible that they are already trained to survive on pelets alone?!

[DavidY]

You might want to take the aggressive turtle out after he's done eating and put him in a separate container or let him walk around in an enclosed area. Then feed the shy turtle when she seems ready to eat. Also the pellet foods like Reptomin are a good staple diet to feed on a regular basis, but you should try to see if they'll eat veggies since in the wild they will consume a lot of aquatic plants. Many RES like leafy green or red lettuces like romaine, greed and red leaf lettuce, radiccio, dandelion greens, etc. You should try putting some leaves in the tank and see if they're interested. Or if you can get some anacharis aquarium plants at the pet store or a pond store they might take to that more quickly. Veggies should be offerred daily and the pellets every other day.

[noellemayes]

ok thank you i will try that! i figured ill just see if she will eat on her own. i'm a little worried abotu her right now she doesnt seem well but at the same time i don't knwo much about turtles and just got them so I'm not sure what "not well" looks like.

Right now she basically floats around...and when i say floats i mean floats! she doesnt swim much and sleeps most of the time. when she is awake her eyes are pretty puffy and barely open. not like the other turtle who is very active always awake and has very large clear eyes.

I've been told that carrotts are good for puffy eyes and will try to feed her some. is there anything else i should be doing for her? could she be sick?

[DavidY]

Yup she could be sick. The puffy eyes and the floating are signs of possible illness. Turtles are normally shy when you first move them to a new home but those other symptoms should be checked by a vet. Could be a respiratory infection or it could be a Vitamin A deficiency or something else. Do you know of a good herp vet in your area?

[noellemayes]

I think I have one i see for my snake. not sure if she does turtles because technically its illegal to have turtles as pets in alberta because they are a naturally occuring spoecies here. I'll try to find one thought because I think she needs to see someone.

[marisa]

Perhaps the vet who sees your snake would be able to recommend someone if she doesn't want to.

[noellemayes]

yah i have avet who will see her...not sure her eyes look better today it may have been the invironment she was in before I got her....but she still is not feeding! do females feed less than males because my male if a beggar or sure and will eat if you give it to him.

[urbancleopatra]

symptoms of illness come and go for turtles. I still suggest getting her checked out. On the feeding topic, take the aggressive one out to eat. If the shy one gets removed then the aggressive one will "take charge" of their living environment and be more of a bully when she is returned.

[noellemayes]

ok thank you guys! I'll try that maybe shell start eating...i figured seeing as shes lived with 56 other turtles in a zoo-like situation she would be ok...could she just be getting used to her new situation?!

[SpotsMama]

It's pretty typical for a new turtle not to eat but it's not typical for them to just float. A new turtle will be nervous and skittish. They'll run and hide at the least little thing. Doesn't really sound like your girl.

One thing about turtle illnesses is that they are usually contageous. Move the female to a separate container and keep a close eye on the male in case he starts showing symptoms.

Until you can get your girl to a vet keep her warm (80 degrees), very clean and stress free. Keep trying to get her to eat. Until she's normal and healthy it's ok to offer her things that you'd normally only offer as treats - like tuna in water, fresh shrimp or boiled chicken.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[noellemayes]

ok thansk you ill try that! i have another tank she can live in for the time being.

[untsmurf]

I agree with taking her to the vet. And if she is sick that is likely the cause of her not eating, but just so you know when two turtles live together, one can gain dominance over the other and in this situation the non-dominate turtle will not eat and could starve to death. So if you get her to the vet and she recovers but still wont eat, you will have to separate them.

[noellemayes]

thansk! and i ahve started taking the dominant turtle out of the cage to feed him...we'll see what she thinks.

[untsmurf]

Good luck Let us know how it works out!

[noellemayes]

so my appointment fell throught because i have a friend who works for a vet and is going to look into it for much cheeper than avet wil for the time being!

the good news is Libea ate last night! I was extatic she ate her pellets and some blood worms and she even faught Roy off so that he wouldn't stal her food! I am so glad that she is feeling better! I am going to leave her for a while see if she comes too. I am starting to think she may just be in shock from the major change in habitat over the last few days.