Feeding and Nutrition :: 2 day Problem

[eazyegee]

Yesterday my RES wasn't eating he's still a hatchling. Everything's fine water temp is 80 and basking is 82. I soaked his pellets in tuna water and he ate. And today he wouldn't eat so I had to buy a can of tune to soak it in so he can eat again. How can I make him eat without using tuna water? I don't want to have to buy tuna everyday. Also he'll eat other food I have like the dried shrimp I feed him ocassionally.

[adam85491]

Basking temperature should be around 90. How long have you had your turtle?

[eazyegee]

O: People keep telling me different basking temps. I've had him for almost 3 months.

[megcornell]

Each turtle likes a different basking temp, usually around 10 degrees warmer than the water temp- the increase encourages turtles to leave the water to soak up some heat. So long as your turtle basks that's fine, but you may want to consider raising the basking temp a little-- or make sure you're getting the temperature correctly.

As for the pellets, another trick you can use is storing some pellets in with the shrimp, they'll pick up the shrimp odor and attract your hatchling to eat. Eventually you'll want to wean him off of the smelly pellets to just regular pellets, that's how I had to start feeding my finicky eater.

[marisa]

I'd start out with all of the pellets you give him soaked in tuna water and slowly soak fewer of them and mix them with some unsoaked ones (you could do this with pellets stored with shrimp as well) until you're only giving him unsoaked ones.

You could put the tuna water in a small container and keep it in the fridge. That way you wouldn't have to buy tuna every day (it should last for several days).

[eazyegee]

Thanks guys!