Feeding and Nutrition :: Our RES is a minnow addict!

[woodym2]

We introduced minnows to our RES's diet a few weeks ago and he ate all of them but three. We bought a few more, and he ate all of then, save 2. We left him with the two for a couple of weeks and he didn't eat them; almost like he knew there were omly two left and didn't want to be without any treats! I bought a dozen more small minnows this week, and they are all eaten except 3. Should we not buy any more minnows for a while? Since he has been pigging out on fish we cut back his other food (1 pellet and 3 dried shrimp a day). He's only about 3 inches long, so I am afraid he is overeating....HELP!

[megcornell]

Minnows should be a treat, not a regular part of the diet. You can give them once a month or so. Because they're high in protein too many can lead to pyramiding and shell issues.
On a daily basis your turtle should be eating veggies and pellets. Take a look at the diet and nutrition section for what to feed your RES.

[emma]

Yes. You should cut back on the amount of minnows you are giving him. You should start giving your RES pellets every other day and the amount of pellets you should give him is how much you think can fit in his head. And you should also cut back on the amount of shrimp you are giving him. You should be giving it to him about every 2 weeks.
Also, every other day that you dont give your turtles pellets your should be offering him greens like lettuce, carrots, and it says what you should give your turtle in the feeding section on the forum. There is a list for things that you should and should feed your RES. But always keep offering your turtle the greens because in a while he will start to eat them.
And about the minnows that you have in your tank, I always had some but they were always to fast for my turtles to catch so i never really had a problem with it. Give your turtle minnows like every month or so for a treat. But is sounds like you are giving your RES a wonderful life! What is its name?

[Blue Flamingo]

You might be feeding it a bit too much fish. I only feed my turtles 10 fish every month or 2 months (just me personally though). You should only feed them shrimp as a treat and also feed them as much pellets as they could theoretically fit in their heads, every other day. On the other days feed them veggies, roman, red leaf lettuce, stuff like that. There’s a great sticky about different kinds of foods that are good, on the site you can check that out for more ideas.
Welcome to the Forum .

[woodym2]

His name is Fred. It's my youngest daughter's turtle, but we all thought he was so cute, he's become a family pet. We do put romaine inthe tank and have some aquatic plants for him to nibble on, but he LOVES those minnows. We'll wait a month before we buy more.