Feeding and Nutrition :: Not Eating African Sideneck

[iac637]

My Sideneck female will only eat mealworms. I know the deal that you should try to soak them in tuna juice that didn't work I tried not giving her some mealworms and only give her pellets but then she just won't eat, so I feel guilty so I give them to her. I also tried reptomin and I tried HBH turtle bites. I just want to know if anyone has any other ideas?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

To be honest you are better off going here www.turtleforum.com they deal with quite a number of turtle species, we here focus more on RES.

[iac637]

I know they just are similar in many ways and everyone here has been so helpful before just thought I'd ask.

[SpotsMama]

Here's the section on enticing eating:

http://www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

One thing comes to mind. You might try crushing some mealworms and pellets together (don't do this after you've eaten!) to make a paste and give this to your turtle. If he goes for it, you could gradually reduce the percentage of mealworms in the paste until at the end it's all pellets.

Of course, if it's the fact that the mealworms are moving that makes your turtle go for them, then this won't work.

Another thing - if tuna juice doesn't interest your turtle, maybe it's because he's not interested in tuna. Maybe you could try mixing pellets in a little bit of something else smelly - like cat food - and see if he'll go for it. My turtle loves shrimp above all else. If I mixed pellets with shrimp I'm sure he'd eat them - but then he eats pellets anyway.

[iac637]

I think that she was only given live food by the person that had her before. I will try the paste idea. I just don't want her to get ill

[iac637]

I tried to reg. for that other forum it wouldn't take my email adress I tried to get on there before and had the same problem do you have any clue what could be wrong?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I had that same problem too! I had to make a different email...

[iac637]

can I ask who you use (yahoo, gmail, ect.)

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Sure, i use Yahoo.

[iac637]

I have a yahoo account but it didn't work

[iac637]

OK so I made the paste and wraped it around a pellet and she swam around and around looking for the mealworm. She would swim to the pellet look at it then turn way still looking for the meal worm.

[steve]

They won't allow registrations with people using "free" email accounts. Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. Their forum is worth checking out, as is Turtle Times. We just concentrate on RES and similar species

[iac637]

I also tried my work email and that didn't work and that is a government email

[adam85491]

They won't allow registrations with people using "free" email accounts. Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. Their forum is worth checking out, as is Turtle Times. We just concentrate on RES and similar species

What email are you supposed to use then?

[iac637]

Thats what I say Adam