Feeding and Nutrition :: more dumb questions

[mom910]

I actually measured Lucky to be sured I was accurate in my guess of how big he is. he measures 1-1/2 inches. So how old do you think he is? At this age what and how much SHOULD he be eating? What do you suggest I try because I sure dont see him eating anything. I want to have him for a good long healthy life.

Another dumb question. Since he lives at my school, I dont know what to do about his light. Do I leave it off all weekend or leave it on all weekend??? which do you think is better for his health?

Thanks again for you patience with a nervous newbie

[pumpkinsherbet]

size is not an indication of age, since feeding, habitat and stress are also contributers to growth.

for the weekend use a timer so they can keep to their same day/night schedules.

what are you feeding him now?

[mom910]

I am feeding him what I was given when I got him. I dont think it is the best stuff. It is called NutraFin Basix.
I guess I will have to get a timer. I thought about that. Its just that we have no electric outlets in the lab and every extra thing we plug in we are afraid we will black out the entire eastern seaboard (he he he)

I really feel so incompetent and want to do right by him.

[VelvetAlley]

this is what most people feed their turts.

reguard the lights. If you don't want to buy two timers I would recommend putting one timer on the heat bulb, and remembering to turn the UVB bulb on during the week.

[mom910]

Im going to get to the pet shop this week and get him some new food and Im going to get a timer as well. thanks for the advice,

I am open to any and all advice for my little Lucky

[PinkyTurtle]

You can do what i did, buy one timed and adaptered do you can hook noth lights to it. Works great.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i give mine the reptomin baby (as pictured) and cypress turtle mix. i also feed them fresh veggies, feeder fish, any bug i (or they) happen to catch. do they get that too? the timer's real cheap, and i do the same thing that pinky turtle does with the multiple light setup. if you're concerned about blacking out anything, ask the school to hire an electrician and check things out.

oh and you can get a bug zapper from drsfostersmith.com that has a catch on the bottom for feeding. i don't have that, they don't get bugs too often (i keep an obsessively clean house). but it's nifty.

[mom910]

I got to the pet shop today and bought the reptomin selectsfood. This way he can have a choice of the pellets or shrimp or krill. Hopefully he will like something and EAT. I was going to buy the baby ones also, but the nice girl at the pet store opened it and it was almost the same as the regular stuff so I didnt see the point of buying both. So tomorrow I will see if he will eat it.

Now I will try to get to the store tomorrow to buy the timer.

I swear I will jump for joy if I actually see him eat something!!!!

[SpotsMama]

Here's a link on turtle food in general:

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

You'll see there's a section on there on enticing eating if a turtle's slow getting started.

[pumpkinsherbet]

hmm, what kind of lighting does he have now?

i think shrimp and krill are just treats...?

[industrial_girl_2000]

I would put the lights on a timer.

What kind of a setup do you have for him? Water heater? basking area? Can you post pics? That can help us help you!

Welcome to turtle-keeping!

[mom910]

HE ate today!!!!! he actually ate something. He liked the shrimp and the krill. he didnt seem to react when I put the shrimp in the container (I put him in a separate container to watch him eat) but when i put the krill in, his head went up and he started looking around and then he actually took one. Slowly he ate several pieces. i was so happy and I think he was happy too. All day he was diving off his basking rock into the water and then swimming around climbing back on the rock and diving off again kept repeating that over and over. Truling entertaining. I think he was as happy as I was to have eaten.

I also got the timer for his light. Should I set it for 12 hours on and 12 hours off or what?????

I think I will try to get some aquatic plants for him too. and I will keep trying to get him to eat the pellets.

[SpotsMama]

So glad he's found his appetite!

I've got my light timer set for 12 hours on and 12 hours off. Sometimes when it's time for it to go off, if Spot's still up there happily basking, I leave it on for an extra hour.