Feeding and Nutrition :: Won't eat pellets

[larqw]

Toutolina will not eat her pellets. I have ReptoMin for her, she has been eating it for years and now, I guess she's tired of it. So, I was feeding her tuna fish for like 3 weeks, but I want to get her back of her "real" food. Please, any suggestions of other types of pellet food? And since she's supposed to have vegetables always, can you tell me which ones? Are fruits allowed too? Do they sell little packets of turtle vegetables?

THANKS!

[Sgt. Pepper]

She's probably gotten used to the tuna (I had a cat that was fed expensive food once while a friend was watching him and then refused to eat anything less for the rest of his life, haha). You should try soaking the pellets in the tuna juices and then give them to her. That might get her to eat them.

Red and green leaf lettuce seem to be best as far as every day veggies. I've had a hard time using all the lettuce before it goes bad but that might just be my fridge.

Anyway, here's the main site's guide to veggies and fruit: http://www.redearslider.com/plants.html

[SpotsMama]

Try to transition her off of tuna by, as Sgt Pepper suggested, soaking some pellets in tuna juice, then gradually reducing the amount of soaked pellets in her diet until she's back to plain old pellets.

Mazuri is a very good brand of pellet and turtles like it. I've heard Monster is good too.

Did you know cans of pellets can get stale over time? If the reptomin has been around for a long time and is particularly smelly, it may have "gone over". Your girl may be more recpetive to fresh pellets.

[industrial_girl_2000]

How is the water temp?

[larqw]

She's really smart! I dip the pellets in tuna juice and she's knows I'm trying to trick her into eating it and refuses to. I think I'll just have to buy a new brand.

Thank you all

[Bascomb]

Now folks --- I am sure if he doesn't eat the first day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, he will eat on the sixth day. When he gets hungry enough, he will eat. Simply,, he will eat when he gets hungry enough. If someone was feeding me perfect meals three times a day and all of sudden you offered me bread and water I would turn up my nose for a while. But, after a day or so I would eat the bread and water. I love my turtles, but I would not search my food cabinets for tuna juice so one of my turts would eat. He will eat. Just wait him out or he will have you ordering tuna meals for him. HA HA

[larqw]

Hahaha Bascomb, you're right! I felt so sorry for her because she was so hungry... and I didn't get to the pet store, so I put the old food in her tank and she ate it! And even today, she's still eating . Toutolina was just being spoiled!
Thank you

[jasmiester]

Good Job Bascomb, my tactic as well.. I put food in and you don't eat? Thats okay, I'm not trying any strategies or forcing you :] .. You'll have to come back soon, turtles cant last more than a week without food

[mikee]

Actually they can live longer than a week but they are hungry as heck at the end of that week. When gone longer than a week I use a auto fish feeder adjusted to pellets. The only thing wrong with that is that I cannot find one that will feed every other day.

[oobie58]

My turtles just stopped eating one day. I just stuck some pellets in some tuna juice. Put them in the tank and they ate it.