General Care Discussion :: Newbie trying to cover all my bases...

[MotherNature]

Well I let her water temp drop a bit (68-70) and she's been basking a lot more! I think her 'heat' bulb just isn't cutting it for her, but I'll get a new one and see if she will bask with better water temps too. I've been continuing my research and I guess I was off on her age, sounds like she's closer to 4-5 years old, and we noticed that the built up scutes around her edges account for about 1/2" of her length. I'm hoping to find some good deals this weekend and get her set up real nice and see if we can't get her back to health. I'm a little worried that if she is close to 5, I should be providing her a nest box here soon. Is that something that she should have access to 24/7/365? I'm assuming so. She seems to be warming up to us slowly. She's used to being kept secluded in a dark basement room, so my hyperactive house seems to be a lot for her to take in, but she's definitely been basking more and freaking out less about being 'caught' basking. I can almost approach her directly now before she slides back into the water. Overall I think she's adjusting well and I can't wait to see these scutes start dropping off and give her some relief!

Oh, I was also wondering if dubia roaches would be ok for her? I know they're edible and she will likely eat them, but is there anything I should be concerned about with using them instead of/in addition to crickets? She's protesting veggies, gorges on pellets and freeze dried stuff, I haven't tried anything live for her yet, but I hear she takes crickets and guppies with enthusiasm. I'm planning to try some of the aquatic plants and see if she'll take those over veggies. But I was thinking about raising some dubia and wanted to check to make sure they're ok since I can't find much info on feeding them to RES.

[steve]

It's normal for them to be skittish when basking. The temps are a bit cool, but should be fine if you're monitoring it closely. If she is the only turtle, don't worry about nests and whatnot. IMO, a joint nesting area is not worth it, maybe you can try it if you can dedicate a large amount of space to it.

I do not know about dubia roaches. It mainly depends on the source of them. You can buy canned cooked crickets for her. They will be softer for her to eat. Any insect, especially larger ones, will have a hard exoskeleton.

Don't let her gorge.. you need to be strict about not overfeeding pellets/protein. Try using a veggie clip and don't give in to the begging.

[Jeremiah]

RES are fine without any insects whatsoever, as long as they have a proper protein-containing pellet and even some live fish (just avoid goldfish).

[MotherNature]

She does beg, and act like she's starving constantly lol. I know not to give in to her, but man she's as bad as my oscars! Lol she's definitely much less skittish already. She still hesitates, and sonetimes dives, if we get close, but at least she's not freakinf out and banging into things when we're 10' away from her anymore. I've yet to get her to eat any veggies besides a couple nibbles of carrots. :-/ she doesn't even seem interested at all. anything I can do to encourage her? Can she have (thawed obviously) frozen veggies?

[steve]

What kind of veggies do you want to use? Fresh red leaf lettuce isn't too expensive.

[MotherNature]

I've tried various leafy greens (and Reds), zucchini, squash, carrots, etc... All fresh. She has had zero interest in anything but attacking thicker cuts of carrots (I tried them thin first and she had no interest).

[Kansasslider]

Its odd but not unheard of for a turtles not to eat veggies. My map only eats carrots and my dbt's don't eat any.

[MotherNature]

Yeah, well my SIL tried to give her some iceberg once and said she wouldn't take it, so she just never tried again. I just don't think she even realizes veggies can be food. I'll keep trying. I really want to get my hands on some of the aquatic plants and try those. If all else fails, I'll make her some of those turtle Jell-O shot things.

[Kansasslider]

Jello shots work but to me they take too long to make and can be messy. It might just take a while before she will eat greens.

[MotherNature]

Yeah, I just want her to be able to get her shell under control. I don't mind taking the time to make them and do a little extra cleaning. I just want to make sure she's getting everything she needs to get back to being healthy and shedding properly. Her shell is so sad.

[Kansasslider]

My female had severe retained scutes with large holes in them. I swear by Hikari wheat germ pellets for koi fish. Try feeding h
er 50% of her diet with wheat germ. I bet it helps.

[MotherNature]

I do plan on adding wheat germ! I tried to get hubby to get some for me last time he went to get stuff for her, but they have nothing around here, we'll have to wait until we can go a bit further out to a decent shop to get some.

[MotherNature]

Haha well she's all for blueberries. I know they should be given sparingly. I only gave her 2. I also got her to take a bit of iceberg. Apparently she's a junk food junkie. Lol but gives me hope. I'll try soaking some greens in tuna water and see if I can get her to take those next time.

[steve]

That's good progress. Try switching iceberg to green leaf, red leaf, or romaine lettuce. It's a bit more nutritious.