Feeding and Nutrition :: Red eared sliders suddenly stopped eating their Repto-min

[Slippy]

First and foremost, Hey everyone! I'm new to this website so I'm very sorry if I ended up posting this in the wrong section.

So here's a little background info on my now one-year-old two red eared sliders: They were both about the size of a thumb when I got them as a gift October of 2014, both very shy and didn't eat anything for months, until one day I removed the Aqua Clear filter I had in their fish tank, they then started eating any food I dropped inside their enclosure, from live/dead minnows to Repto-min pellets. A couple of months later, I realized that they were now far too big for them both to fit on their basking spot, so back in August of this year, I remodeled their tank and removed about half of the water that was in there, as well as increased their basking spot so that they can be comfortable on it (they're both about 2-3 inches long right now). The same day I changed their entire setup is the same day they completely stopped eating pellets... why? The only drastic changes that occurred was me being an idiot and shutting off their UVB lamp for a day or so for whatever reason, and they also killed and ate their goldfish "buddy" I got for them a month after I got them last year. So my question is, is there anyway I can get them to start eating pellets again? They'll eat anything else like meat and minnows as soon as they see it until they're full, although they're way too lazy to chase live minnows around and eat them, either that or the minnows are too fast for them. Later on today I will be cleaning their entire enclosure and will try to increase the water levels again to see if that helps and if you guys would like to see what their enclosure looks like, please ask. On Friday I'll also be heading to the pet store to get them a couple dozen more minnows and was wondering if I should try and feed them crickets?

Thanks for reading! Sorry for the long post.

[steve]

Welcome to the site! What's the water temperature? Can you post a picture of your setup?

[Slippy]

Welcome to the site! What's the water temperature? Can you post a picture of your setup?

Thank you! The water is room temperature, the same it's always been since I got them. They're really active and bask regularly so I'm not sure as to why they've stopped accepting pellets, yet will readily accept meat. I will post pictures of their 30 gallon tank setup either tonight or tomorrow when I have time. Are there any methods for getting them to eat pellets again that you recommend? I haven't tried anything yet.

[steve]

I missed that part about the meat. You could/should skip that... I think you need to reevaluate how you're keeping them. Temperatures are fairly important when keeping RES.

[Slippy]

I missed that part about the meat. You could/should skip that... I think you need to reevaluate how you're keeping them. Temperatures are fairly important when keeping RES.

What's wrong with their temperature? I thought room temperature (In the 70s) was fine for RES, especially since they have a basking spot they can bask on. Also what's wrong with feeding them meat/chicken? Pellets don't exist in the wild so don't they (younger turtles) feed on fish and carrion? I'm always interested in learning more.

[Kansasslider]

You changed their set up. Turtles don't like change and might stop eating until they get used to it. So, you started feeding minnows on a regular basis to make them happy. Now all they want is meat. You need to stop feeding meat/minnows and get your turtles back on pellets. A good brand pellet is very important for your turtles. Turtles need the balanced diet pellets provide. Omega One is one pellet I like to feed my turtles. Fish not meat like beef or chicken should only be an occcasional treat. If you stop feeding the minnows I think you will find that when they get hungry they will eat the pellets readily. Reptomin is a cheap pellet and one of the worst on the market. Thats why its cheap. Turtles in the wild don't eat chicken or cow. At least not around here In the wild they eat all kinds of things. Plants, snails, worms and yes fish.

[steve]

Room temperature as a guide is not reliable. We try to avoid temp swings with smaller/younger RES.

[Slippy]

Hey guys, I have some good news to update you with. I increased the water levels two days ago like I said back to where they were before I made huge changes to their enclosure, and the turtles are starting to show interest in the pellets again! I just threw some in there a couple of minutes ago and one of the turtles ate a couple of bites of it already. Once they eat this can of repto-min I'll look for the Omega One turtle sticks you recommended me (it was actually recommended to me by someone else on another forum too, so that food should be good). Do you know where I can go to order the 2lb variant of the food? Thanks again! I will post here again if I have anymore concerns.

[Kansasslider]

That's great to hear. I get mine "12.5. " at petco but Amazon might carry larger quantities. The 12.5oz lasts a long time with my 4 turtles. 2 pounds is a lot of food unless your going to split it with someone. Another good food is Mazuri freshwater turtle food. It can be found on ebay in large quantities.
This is a good read on turtle foods. https://theturtleroom.com/blog/2012/04/ ... pplements/

[Slippy]

Hey, forgot to ask this but now that my RES are one year old, how often should I feed them? Do I still feed them twice a day everyday? If so, up until what age?

[steve]

You can feed them once a day or every other day, just be mindful of the amount... cut their portions when you have to. I like to feed veggies in the morning and in most evenings, they get some pellets.

[Kansasslider]

I feed every other day. But they do eat some fish food every morning.