Feeding and Nutrition :: Rescued turtles: questions regarding diet

[NiklzNDimz]

Hello everyone. I'm a new (3 months now) RES owner and have found this site to be amazingly helpful but I do have a few more questions.

The neighbours next door had the turtles in a small 1 gallon container sitting out on their porch year round (southern california so it went from 100's hot to 50's cold) and had been feeding them only iceburg lettuce since they got them 3.5 yrs ago, at that time. Amazingly, they were still active and showed no signs of health issues but I explained that this setup was horribly cruel and inhumane so they gave the turtles to me when they moved.

Anyway, they are 2.25", 2.5", and 2.75" in shell length and 3.5 years old with voracious appetites. I realize now that I've been overfeeding on the pellets and have some pyramiding going on so I need some advice on how much/often to feed the pellets/high protein foods and whether I should be feeding them according to their age or by their size.

Currently they are getting a red & green leaf lettuce combo once in the morning and once at night with two Zoomed aquatic turtle food pellets (round ball ones) in the morning.

Also, I read a brief snippet somewhere that they do tend to change colors during various stages of life but I'm curious to know how light a shade of green is within 'normal' range that their shells can get. One of them has turned very light green, another is showing the same coloring but not as much and the third one, just her stripes on the shell are lightening/brightening up. I did setup a UVB/UVA lightsource as well as their basking lamp with their dock but I just want to make sure I'm not causing problems for them. Tank water is kept at 78 degrees as well.


Pardon the floaties; it was dinner time when I took the picture.


Jerri's just a character so I thought I'd share a pic.


So basically I need info about 'stunted' turtle care and shell coloring questions. Sorry about the ramble, they're like kids... get all excited and you just have to share.

[Nettle]

I did the same thing where I was accidentally feeding them turkey before I found this site, and their shells had started pyramiding. I would just stop all feeding of protein for a while (pellets don't count).

Pellets: As much as would fit in their head if it were hollow (not including neck). I haven't heard anything bad about the Zoomed balls, but the best brand is Reptomin.

Veggies: They can eat as much as they like all day. I just throw in a piece of lettuce attached to a suction cup clamp and they chow when they want.

For more info on nutrition, see the main site:
http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

As for the coloration, it's probably ok for them to get lighter. I saw a post on here not too long ago of a turtle changing from green to orangey after one year. As long as they don't get red or pinkish colors, it's ok.

[grey goose]

They must think they are in heaven!
Veggies everyday, pellets every other day. Although if you are only giving them two pellets a day I suppose that's OK. I feed mine pellets every other day, about the amount that would fit inside their heads if they were hollow.
As far as coloring and stunted growth, I have two female turts, one is quite large and very dark, the other is smaller and still green. They are both the same age so I wouldn't worry too much about that. As long as they eat and are active and basking, they should be fine.

With the veggies, try switching things around once in a while. My girls like carrots, green peppers, basil and as a treat, white grapes, blueberries and strawberries.

[marisa]

From the pics, they look quite good. How bad exactly is the pyramiding? Just from looking at the pics, I don't really notice any (pics of the shells dry perhaps would show something different, though).

They're small for their age due to the poor conditions they were kept in and the inadequate diet they had. Improving both like you did is likely to cause a growth spurt. Pulling back on the protein, especially if they were being overfed, is good, but two of those ZooMed balls at a feeding sounds a little skimpy to me. (It sounds like you've gone from one extreme to the other.) I'd feed the pellets every other day and give each a bit more at feedings---the above-mentioned guide of an amount the size of the head for each is good. Be conservative, though, and don't try to imagine a head completely crammed with those balls.

If they're eating the lettuce, that's good. I'd try some other leafy greens with them as well---dandelion greens, collards, for example, as well as some foods with beta carotene---carrots, squash, tomatoes (the firmer part nearer to the skin), sweet potatoes, for example. Variety is good.

[SpotsMama]

What sweet little turtles. With the good care they are getting now hopefully they will start growing normally.

Is there cuttlebone in the tank? Cuttlebone is an excellent source of the calcium turtles need. You find it in the bird section at pet stores. It isn't expensive. You pry off the hard backing that's just under the surface on one side of the bone then leave pieces of it in the tank for the turtles to nibble on when they crave calcium. My Spot likes it to have cuttlebone pieces attached to the side of the tank in a veggie clip.

[NiklzNDimz]

Thank you all for the advice and tips; really appreciate it. These three are kind of like goats in that they'll eat -anything- I stick my hand in there with so I'll widen the variety more often (at least what's okay to feed according to the nutrition guide).

Regarding the cuttlebone: we bought a 'reptile bone' (I threw out the packaging awhile ago :/ so it may or may not be the same thing but it's a calcium block, basically) that just kinda floated around the tank without them touching it. I'll try cutting it up and see if they'll take it.

Anyway, thanks again for the help.