Feeding and Nutrition :: change in diet

[sesame]

my 8 year old RES sesame just moved with me 3 months ago back to the midwest from AZ, where we had been for 2 years. i noticed when we got back his shell had been completely dark colored, even developed a small area of shell rot (cleared right up with some silvadene), and in a couple weeks there were these goldeny patches forming. when i looked back at pics from before our stint in AZ, he sure did have a goldeny iridescent shimmer to his shell, which covers the whole shell now instead of dark. could this have been AZ hard water setting deposits in his shell that have leeched out in the better midwest water?

also, he had been eating fine - a small helping of pellets and some red leaf lettuce each day plus a carrot or some small shrimp a couple times a week - always ate it all right up. but lately he's not been eating much. some days he won't eat at all, some days a couple shrimp, but hasn't touched lettuce and has way dropped his intake for a little over a week. his tank is clean, no changes in his activity level, and he just had a wonderful full shell molt. i'm curious if the poor appetite has to do with the molting maybe, or perhaps something to do with the change in temp with fall?

thanks for any insight!

[steve]

It's probably melanism. Can you post a picture? As for the lack of appetite, it's probably climate related, but he might also be bored with his food. Have you tried any live treats before?

[Rocky_n_Iggy]

My turtles eat significantly less during the winter time. I personally attribute it to changes in daylight hours and/or effects of the season. My house is roughly 74F in the summer ( more or less constantly air conditioned ) and 68F in the winter ( more or less constantly heated ).

Even with a heater in the tank and lighting kept on a timer with exactly the same artificial lighting times, keeping water at roughly 75F, I see changes in the amount of food they consume during the winter. I live in southeastern Michigan, actual day light hours swing from roughly 9 hours of daylight December, to 15 hours in June.

In the end , I do believe temperature plays a role in this, but I'm convinced that actual daylight hours and/or the effect of all that's related to the sun's position and such play a significant role in my turtles eating habits.

[sesame]

steve - can melanism be transient? it developed over 2 years when i was in AZ but now has completely gone away. what i read was that melanism occurs when turtles age. but i didn't extensively research it so maybe it's due to stress too? i'll consider the live treats for something different. sorry i don't have any pictures.

Rocky_n_Iggy - thanks. that makes total sense. there was very little variation in temperature in AZ, and he had less natural light getting to his tank too. very different from N IL.

thanks!

[steve]

A few have mentioned that the shell on the RES will be darker when they are kept outdoors or exposed to MVBs. Would that apply to your situation?

[ljapa]

steve - can melanism be transient? it developed over 2 years when i was in AZ but now has completely gone away. what i read was that melanism occurs when turtles age. but i didn't extensively research it so maybe it's due to stress too? i'll consider the live treats for something different. sorry i don't have any pictures.

Rocky_n_Iggy - thanks. that makes total sense. there was very little variation in temperature in AZ, and he had less natural light getting to his tank too. very different from N IL.

thanks!

Interesting about the melanism. Check out my post of a few minutes ago

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 0614000567

A scientific article claiming melanism is influenced by substrate. Did your substrate get lighter in the transition?

[sesame]

ljapa - he's in a 30 gallon tank filled with water and with some river rocks, nothing changed about his tank environment in the move.

steve -i don't know what MVBs are so i doubt he was exposed to them, but he's been kept indoors the entire time.

[steve]

ljapa - yes, pretty interesting. I think they may be onto something.

sesame - MVBs are bulbs that offer a lot of UVB and heat.