Feeding and Nutrition :: Good brand of pellets vs bad ones anyone know?

[Mobat555]

I am curious if anyone has opinions about the diffrent pellet options out there. I am well aware that pellets should not be a primary source of food. but sadly my turtles dont seem to want to eat anything else. If there is a good well rounded pellet out there someone would like to recommend I would appreciate it.

Mobat

[fishandcandy]

I use Reptomin but I've never tried anything else.
This lists them in suggested order:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm

[ellman605]

i use wardley, they die for it, and i compared everything at petsmart, and i can swear there isnt one difference between wardley and reptomin!

[Turtleboy]

i use reptomin, mine loves the stuff too but i only feed it to him in the evening after he eats his green veggies.. so why don't you try that? don't feed him for a day or so and then offer veggies!

[Mobat555]

Tried thatwent 3 days with out eating. Im assuming the three years prior to being in my care they only ate pellets, which leads me to beleive they might not understand other foods. I was hoping instinct would kick in but it hasnt.

[marisa]

There was a thread on this forum quite a while ago about what people used and recommended. I don't think any one pellet provides everything a turtle needs. I've always tried to use two or three (my RES currently gets Mazuri and Repcal pellets) and rotate them on pellets days.

[fishandcandy]

Do you hand feed? You could try hand feeding them veggies.
My turtle went for 2+ years eating only pellets before I got him. The first 3 non pellet items I dropped in were chicken, tuna, and bacon (I know it's bad. I shouldn't eat it either). Next I gave carrots, which took him awhile to get the hang of. Even now when I drop the lettuce in he's confused for a little bit. It takes him awhile to remember that it's food even though he doesn't grab it out of my hand.

[Mobat555]

They tore apart the cuttle bone like none other. But I left Kale in there and I am not going to give them pellets today. (Feeding schedule is mon/wed/fri) and put some diced carrots in for them see how it goes.

I got 3.5lbs of Fluters turtle pellets for $17 at a local shop. I am going to try it

[marisa]

I've never heard of Fluters turtle pellets...

[Mobat555]

Heres a linke to Flukers http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cluster?q=turtle+pellets&pid=4723324630910068855&oid=3711986100074595344&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=mrd&hl=en

I feed them diced carrots last night, though they didnt go right for them. They were 90% gone by morning.

Thought they still havent touched the Kale. Might try normal lettuece this next time.

[marisa]

Ok, Fluckers I've heard of, but not Fluters.

My turts aren't crazy about greens with curly edges--rather tough and difficult to bite. I sometimes cut the curliest part off (and use it in my salad), but I tend to give kale much less than leafy greens like dandelions, red leaf lettuce, etc.

[lil_miz_tuttle]

My boys eat ReptoMin and wouldn't eat Wardley at all. When they were younger I feed them ReptoMin Baby b/c it had more of the nutrients that the smaller ones needed and I guess that got them hooked. I still occasionally add it to their other adult ReptoMin formula food. I tried to get them to eat other brands, but it just sinks and I end up doing a lot of tank cleaning!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Tetra Reptomin Foodsticks. I have kept turtles (Painted & RES) for over 17 yrs and never could get them to eat any other types of pellets.

[Pugness]

I use Mazuri and I dont htink Im gonna be running out any time soon, I ordered a 25 lb bag because it was hella cheap and now I have 25 lbs of food for my turtle, i think it will be good for the next year or two. hehe

[marisa]

Wow. I use Mazuri as well but only buy the containers that Petsmart sells. And those last my RES a long time since I alternate with other pellets/food.

How are you going to keep that amount of food fresh, especially in the summer? Does it come in a really airtight container? I keep any unopened container of Mazuri in the freezer. It says on the container that it's good for about a year, and that freezing may extend the shelf life.