Feeding and Nutrition :: Pellet Shelf Life

[VelvetAlley]

The following advice was given to me by Dr Todd Cecil at http://www.pescsandiego.com/ourStaff5.php

Had to take Sputnik in to get his eyes checked out as one of them was swollen shut and was hindering his ability to eat. Sputnik is not in any danger and his swelling has been taken care of, but that's not the point of the post! He gave me some information to consider when buying turtle food.

1. Turtle Pellets may lose their vitamin concentrate over a period of time. It's best to buy smaller quantities and replace (if any left) after 6 months of being open.

2. Alternate between turtle foods. While food companies claim to have the perfect balance of nutrition in their product even the experts are still guessing what that exactly is. Feeding your turtle two different foods may result in a more balanced diet.

Personally I was using a giant can of Zoo Med turtle pellets that I'd had for probably 8 months and hadn't even gone through half of it. Now I own to small containers of different brands of food. Pretty interesting stuff.



Side note: I don't post her often anymore, but I do come by to see what new things people have done with their habitats. I'm glad this website is still here for reference when strange things happen!

Blessings,
Branden

[jozzep]

Very interesting....
But pellets have an expiration date.Shouldn't they be good up to that date?

[BullDog]

Interesting!
So it sounds like it can last longer if it remains sealed? The reason I ask is because I usually buy 2 of the 1.2 kg boxes of Reptomin at a time because I have to order them online, and usually you get a break on shipping after X dollars spent. Last time I worked it out and it took me about 8 months to go through one box while the other remained sealed. The way I figure it is either it's sitting on my shelf for 6-8 months or it's sitting on the suppliers shelf for 6-8 months...

Also my thoughts on the pellets: That's totally true that you shouldn't just do one type of food. But I wonder if pellets in combination with different fresh veggies gives a full complement of needed vitamins and minerals. I've got no problem with buying two foods, but I personally would rather give different veggies instead of a second type of pellet.

On a related note, I watched a documentary on dog and cat foods recently, and they said exactly that; You shouldn't feed too much of one food. Which got me thinking, my turtles eat better than my cat o_o

[marisa]

Relatively few pellets have expiration dates on them.

I agree with purchasing in smaller amounts (unless you have a LOT of turtles). Even with smaller amounts, however, the shelf life can be affected by temp and humidity.

[theartbook35]

I buy in larger amounts because I have two turtles. Right now they eat four pellets each. I'm switching from Reptomin, to Rep-Cal, eve before I read this I've always wanted to change foods for variety sake.

I would expect expired pellets to have a strange smell or color. I've never necessarily seen expired pellets, that's just my theory.

[BullDog]

I would expect expired pellets to have a strange smell or color. I've never necessarily seen expired pellets, that's just my theory.

I think actually the opposite is true. When I first open a fresh box of pellets, it's got a fairly strong smell (not a bad smell, just a fishy pellet smell). Usually by the end of the box, the smell is less.

Mind you, I live in a dry climate, so it would probably be different in a moister clime. They very well could get bad smelling if they got wet.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I think you can also extend the shelf life of your pellets if you are buying larger boxes by sealing them in vacuum-sealed bags, keeping them in a dry, cool place, and keeping them away from all light. That way air can't affect the vitamins (which it will chemically affect them over time, like oxidizing them) and light can't affect them (which UV can also change the chemical structure).

And I agree with BullDog, the pellets I have (ReptoMin and HBH Turtle Bites) initially had a stronger smell and now they don't smell like much at all ... I live in a more humid climate, well, humid for the US at least!

[theartbook35]

I would expect expired pellets to have a strange smell or color. I've never necessarily seen expired pellets, that's just my theory.

I think actually the opposite is true. When I first open a fresh box of pellets, it's got a fairly strong smell (not a bad smell, just a fishy pellet smell). Usually by the end of the box, the smell is less.

Mind you, I live in a dry climate, so it would probably be different in a moister clime. They very well could get bad smelling if they got wet.

Weird... In other words, pellets smell good when they expire.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Lol theres one good thing about owning more turtles finally. You dont have worry about food going bad. I buy the very large bag of reptomin. That doesnt even last 6months

[VanishingReality]

On a related note, I watched a documentary on dog and cat foods recently, and they said exactly that; You shouldn't feed too much of one food. Which got me thinking, my turtles eat better than my cat o_o

My vet had me switch to a different brand of wet since my cats get both and it really has done wonders for them.