Feeding and Nutrition :: Feeding Habits - Keep or Change?

[g29w]

So I've been feeding my turtles in a separate container for about 3 months. They've grown a lot, but they still remain scared every time I come to feed them. They swim away quickly when ever I appear. One factor may be that I have them in a closed space, so they remain really secluded from human contact normally. They don't mind eating from my hands when I do feed them, just when I ]take them out they run away.

I remember when I did feed them in the tank in the beginning, they weren't scared of me. I would prefer them not to be scared of me. They don't seem to connect me appearing to food and I don't like stressing them out for a little bit since I have to "catch" them to take them out of the tank.

Should I keep feeding them out of the tank? Or switch back to feeding in the tank? Some disadvs to switch back are I can't monitor what they eat and it may take awhile for them to get used to it again.

[SpotsMama]

It's ok to feed them in the tank if you can keep the water clean. The reason to feed them outside is to keep the tank cleaner. Just be sure to scoop out any uneaten food.

When he was little my Spot was scared of me and would run like yours does. For a long time I fed him in a separate container to help keep his water cleaner and he ran from me every time. It was only after he got really big that he stopped being afraid of me and actually got friendly.

Ironically, although I could feed him in a separate bowl easily now because he comes to me instead of running away, I don't do it because (1) his tank is much bigger (more water to dilute the waste) (2) the filter is much much more effective and (3) he eats every single bit of food and the minnows clean up any crumbs that drop.

[g29w]

How big did Spot get before he no longer was scared?

[SpotsMama]

I believe it was last spring when he started acting a lot more friendly. He would have been three then. He was probably 5 or 5 1/2 inches long.

[razorblade42069]

Spotmama, I see you said you had Minnows in the tank. I'm a newbie with my two turtles, are minnows good for cleaning up the tank & for the turtles to eat?

[SpotsMama]

Well, I just took those minnows out of his tank! I really believe they were a great help in keeping the tank clean but I got to feeling sorry for them being in danger of being eaten all the time so I moved them to their own separate tank.

Someone else has said that they think ghost shrimp do an even better job of cleaning than minnows. I'm going to get some shrimp next time I'm at the pet store. I think it won't bother me as much if Spot eats a shrimp as it would if he ate a minnow....but we'll see.