My turtle is kind of iligal, because its less than 4 inches, and i dont know what to feed him he isnt eating the pellets that i give him. Should i feed him lettuce?
2007-12-29 13:18:39 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Do NOT feed him iceburg lettuce. But romaine lettuce is good for red eared sliders. How long have you had your turtle? If it hasn't been that long then just give him time and he will start eating the pellets if you keep putting them in his tank.
2007-12-29 13:23:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Turtles should not be fed only pellets! A proper diet for RES and similar species should have the following proportions:
Vegetables and water plants: 50%
Commercial foods: 25%
Live proteins: 25%
For veggies, don't feed iceberg lettuce as it has no nutrients. (Actually, why are you eating it? Go buy yourself some Romaine!) Also don't feed spinach or anything in the spinach family. The ratio of oxalic acid to calcium in these foods is too high for turtles. Good choices for food are dandelions (the ones in your yard are good if there's no pesticides), carrot tops, mustard greens, carrots, bell pepper, and squash. The best veggies are water plants like anacharis, water hyacinth, water lettuce, frogbit, hornwort, and duckweed. While expensive in a pet store, these are easy to grow in a separate tank or pond, and they are cheap if you buy in bulk online. For commercial food, look for something that has low protein and low fat. Dried shrimp are an absolute no-no! They are like candy to turtles. Tastes great, zero nutrients, and turtles who eat them may refuse other foods for weeks.
Baby turtles (under one year), will prefer protein to plant matter. Some turtles will continue to prefer live food and pellets even in adulthood. Don't give in! Think of your turtle like a 5 year old child. Sure, the kid WANTS to eat ice cream for dinner every night of the week, but you make him eat his salad anyway. Same deal with turtles. Turtles can go for two weeks without eating food, so don't give in to begging.
2007-12-30 00:35:32 · answer #2 · answered by cookingmonster 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
lettuce and pellets are fine for a turtle. just make sure you regulate a turtle's diet. (only one kind of pellet; maybe two)
as for your legal issues, it is only illegal to SELL turtles under four inches in the U.S. and a red ear slider can grow a carapace (shell) up to the size of a large dinner plate.
relax!
you'll be fine!!!!
2007-12-29 23:16:39 · answer #3 · answered by Casey M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your little guy isn't eating, try some live foods. Mine first responded to crickets, and I've heard stories about other responding to worms or feeder fish. Remember, to mix both types of food and once they eat the pellets, wean them off the fatty insects. Preferably, put some aquatic plants in (anacharis) and they will nibble when you aren't there since many are very shy and will not eat in your presence. Vary the diet!
2007-12-31 21:15:44 · answer #4 · answered by Kevin U 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out the feeding/care sheets at Austins turtle page. There are lots of reasons he may not be eating...water temps, basking heat temps, improper UVB lighting, poor water filtration/cleanliness, etc.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
2007-12-29 22:53:39 · answer #5 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you can feed your turltes vegetables/fruits and live food. but you need to shred and cut them in little pieces so that your turtles can easily eat them. for the vegetables, i prefer romaine lettuce and carrots. for the fruits, i prefer grapes. for the live food, i prefer minnows-crickets-worms.
2008-01-02 04:18:06 · answer #6 · answered by lianglove12 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i used to have one of these types of turtles and we just bought either small fish [feeder fish]
2007-12-29 22:51:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋