Feeding and Nutrition :: my hector looks over weight, what now?

[hector]

I've noticed that even though I feed Hector every other day. And I only give her 6-10 small pellets at a feeding she looks over weight. I found out that the other members of my family of the human kind have been feeding her also. Hector gets very excited when anyone comes near her. We all have a soft spot in our hearts ( and possibly our heads for her). I found out no one else can resist her excitement and take her actions as a need to be fed. I've gotten everyone to ask before feeding her. I've also put up a " don't feed the wild animal " sign once she's been fed. And I've gone as far as hiding her pellets from the family. Now what can I do to get her slimmed down so she doesn't suffer any adverse results? I let her out of her tank into a fairly good sized corralled area indoors. She is a fast little bugger. All she wants to do is go to the nearest wall and try to dig under or climb over. I hate seeing her acting like she wants to escape her captivity and I really don't want her to get hurt trying. So I would appreciate any suggestions I could get on helping her slim down. I follow all the habitat guide lines for temperatures and tank size. She recently moved into an even larger 40 gallon tank. So I hope somebody reads this and has something helpful to say. P.S. As far as I can tell she is not acting like she wants to nest and she doesn't feel like there are any eggs in her. She's just getting chubby.

[cutepanda86]

Well from what I've read the best thing to do is to cut down on her eating. If you've taken steps to hide the food from folks, that's a good idea. If she only gets fed every other day like she's supposed to, she'll start to lose the weight on her own. Check out this topic and see if that helps: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33268

As far as the digging/climbing over the walls, could you post a pic of the indoor area? Maybe there is something that she doesn't like or maybe someone will have a better idea of what is going on when they see it.

[ignites]

i let mine out in the backyard during the summer to run aroudn on my deck but ofcourse i keep an eye for them when they get near (edge of my paved deck is flowers so its a great hiding spot for them and i dont want to have to 'find' them)

[steve]

It's hard to control pellets and treats when the turtle is a family pet. Sort the pellets out in a pill box, and make sure what she gets does not exceed whats in there.