I just bought two slidders home the other day and one of them maybe has taken about 4 bites of food and the other has not eaten yet. Any tricks i can use to help them? I am guessing they just need to get use to their surroundings. How long can they go without food?
2006-12-16 09:13:59 · 7 answers · asked by Rhonda 1 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
I bought the food that they had at the pet store....there was only one kind
2006-12-16 09:35:35 · update #1
Turtles need a few things to thrive- space, warmth, sunlight, clean water, and good quality, varied food.
Space: Aim for at least 10 gallons of swimming space per inch of water.
Warmth: Heat the water to 75-80F, and the basking site to about 90F.
Sunlight: Turtles NEED UV-B rays for health, and lighting that simulates natural sun. A good reptile bulb that advertises UV-B is a simple choice here.
Cleanliness: Aim for a filter that is about 2-3 times more powerful than a fish tank would use.
Food variety: Try a mix of about 25-50% of a good quality pellet and the rest live or frozen/thawed 'fish food' like small fish, worms, bugs, shrimp, beef heart, etc. Small turtles usually like blood worms.
They often go through a short (2-3 week) adjustment period that is no big deal if the temps, etc. are good.
2006-12-16 11:16:40 · answer #1 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have had my slider for a year this coming January... he's 13, and has been a great eater all his life (his previous owner told me). But when I first got him, he wouldn't eat anything (or much of anything) for about a week. When he was hungry and more used to things though, he gobbled things up and couldn't get enough!!
I would say to give your turt's a few days to adjust... they are probably a little weirded out that they aren't being gazed at by 100 people a day or even under the scarringly bright lights of the pet store!! LoL!! What is the brand name of the food you bought for them?? I know that Nutrafin doens't have all the nutrients that a turtle needs... it's more of just a treat (my vet told me this), and so I switched to Wardley. This month, I am trying out a new food with Zach... it's specfically made for aquatic turtles... it's called Exoterra. I bought it at Petsmart.. I think it was $8.99 for a pretty big bag. The girl in the store told me that other turtle foods are just for the general population, which meant that aquatic and non aquatic turtles and tortoises could eat it and it would do the same thing for all. Sounded like a good sales pitch... LoL. Anyway, this new food is a bit heavier, but Zach likes it.
What I try to do as well, once my turtle got settled with me, I put in different types of food... Zach likes banana's and any type of fruit, but he doesn't like anything green (?!??!) or that's too big for him to get in one gulp. He also really loves rose minnows... but sometimes he makes friends of them and then doesn't eat them!!
Make sure that the temperature is good in your tank and that the turtles have somewhere to get out of the water and bask... it helps with health and digestion!
Good luck!!
2006-12-17 04:00:23 · answer #2 · answered by Ashley P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is the food really big? You could try breaking them into pieces.
That's how I feed my slider. Put the food in a night and the turtle will probably eat it overnight. Give it a few days to get use to their surroundings.
Hope that helps!
2006-12-16 11:55:57 · answer #3 · answered by . 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try feeding them a live feeder fish not too big though if they have trouble catching the fish take a pair of sharp scissors and trim the fins to slow it down also try live pinky mice i know it sounds gross and cruel but if a turtle did not eat the mouse a cat would and i like turtles a lot better than cats also make sure the temp. is correct a cold turtle won't eat like it should
2006-12-16 11:06:20 · answer #4 · answered by amosflebitz 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the 1st element to ascertain is your aquarium heater. shop the water at 80°F. Basking temperature must be ninety°F. the 2d element to ascertain is the size of time tha basking mild is on. it may actually be an analogous all contained in the direction of the 12 months, often 12 hr/day. If temperatures and day length are appropriate, slip some small earthworms into the water.
2016-10-05 09:49:26 · answer #5 · answered by wiemer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you sure you are feeding them the same thing they did in the store?
I worked at petco and although we were supposed to feed them pellets some of the associates would treat them to feeder fish, so what would you choose to eat?
2006-12-16 09:23:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2006-12-20 05:08:03 · answer #7 · answered by tatertot 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋