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Hello Everyone,

I'm new here, but decided to join to get some expert advice for my baby RES turtle. I've had him for about 5 months so I don't think he is much older than 6-7 months at most (I got him from a place that didn't know how old he was). He's been fine for the most part, I have him in a 10 gallon tank with a heating lamp and UVB light and water temp fairly regular as well as a docking area. Usually I feed him twice a day in a seperate container (so that he doesn't get his larger tank dirty) which he doesn't mind and I feed him the aquatic turtle diet juvenile formula frozen pellets that have worms, and snail meat and other things that I've been told is good for him.

Unfortunately the pet store that I usually go to just discontinued purchasing this item from the vender sanfrancisco bay brand and I am having a difficult time finding it in other pet stores. I'm still calling around but I wanted to see if anyone has any other suggestions as to what I can start feeding him in case I can't find another place that sells these. He is really picky and refuses to eat dry pellets. I've tried them soaked and mashed and all kind of ways but he doesn't like them. He loves the frozen pellets I give him and usually devours the one I give him in a min so in total a day he eats 2 pellets (one at noon and the other around dinner time). Is that enough, too much? I've read its what they can eat in 5 mins but I feel like he would just gorge himself on food and I don't want to overfeed him for fear of pyramiding shell. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

It sounds like the turtle is healthy, so you can definitely be a little tougher when trying to get him to switch foods. Are you placing them in the water? Also check out the recipe for home made jell-o turtle food.

I don't know how big those pellets are, but it's OK to be a bit conservative with the food. In most cases, the instructions are too generous.

By "pellets", do you mean "cubes"? I think I know which food you're talking about--I used to use it, and from what I remember it's normally found in smaller, non-big-chain pet stores. If so, then I second Steve's suggestion for trying the Jell-O shots. They are essentially the same as the SFB food, except they're more customizable.