Feeding and Nutrition :: Turtle not eating!!

[Ericj418]

Hi! hello i'm currently new to the forum, and i'm sorry if i'm a bother, but i require some assistance. I've been raising Red Ear's since i was 7, i got my first one at a flea market, and it was really small and now it's huge, and with my experience i fed it beef, lettuce, and etc including turtle pellets. but my old turtle (hector) doesn't have any problems (he's in taiwan now lol), my current problem is this turtle my cousins gave to me because they were moving. My aunt had bought my little cousins 2 turtles from China town, obviously they were illegal and undersized. During the last month i was on christmas break and was charged with taking care of both turtles. They ate the pellets and what not. however the problem now is, one isn't eating, so i took him back to school with me (i'm in college), i put him in his own 6 gallon tank, with filter basking light and basking platform with plants and all, however he isn't eating. so after 4 days of not eating (it just leaves the pellets alone) i tried soaking the pellets in Salmon juice and also i crushed the pellets and mixed it into canned salmon, the turtle which i named Turtle, wouldn't eat the pellets i would just pick at the Salmon and leave the turtle pellets (Which are Nutrafin's Max gammourus pellets) so now i don't know what to do, i haven't tried fruit and veggies yet. what should i do? this is a problem i haven't encountered before.

[LOBO]

well it sounds like he might just not like the pellets. i've never heard of a turtle not eventually eating the pellets but if hes eating fish and other things then obviously its something with the pellets. have u tryed any other kind of pellet?

[megcornell]

It sounds like he simply prefers the much tastier salmon to the pellets. You'll just have to offer him pellets until he eats them, keep coating them in the salmon if that attracts him to them.
Also, a 6 gallon tank is much too small for a turtle of any size. How large is Turtle?

[marisa]

Have you tried softening some of the pellets a little pressing a little salmon into them and handfeeding them to your turtle? If he eats them, gradually decrease the salmon and don't soften the pellets.

[Ericj418]

i bought some Rosey Red's today for it, and it's eating them. i'm a keep trying with the pellets, cause if i keep driving to the pet store for Rosey red's i'm a go broke, but thanks for your suggestions!, btw it's only a 6gallon tank cause i'm in a college dorm and i have a tall 6gallon we're not allowed to have turtles but the tank is big enough with enough vegetation to hide it. as of right now Turtle's not too big still really small so i think it should hold him over for 2-3 months before i go home and have my 10 gallon tank.

[Ericj418]

sorry for the double post but there seems to be a new problem...it's the Rosey Red's, they don't seem to be taking to my tank >_< it's only been 3 hours and they are already just spazing out and dying! what should i do?

[shdwrvn13]

In that small a tank it's probably water quality killing the fish-especially if your turtle is much more than an inch or two.

And you'll need far more than a 10 gallon tank for your turtle, in 2-3 months from now he very well could be too large or close enough that you'll have to get him yet another tank only a month or two after moving him into the 10 gallon.

[FLhaven4strays]

sorry for the double post but there seems to be a new problem...it's the Rosey Red's, they don't seem to be taking to my tank >_< it's only been 3 hours and they are already just spazing out and dying! what should i do?

Did you dechlorinate the water? Are you using a bubbler? Chlorine would be my guess, but they need the water oxygenated too.

[Ericj418]

I'll probably be moving him home to my 20 galleon tank come Spring Break (in 2 months). I do have a bubbler, could be chlorine. >_< but yeah Turtle is refusing to eat anything but Fish ;-;

[TheComputerGremlin]

Is the water temperature right? Mine wouldn't eat when it got colder. And maybe it's just the trauma of everything, how long have you had the turtle and how long since it ate last? I would imagine if it's being traumatized, it might release salmonella and that might kill the fish ... Mine wouldn't eat the first pellets I offered, so maybe try changing brands. And I guess worst case scenario, feed the turtle pieces of fish to keep it alive until you figure out what's wrong.

[Ericj418]

He's eating now lol, he's only eating fish though - -. the water temperture is fine 78 degrees. i've had him in possession for about 2 two months, he used to pick at his pellets, but now he's not eating them at all, he wasn't eating for a week so i went and tried live feeder fish.

[SpotsMama]

My guess would be poor water quality is killing the fish since the tank is so small. It's really hard to keep the water clean in a small tank. You have to change the water all the time - several times a week for a 10 gallon or less tank - and also use a good conditioner.

[Bascomb]

Your turtles are air breathers and the fish have to get their oxygen throught their gills. If you fish are dying right away I would suggest the you test your water. Your ammonia or your nitrites may too high. The simple solution to get your turtle to eat is to not feed him for several days and see if he will eat then. If your temps are in line he will eat.

[Ericj418]

okay so about how long should i not feed him? and then try the pellets? so far all he eats is meat and i'm worried about Pyramiding

[powerofvoodoo]

I would offer the salmon soaked pellets every day until he starts eating them regularly, then try cutting out the salmon. Once he's all set with eating pellets, I would start offering veggies on a daily basis. Keep in mind that hatchlings are more carnivorous than adult turtles so he probably won't want the veggies until he's older.