Feeding and Nutrition :: turtles not eating

[Pugness]

My turtle, pug, doesnt like to eat, hes still a baby, im not sure when he was born but id say hes a few months old. Ill feed him reptomin baby and i would split the pellet in half cuzz its still too small and usually hell eat half the half and im not really sure if he eats it all because theres alot of food dust on the floor. I feed him in a tupperware by the way. Should i just feed him in the tank???

[sonyj]

Until he gets adjusted to his new home, I'd try just feeding him in the tank. Some turtles are stressed by moving them into a feeding tank, especially the younger/newer they are. Other turtles have no problem and take to feeding in a separate container, but some never take to eat.

[TinySlider2]

You can also try a smelly food like blood worms. You can get them from the fish food section at wal-mart. When he starts eating that try some pellets. Once he starts eating the pellets, I would only use the blood worms as a treat. Good luck!

[Pugness]

Now would a feeder tank be an actual tank like a smaller one im assuming a 5-10 gallon or can you just do what i do and use tupperware?

[TinySlider2]

we use a rubbermaid tub

[marisa]

I've always used something like a dishpan (used only for my RES); the food will contrast better with a light-colored one and make it easier for him to see it. If he's eating, and since you've said you're already feeding him in a tupperware, continuing to do so wouldn't be a bad thing to to. It would help with the water quality by keeping the tank water cleaner and it would also help get him more used to you. This assumes he's already eating.

[Pugness]

a new question cuzz now they actually do eat but im not sure if they all eat. Im going to be going away for a couple of weeks and my older sister is going to be feeding the turtles while im gone. I usually feed them one by one but now that there are three baby turtles in one tank and my sister is scared tto touch the turtles so i was wondering if i could just throw a few pellets in there and maybe some lettuce per day and just hope that all three of them ate, is it bad to do that or is it good to think that eventually they will all share.

[missibsu]

Chances are they will NOT share. In my opinion the best thing to do would be to provide lots of veggies for them to eat, and have your sister do her best at dropping the food in front of each turtle one at a time. I know that my two turts feed in different areas because they have established their own eating space.

[cam722]

They won't share the food.. I have 2 turtles and how I do it, is I put their food in different areas. They follow my hand/fingers so I direct them each to their "spot" and then put the pellets next to the glass so they see it.. and that way they both get their food. It's funny how they each know which areas is theirs for food. But if one doesn't finish their food the other will grab it in a heartbeat.

[marisa]

I know from experience that at least one of the turtles will grab more than his share of the food if it's just thrown in. Some turtles are just faster and more agressive at snagging food than others. With more than one turtle in the tank, I usually try to get one eating in one part of the tank and then quickly put some food in another for the other to eat. Since they're really oriented to my hands, the second one usually readily follows my hands to the place where I put the food.