Can I feed my red eared slider hatchling dried shrimp?

Question

I have tried to feed him the turtle pellets that I bought for him but he won't eat them even when I break them up very small. I know that he is a carnivore as a baby and will eat shrimp but I want to know if dried shrimp (broken up of course since he is so small) is okay to feed him.

Answer 1

Yes, it is OK to feed your turtle dried baby shrimp, however, there is too much protein in it for it to be a staple...maybe two pieces per week. You can try putting the pellets in tuna in water (not in oil) to entice eating-but after they stop eating don't continue this strategy. A good pellet is Reptomin and Nutrafin.

You should feed them the number of pellets that would fit in their head if it was hollow every other day excluding the neck. Every day in between you should offer fresh vegetables like romaine lettuce, sometimes a piece of carrot, basil, and the occasional leaf of radish (not the radish itself).

Avoid meat, bugs, and fruit-too much acid/protein and can have parasites..too much protein will cause pyramidding (Google it to see how bad it is).

More protein is good while your turtle is a baby so maybe a few pieces a week but don't over do it...a dozen rosie red minnows or other feederfish but not goldfish is good per month too..

You also need to offer calcium via turtlebone/cuttlebone. Remove the back of it (the side you cannot stick your fingernail in)-it will break but is to be expected..

Here is a great link and a great forum..http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

Good luck.

Answer 2

Aquatic turtles, like your RES, are rather much strictly carnivorous whilst youthful. flowers does not make up a substantial component to its nutrients plan until nicely into adulthood and lettuce is a damaging selection because of the fact this is nutritionally void. you would be greater powerful off offering dark leafy vegetables like kale, turnip vegetables, dandelion leaves, etc. whilst she's older and showing greater pastime in ingesting vegetables. on your situation, until you pick to hire somebody again in and shield your animals while you're away, i could p.c.. up some feeder fish. they are able to share the tank with the turtle until she eats them. If she's nonetheless very small, i could use feeder guppies or feeder variatus.

Answer 3

That is thier favorite! They seem to love that more than thier turtle food. Mine only eats reptile sticks so I'm stuck with turtle pellets, wierd red soft turtle bites and other crap that he refuses to eat. Who would have thought turtles would be picky?

Answer 4

yes it is okay. they like it alot. i feed my turtle the same stuff but i'm afraid that he'll get so picky that he eats nothing else.

Answer 5

Should be Ok, but they need a lot more than that. Check out www.austinsturtlepage.com for great info!