Feeding and Nutrition :: What foods entice turtles to eat?

[turtlesrock77]

I've had my 3 turtles for 5 days (since last Wednesday). They wouldn't eat for a few days, but ate some deli ham on Friday. I know this is bad for them, but they wouldn't eat pellets, shrimp treats, crickets, bananas, carrots, or even tuna, so I was desperate. I think they all ate some of the ham. I have tried feeding them pellets since then, but none will eat them. Today I tried feeding them pellets, shrimp treats, and ham. One turtle ate a shrimp treat, and no one else ate anything. Besides tuna, because they seem to hate it, what foods can you feed to entice them to eat?

[cprcheetah]

Brine Shrimp worked wonders for my boy when he wouldn't eat. Also likes some thing from a Petstore I got called Nature Zone Aquatic Turtle Bites....he went nuts for them. Anyways those would be my suggestions. You have to remember that they are adjusting to their new homes and sometimes it takes a few days for them to start eating.

[Ozzyy]

theyr probably getting used to thier new home... it sometimes takes a while....
what brand of pellets are you using... turtle love reptomin food sticks..
to entice them to eat lettuce soak the lettuce in tuna water. and give them minnows as treats

[missibsu]

I'd give your turtle some time to adjust before going to extremes. I also wouldn't offer the deli ham anymore. Not only is it not good for them, as you mentioned, but it can detract from getting them to eat what you want them to eat. Keep offering the pellets, and veggies when they get hungry enough, they will eat.

[steve]

How big are the turtles and what is the water temperature?

[turtlesrock77]

They are about 1.5" and the water temp. is 78 degrees. It has been at about 81 for the past few days because the heater was making it a tad too hot, but today I turned it down.

[steve]

Were the crickets live? It does seem like it is just an adjustment period and I might even separate two of them so you could feed one individually. To entice eating, you could also try hard-boiled egg whites and boiled white chicken meat (in very limited amounts). However, if you constantly give in, they may have figured out how to take advantage

[turtlesrock77]

Yes, the crickets were live, and I feed them seperately in a different feeding container. I thought the seperate feeding container might be the problem, so I tried feeding them in the tank, but they still wouldn't eat. Anyway, I'll try the egg whites, chicken meat, and brine shrimp and see what happens. Thanks!

[steve]

I agree that a separate feeding container won't likely help this early on. I have a picky eater myself, I don't know if I could deal with 3.

[marisa]

Foods that have a strong smell and those that move are hard for turtles to resist. Get and earthworm and cut it up. Also try slivers of eggs whites and bloodworms to get them going.

[turtlesrock77]

Good news and bad news. The good news is.... two of the turtles are eating pellets. The bad news is.... well, one isn't. I tried boiled eggs, and I don't think it ate any. I have 6 rosy reds in there right now that I just bought today... I'm hoping he'll eat one of those, but I don't know. I guess I'll try chicken and earthworms. Oh, and one question- this might be kind of common sense, but how do you keep Anacharis from floating in the water? My substrate is large river rocks, and right now I have them piled up around them, but I have a feeling they'll move around sooner or later.

[marisa]

Why don't you want the anachris to float? It gives a turtle something to rest on/hide in as well as nibble on. I don't put a lot in the tank at once if it's for food and it usually doesn't stay around very long (if you anchor the strands, your turts will likely just pull them up anyway). Are they getting caught in the filter?

Try a few pieces of earthworm.

[steve]

I would also separate them from the non-eater. If necessary, hold the fish by the tail and let your RES see it and kill it. It's not a pleasant thing to do...

[import_nation]

i've had to do that before. i knocked a fish out and held it by the turltes head. it worked =(.

[kikicool]

When I first got mine, he wouldn't eat. I bought a few goldfish and a few minnows. And then I just left him alone. Slowly, I noticed, each day the fish were fewer. When there was two left, I put in some sticks and left the room. They were gone afterwards. Once all the fish (but one) were still gone, he seemed to be okay with eating in front of me. I think it's just time. It took Smoegel about three weeks to eat the sticks. I'm still working on veggies

Incidentally... that one guppy is still alive. It's like he enjoys its company or something. He ate ALL the fish but this one. And this one has been his companion for almost two months! Cute!