Feeding and Nutrition :: 1 pellet a day?

[saeho]

Hello,

I purchased a baby yellow belly slider yesterday. And because I do not want to be stuck with a huge turtle too fast, I decided to minimize the feeding of my turtle.

What I'm planning to do is feed my baby turtle one pellet a day. And if I feed him live prey treats (like worms), he wouldn't be getting any pellet on that day plus the next.

The sales associate who I thought was pretty honest and knowledged, told me that my plan is fine and that I won't be starving the turtle this way.

What do you guys think? Do you think I should be feeding him more?

Thanks,

Jason

[theartbook35]

You really shouldn't hinder their natural growth. Aside from it being totally natural, you knew that turtle was going to grow before you bought it. If you weren't prepared to deal with the normal growth of a turtle, why did you buy one?

Well, guess what, that turtle is your responsibility until he or she dies of old age.

It takes a hatchling about a year or so to reach a normal size of four inches. That is plenty of time for you to save up money to get a larger tank in the future. Tanks last a long time for turtles, too. They only grow an inch per year.

You should feed your turtle a head sized amount of pellets once a day. Feeding them one pellet a day is starving them, and that is not okay. (It almost borders on just being flat-out mean)

Sales associates in pet stores are idiots. Never listen to them. Everyone on this site has lived with turtles, and we know better than the sales associate.

[Caphits]

I think that 1 pellet for a hatchling is fine.
They have pretty small heads.

I only give my 3 inch turtle 2-3 pellets a day, because that is how big his head is. Dont forget to give veggies too.

[theartbook35]

I think that 1 pellet for a hatchling is fine.
They have pretty small heads.

I only give my 3 inch turtle 2-3 pellets a day, because that is how big his head is. Dont forget to give veggies too.

I guess, in that sense, it would depend on the size of pellet.

Most turtle pellets I've seen are fairly small, and thus, about three or four can fit in my turtles' heads. (My turtles are 2 inches)

[marisa]

Welcome.

What kind of worms are you talking about? If you mean mealworms, a steady diet of them will likely do more harm than good over time. An occasional earthworm (or pieces of one), however is fine. How many worms are you giving at a feeding?

A hatchling needs protein to grow, and depending on the size, just one pellet sounds a little stingy to me. What brand of pellets are you feeding? You want to aim for slow, steady growth, and you can achieve this by not going overboard with the portion size of what you give. You don't, however, want your turtle to be consistenly hungry. Don't forget to introduce plant matter early on (look at the list of what's good to feed).

Most captive turtles are fed (sometimes a bit too much) a diet rather high in protein, with the result being that 4 inches the first year is considered my some to be the norm. It is possible, however, to feed a balanced diet and have a healthy yearling that's smaller than 4 inches.

What is the rest of your set-up like for your YBS? Does he have a UVB light, heat light, basking area, heater, filter, etc.? How big is his tank? How much water is in it?

[theartbook35]

Welcome.

What kind of worms are you talking about? If you mean mealworms, a steady diet of them will likely do more harm than good over time. An occasional earthworm (or pieces of one), however is fine. How many worms are you giving at a feeding?

A hatchling needs protein to grow, and depending on the size, just one pellet sounds a little stingy to me. What brand of pellets are you feeding? You want to aim for slow, steady growth, and you can achieve this by not going overboard with the portion size of what you give. You don't, however, want your turtle to be consistenly hungry. Don't forget to introduce plant matter early on (look at the list of what's good to feed).

Most captive turtles are fed (sometimes a bit too much) a diet rather high in protein, with the result being that 4 inches the first year is considered my some to be the norm. It is possible, however, to feed a balanced diet and have a healthy yearling that's smaller than 4 inches.

What is the rest of your set-up like for your YBS? Does he have a UVB light, heat light, basking area, heater, filter, etc.? How big is his tank? How much water is in it?

Great response ^___^ You go girl ;D

Makes me feel a little better about my yearlings being at two inches still.