Feeding and Nutrition :: HUGE AWFUL turtle feeding problem

[jonreif]

Hi all... I am in desperate need of expert advice so I came here first...

Today I came across a turtle.. It was living in a white plastic bucket with a little water... now.. my problem is..

SHE IS HUGE!!!!

If she were human she would be 1,000 pounds!!!!

she is so big that she can not go in her overblown size shell... she can pull her head in about 1/4 if both front legs are out fully and can nearly get one back leg in if the other is out and her butt and tail are sticking out beyond the shell!!!! when her legs are out you can see its puffed out where her legs should fit in...

also as a side note her claws are down to stumps from sliding around in circles in that bucket

I need a diet fast as I can not belive this turtle is alive in this condition at all....

I know I cant just halt food and shock her system but I need advice as to weather I should give some tiny bits (like 2/3 pellets) everyday for awile and maybe even cut back to every other day feeding once her system adjusts or should I feed just a bit more food (but less than normal turtle amounts) and give it on every other and maybe move tward every third day...

those were my thoughts but I dont want to just *boom* and go from her normal massive daily feedings down to nothing and shock her already overworked system. this really is a morbid obese problem and its not going to fix fast..

Now I put her in a real tank with about 15 inches of water and made sure she can swim and she does swim by moving her entire shell side to side and wagging her paws best she can. I think this excercise will do wonders in helping the situation but I am concerned she may over-exert so I am taking her out of the water every few hours for a 30 min breather break till she gets useto swimming up for air and builds muscle to do it.

I noticed when she pushes on my hand to squirm away her strenght is nothing like my other 3 turtles who seem to have enough brute force to pull a tractor from the mud

I have a concern she may not be able to dock and bask but I think even if she had to go without real basking for some time while the weight loss happens the health benifits and risks may need to be considered as impending death sounds more pressing of an issue than basking for good health . I am not sure what basking she has before but my thoughts were to put her in my turtle pen in the morning sun through my sliding glass doors, now the pen is not huge but enough room to walk around for exercise unlike the bucket horror

Anyway to sum things up let me know if my ideas are on the right track and any help on that diet plan would be most appriciated and urgently needed to give her any chance of living to see another year as I said I cant belive she is alive today with as big as she has boomed to!!

Im not sure if this is inportant to diet but she does not look full grown compared to my 7 and 11 year olds but is bigger than 4 year old so I would say about 6 from size of shell give or take a year but with such a bloated up shell size is distorted

Oh, yeah..is the shell damage going to get better?... I believe that it may come back a bit with time but I an sure some perment damage is done as its puffed up high in the middle like a ball compared to my other RES and the sides are not the same as my other turtles

The whole situation is just out of this world and way beyond basic textbook turtle care and calls for drastic emergency measures and judgement calls that I need more advice to help me make the right decisions to in my belief save this turtle from sure death.

P.S. to bring some humor to a bad situation does anyone know of a jenny craig for turtles... how about swimming in slimfast shakes?

[jonreif]

I have taken a picture of her pulled as far in her shell as she can, she was terified so she even got her front leg in a bit with her head in about 1/4 however the photo does not even begin to show the true problem as a photo cant show you the round factor that you have when you hold her in your hands.

This is one big girl.. If I pick up my largest turtle and her I can feel the major weight difference in her so it must be all packed in that shell somewhere!

I dont know how to make the photo appear but I just figured out how to get a link to it so here it is......

http://cid-c12ecd30631b320d.skydrive.li ... G00002.jpg

[Kemul]

Well, as far as diet goes, stick to the redearslider.com rules: half head-size daily
or head-size every other day, plus vegetables as large as the shell. I don't think
overfeeding vegetables a little can make a turtle obese, it's the protein and fat in
pellets and treats that do.

Your exercise plan for the turtle sounds good. I won't worry about her swimming
ability much. As long as she can push herself up for air, she's fine. Basking is a
must too. Losing weight for a turtle takes a long time because of its slow metabolism.
We have to be patient about it. Just keep providing ideal conditions for the turtle.

Apart from sign of pyramiding, the shell looks healthy. Hopefully after a couple
years or more, the pyramiding will subside.

[jonreif]

do you think maybe scale back the normal food amounts somewhat? like 1/4 head size daily so she starts burning rather than maintaining...

I was thinking daily lettuce as that will not gain her any weight but keep her feeling like she is eating somehitng....

yes, I too thought the shell looks healthy in itself just way puffed up... I mean my other turtles are not prime examples of RES as a domestic animal is hard to keep at the same standards as a wild but wow this girl towers over them...

I noticed this morning she was tring to get on that dock... maybe just curious but its a step in the right direction already....

[Kemul]

jonreif,

Climbing on the dock is a good sign.

I think you can try reducing the pellets amount. Some turtles are kept for years
eating only greens. Not a very good thing to do, but so you know that won't kill
your turtle. Varied diet is better.

I think swimming is a good exercise for her. If temperature and conditions allow,
take her outside for a walk.

[jonreif]

yes, I was happy to see her climb up today... did not spend long but its a start

Its sort of funny as the entire back of the dock pops up ot of water when she gets on the edge!! If it was not stuck on with suckers I think it would not hold! its like watching a kid alone on a teeter totter

I did not want to cut her off eighter, rather implement a well rounded low cal plan and determine the best way to deliver that.

I know the body systems are different but if you just stop eating or crash diet as a human it can just slow weight loss as the body reacts so I am sure something simular will apply to turtles systems.

At the moment Im letting her run around on the carpet in my lounge and she seems to be getting better and faster already and is adapting ways of moving to suit her size..

I am in wisconsin USA and being January its between +10 and -20 f outside so I think she is more cozy indoors till about april time but when spring hits they have a vast grassy area to move about, the only thing I had problem was last year with 3 they all went in complete different directions so if 4 do the same I will be out of breath to watch all of them! I will have to out them in pairs

Thanks for the ideas on food