Feeding and Nutrition :: Is Sylvia too big for her britches?

[ytse411]

Hi all...I've been learning a lot about new things to feed Sylvia, and will definitely try the turtle shots, but I think I've been over doing it throughout the years:

When I brought her home in 1995, she was a 1/4 lb (McTurtle!), she is now a fulsome 6ish pounds. Her shell, from end to end, is about 9" by 11". She's in a 150 gallon tank, Magnum 350 filter. She's a chubster, her legs are quite plump and when she basks, her um, leg fat, rests on her dock!

Lately, she's been eating: daily - small handful of leafy lettuce and about a 12 or so sliced carrot pieces.
Every few days she'll get a dozen or so Reptomin sticks, several Hikari Cichild Gold and Staple pellets and some freeze dried shimps or krill.
Occasionally - some banana, peas.
Rare treats - tiny bits of cooked chicken, or 12 feeder fishes (all gobbled up within 5 minutes)

Her head is a decent size!! Unfortunately, I only learned about the whole "head size portion" thing in the last year or two... whoops.

Thoughts on how to make her a bit more lean without her turning into Miss Crankypants?

[Arisu]

Do you have any pictures of Sylvia? Sometimes, when diets are being corrected, it is very situational and it really depends on the condition of each particular turtle. Does she have extra baggage around the neck area too?

The best thing you can do is fix her diet at a steady pace. Keep goin with the leafy greens (the darker the better) but carrots shouldn't be a staple diet and should be fed sparingly; they're high in sugar content but low in other nutrients.

She should have a head full (exactly why a picture would really help- since her head is rather... large :p, a Sylvia-sized head may be a bit too much) of pellets every few days, but freeze dried shrimps and krill are incredibly high in protein and should really be fed as a special treat maybe twice a month.

Occasion banana and pea treats should be okay but only if fed occasionally. Also, 12 feeder fish may be a bit too much- but thats in my opinion.

Good luck :)

[ytse411]

Thanks for the info - I'll keep the carrots at bay and keep on with the lettuce. The rest are given occasionally, maybe once or twice a month, the fishes are only given a couple times a year now.

Here are a few pics, I'll try to get some with something next to her to show her relative size.

[megcornell]

She's stunning!
Has she had egg clutches yet? A lot of times older females will get little sacks on their back legs from carrying eggs over and over again. And frankly, I think turtles tend to get a little flabby as they age .
Her front legs look a little plump as well, but I don't think she's seriously obese. Her shell looks wonderful which means you've done a great job giving her a steady and balanced diet these years.
I'd try introducing more of a variety of veggies. One thing I would do is bump the krill and/or shrimp to a treat status, it's too junky to be a staple protein. As you cut back on protein feel free to bump up the veggies, she can eat her heart out in terms of leafy greens. But be careful, too many can lead to loose stool.

[steve]

At her age, she should be eating mostly veggies. Older RES can also get a little saggy skin (especially in front of the hind legs) but you can always weigh her regularly to monitor any changes.

[MoreBloodWine]

One thing no ones pointed out yet maybe because they didnt catch it in the pics, you need a whoile heck of alot more water than whats in the tank now. For a 150g tank you dont have but maybe 6 - 8 inches of water in it and thats just not good. If anything you should have the tank filled up as much as possible but not to the point where she can climb out with the assistance of her basking dock. Also, you should look into getting rid of those pebbles and maybe goin with a fine grit sand if you must have a substrate in there.

[ytse411]

Thanks Meg! Your comments made my day, and made me feel a LOT better! phew! Yes, she went through a period of laying eggs - freaked me right out! I don't know if she still does, cause she immediately eats them.

Moreblood - you're right, there is only about 12 inches of water height, but she has a decent amount of room to swim back and forth comfortably. The problem is her basking dock - it's hand made and I can't get it any taller; if I put it on something to raise it up, she'll just knock it off....plus, she's a nosy nose and will instantly try to get out (she loves to climb..odd, yes)- also, she'll be that much closer to her heat lamps, etc... I saw some pics of bark that I'll look for - that might work well too! but, she's heavy and quite a busybody, so I need something very sturdy and stable.

There are no pebbles in there...after 10 years of having them! After I took them out, she was pooping them for weeks lol... she never seemed worse for wear with them though. Her custom basking thingy has aquarium gravel glued onto it so she can climb up it. That's a PIA to do once a year, let me tell ya! Sand would be a MESS! I won't try that.

Anyhoo - thanks for the advice, I'll lay off the shrimp/krill and feed the carrots less..and more lettuce...

[MoreBloodWine]

I only mentioned pebbles because it looked liek you had some in the tank in one of the pics... also for your turtles sake you really do need to add mroe water in the tank. Anyone from these forums should tell you the same.

[marisa]

Dang, that is one big (but pretty) mama. I think I see jowls...

[ytse411]

Ok - I just measured - when full, the water is 12" deep...better than I thought! Right now it's about 9" - I'll top it off tomorrow AM.

Jowls? lol...yes, she may have a few of them!

[SpotsMama]

She's so beautiful! She looks like a big ol' earth mother type.

[bradmeisel]

She is a very pretty girl. She looks very friendly. The more water the better. Her shell looks really nice. Will she let you handle her? Thats a nice big tank you have

[steve]

Ah, thats the word... jowl... must remember jowl.

[ytse411]

Thanks guys! Yes, she is super friendly; always has been. Very nosy... I'll have to post her personality traits in the other thread.


I'll try to figure out another source for basking that would allow me to raise her water another few inches..