Feeding and Nutrition :: baby Question

[Jeff]

Hello everyone!! I got my new pastel RES, Baxter, (he's in the picture for my avatar) 2 days ago...He hasn't eaten at all....I've seen him basking 2 times now, but still no dice on the eating. Sooo today I offered him tuna from my hand and he ate it! So then I put a pellet in the water, and he nipped at it, missed it, and then lost interest..is this normal?? He then tore up the rest of the tuna....

My question is also if he's eating the tuna, but not the pellets, how do I transition him from the tuna to pellets? And how long should I use the tuna for? I don't want him getting hooked on them and then never eat pellets...and advice would be trememdous...thank you!!

[Maltliquor45]

dip the pellets in tuna "juice" then give it him.. i think eventually he'll think of pellets as tuna... ala "pavlov"

that's what i would do.

[marisa]

Transition over from more tuna and fewer pellets, to more pellets and less tuna to only pellets. You can coat the pellets with the tuna water to keep the scent which he's grown used to (and gradually taper off on that as well).

Missing and losing interest in a pellet sounds normal to me, especially if he's got something he likes better to eat.

[tammi]

I just gradually offered diff stuff. Tuna then blood worms then insects then I pre soaked the pellets so the were soft and he took to them but he still prefers bugs.
Now he eats enough of the other things and I don't give tuna anymore.

[marisa]

Good point. Offering different foods is good not only healthwise---your turtle doesn't get a chance to become fixated on any particular one.

[Jeff]

awesome!! And at this point in his life i'm suppose to feed him 1x a day with enough food to fit inside his "hollow head" correct? Does this still apply for live food....

[tammi]

Pretty much. I do 1 to 2 mini or small depending on the size of worms and crickets and both my small turts do well with it.
Seems like the wigglier they are the more interested they are.

[Jeff]

1x per day.....every day correct?

[tammi]

Yep everday

[ShellbyRES16x]

I'm pretty sure it's normal, since Speedy, my RES, sometimes just takes a bite out of a pellet then leaves it there. Don't worry though, once your turt finds a great food, he'll eat it up everytime you feed him! Your turtle is very cute btw. I love his shell coloring!

[TurtleLover_S&B]

Since you just got him, he's still getting used to his new home. Eventually he'll eat the pellets. Make it easy for him to get the pellets, since he's just giving up. You have to remember that he's a baby, and is still learning new things.