My baby turtles aren't eating?

Question

this past sunday i bought 2 baby red eared slider turtles and they wont eat. i gave them the food i got when i first brought them home but i figured that they had already been fed that day and that's why the weren't eating. i gave them new pellets the next day and they haven't eaten them. so i tried giving them some lettuce and they haven't eaten that either!
Is it normal for baby turtles not to have a big appetite? or am i missing something?

Answer 1

some turtled are like that they dont like those pellets that much i had the same problem.What i did was i try worms and fish they seem to like both but i guess it depents on the turtle. they seem to like live fish (gold fish is what i used)

Answer 2

First, your turtles could be very sick. They could be infested with parasites, or full of some other nasty infection. Most turtles purchased from pet stores are not kept in suitable conditions or sold with the correct advice.

Some questions you need to ask yourself. Is your set-up warm enough for them, if they are too cold they will not feed and will eventually die. Do they have a suitable place to get out of the water - they can't live in the water all the time. Are you sure that they haven't eaten anything - if they are only little they won't actually need very much.

Lettuce is not a suitable food for a slider turtle, these guys are meat eaters, and lettuce has very few nutrients anyhow. Keep up with the pellets, but remember to remove any un-eaten food because otherwise the water will get very foul very quickly.

I'm sorry I can't be more positive about this, but there is very little that can be done for these poor little fellows if they are sick. If they are living in suitable conditions, then they may well perk up in a couple of days and be fine. If they are sick, or the conditions are poor, then they will die. These guys don't really make good pets anyway as they grow quite large, have a nasty bite, smell terrible, and carry salmonella bacteria wherever they go!

Answer 3

Baby Turtle Not Eating

Answer 4

You've got several things working against you.

1.) Turtles are awkward to care for pets for most people. They take a lot of equipment and a knowledge of how to make and operate habitats.

2.) Baby turtles are trickier than big turtles in many ways.

3.) This time of year, most turtles are trying to hibernate- triggered by lower temps and shorter light cycles. To compensate, we need to offer summery temps and light cycles.

4.) Whenever you change a turtle's routine, it throws them off thier food for a few days. If the new home conditions are good, it will recover quickly.

5.) Someone has told you some bad info on caring for turtles- baby red-ears do not eat ANY plant matter, and no turtle should be fed lettuce.

This makes me wonder if you are following some other well-meaning but wrong advice.

Baby Red-ears NEED:
- Large, heated, filtered pools. Aim for AT LEAST 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle. Heat the water to 75-80 (or 5 degrees warmer if they are still not eating), and filter it about 2 to 3 times stronger than you would a fish tank.
- Good basking sites, at least one per turtle. The basking site should be easy to climb on, get the turtle totally out of the pool, not cause injury or scrapes, and be heated to about 90.
- No typical colored aquarium gravel in the tank. They'll eat it!
- Overhead lighting that offers a summery light cycle, basking heat, and ultra-violet light
- A good diet based on high-quality (expensive) turtle pellets supplemented with live or frozen/thawed 'fish food' like fish, worms, etc. Try bloodworms for babies!

For more helpful ideas, try the sites below:

Answer 5

When water turtles are young they are mainly carnivorous. As they get older they tend to change to omnivorous. You can feed it turtle pellets. You buy them at any pet store. One of their favorite treats is cooked chicken! They can also eat tuna, feeder fish, a gold fish once (when they're bigger), snails from the river, crayfish, worms, and crickets are good too. You can also try feeding it romaine lettuce. Its all right, but turtles like it better when they get older. As far as how much? They are like dogs, they will eat and eat and eat. They don't really know when they are full. Just picture how big their stomach is and don't feed them more than that. How often? When they are young they need to be fed everyday. They need to eat at least twice a day. When they get older they can eat every other day.

Answer 6

Red eared sliders like all turtles are reptilian and will go into shutdown--(become slow---stop eating etc) if they are cold. Remember they are cold blooded and need to warm themselves under a warm bulb or the sun and ALWAYS have shade available. Lettuce is basically water (no good-and those pellets are made for profits--not for turtles) Give him small amounts of veg and meat but remove leftovers before it spoils. Oh and they are illegal for pet stores to sell in many parts of the USA do to the fact people dont know how to take care of them and they can carry Samonella. Make sure your kids WASH after touching them.
Good Luck

Answer 7

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RE:
My baby turtles aren't eating?
this past sunday i bought 2 baby red eared slider turtles and they wont eat. i gave them the food i got when i first brought them home but i figured that they had already been fed that day and that's why the weren't eating. i gave them new pellets the next day and they haven't eaten...

Answer 8

Have you tried small feeder fish? Turtles love 'em. Animals usually won't starve themselves unless something is seriously wrong.

Answer 9

If you live in the Southeast US, let them go into a pond or stream. They will find their own food.

The weather change may cause them to be less active. Call a zoo or pet shop, and ask them. If you live close to a zoo, you might take them over there to ask the herpetologist.

Answer 10

i can't help you,i have a painted turtle who's always been a little pig