Feeding and Nutrition

I've had my turt for 5 months now and I've been feeding him in his tank to reduce stress since he had RI in his second month. After the RI, I moved him to a bigger tank so he had some trouble adjusting to the bigger tank. Last week, I made a complete water change so I had to move him to a separate container. When I first got him by using a net, he retracted into his shell. When I was about to move him bank he struggled and crawled up the net and jumped out. He fell to the ground. He looks fine since he scampered away. Chased him across the room and when I put him back in his tank he wasn't moving at all. I put some pellets to entice him but he didnt respond. Took almost an hour before he moved and ate the pellets. After this incident he was back to his normal self. after I week, saw a lump on his left cheek. I tried to feed him in a separate tank to keep the water in his tank clean but when I got him he was able to jump out of the net. WHen I put him in his feeding tank he wouldnt eat the jello shot (still wouldnt eat fresh veggies even if I tried the tough love approach). Put pellets in but again took him a while to eat the pellets. When I returned him to his tank he was struggling and trying to climb out. It was a good thing that I was above his tank before he was able to jump out. So he landed on water. But it was 18 inches high so it might have some impact on him somehow. After this he seems to be withdrawn. He would swim away when someone approaches the tank. Prior to this he would swim up to me or to any person approaching the tank. Should I still continue to feed in a separate tank? I'm afraid that this would stress him out since he barely moves when in another tank. Would he get used to this eventually? What is the best thing to do?

Does sound stressful to both you and your turtle! Have you tried just handling him with your hands instead of a net? When I pick mine up he just withdraws in his shell and I have no issues moving him around.

I used to pick him up with my bare hands when he was in the 10 gal tank. first 2 months he would retract into his shell. after he was cured of his RI, he would retract into his shell initially but after a few seconds he would be struggling a lot that I almost dropped him a couple of times. Now that he is in a 58 gal, it's difficult to catch him.

I would just feed in the main tank unless he's getting something particularly messy.

he gets jello shots every other day. which brings me to my next question. How fine should the veggies be when pureed? I observed that the longer the lettuce is in the blender the mixture gets more watery.

jello shots are so messy. What I do is scoop out the debris after 30 mins of giving it to him. Would this be enough to keep the water clean? I do daily water change but I'm just worried about the water quality since he now has a lump on his left cheek

I haven't used the jello shots before, though I would think about trying fresh veggies again. Moving to a bigger tank/filter would reduce the amount of water changes you need to do.

Do you know when he poops? Right after eating or is it random?

he usually poops in the morning. i usually find pellet like poo at 6 to 6:30 am. he rarely poops after eating. sometimes he also poops in the afternoon even if he has pooped in the morning. i think more than 1 poop occurs when he eats a lot. i'll definitelty try offering fresh veggies again maybe when he is older or a few months from now. vet says his "digestive enzymes" are not yet that developed since he is still a baby. that's why i sometimes find unprocessed carrots in his poo.

Feeding and Nutrition :: should i continue feeding in a separate tank

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