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Hes a baby.. and it seems like he only likes crickets and shrimp and soon to be mealworms.. hes only 1 inch big and he wont eat pellets or any vegetable or fruit. is it bad if he wont eat pellets??

Pellets give the best nutrition all in one place. How long has he refused pellets? Describe how you offer pellets to him.

If he's still a baby he just may not know that he can eat all different types of food. Just keep offering it to him, and maybe offer the 'treats' (ctickets etc) less often. Wean him into a better diet of mostly pellets, veggies, and some treats. Like children that don't like veggies, until you fond a way to get them to try it and then- ooooooh, this is good lol.

Or, you can try turtle jello shots! I made some a few weeks ago and my little babies LOVE them. I only give it to them on the weekends and pellets during the week. They know when Sat morning comes around, they are up before me waiting for me to get up and drop a shot in. It's a good way to get veggies into the diet by mixing them with the taste of the turtles 'favorites'

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17486

I would absolutely not let your turtle rely on crickets, shrimp, and/or mealworms as his primary diet.

I'm judging by your thread title that he used to eat Reptomin pellets. If it was my turtle, I would stop feeding him crickets, shrimp, and mealworms completely until he's eating pellets like there's no tomorrow. I would pick a certain time once a day to give him his share of pellets. I would also leave a fresh shell-sized or larger piece of red lettuce in the tank at all times. Once he's very enthusiastically eating pellets again, then I might give him an occasional shrimp treat -- no more than a couple at a time though and not a meal's worth.

Some folks believe shrimp shouldn't be offered at all because of how addictive it is for some turtles who, like yours, end up refusing pellets because of it.

chelonian wrote:Some folks believe shrimp shouldn't be offered at all because of how addictive it is for some turtles who, like yours, end up refusing pellets because of it.

What I do for shrimp is only offer it with pellets. They just gobble everything up pellets shrimp and all. But also I never gave them shrimp until this past year and they are about 3 or 4 years old now.

But basically restrict the TREATS, and give them only pellets, just a few at a time if they are not eating them to cut down on waste. Eventually they will beg from something and if all they can eat is pellets they will eat it. Another option is to try another pellet food. Mine stopped liking one brand and would only touch it if they were really hungry, while their normal brand they always like.

Try soaking your pellets in the shrimp. That might entice your turtle to eat the pellets, then you can soak them less and less often.

Everything else you're feeding should only be offered occasionally/rarely as treats as they are high in protein and not much else.

Because he's still a hatchling, you don't have to worry if he doesn't eat veggies right now because it isn't essential for him to have any at this point. If you want to try and get him to eat veggies early, try shredded carrot or blue berries, they seem to be very popular. Again, only as treats though.

Read over the nutrition area of the main page. You'll find loads of useful information there.