Urgent Care :: RES not eating

[HollyP]

My RES has not been eating. It's been about a week. Usually she tells me when it's feeding time and she's still slapping at the water but when I drop her food in she doesn't eat. She opens her mouth as if to chomp on a food stick but then only puffs her throat a few times and sits there. She was at least eating one after it had sat for a few minutes but now she's not even doing that. She has gone a few days without eating in past during the winter. Except that she's not eating she's acting normal in every other way. Meaning she's still just as active, she's still basking, shell looks heathly.

She's 7 years old, 6 inches wide /8 inches long in the shell, water temp is 74 degrees, basking area is 80 degrees.

Any thoughts?

[TheComputerGremlin]

How are you measuring the water temp? Is it possible that your thermometer is not reading correctly? If the temp has dropped, it will cause her metabolism to slow.

Have you fed her any junk food lately, like pieces of fish, chicken, crickets, etc? Sometimes turtles become spoiled and refuse to eat food until they get the good stuff. You can try tough love and only feed her pellets, though it sounds like you are already doing that.

How many pellets are you feeding? As turtles age, their metabolisms slow, and she may only require 4-5 pellets daily to sustain her. If you've been feeding her significantly more than that lately, she just may be full. You want to feed 1/2 of the size of just her head daily.

Lastly, are you feeding her any greens? As the turtle gets older, they become more of a plant eater.

It could be a very early respiratory infection, but she seems to be acting normally otherwise. That means you'll just need to wait and see. You can try feeding her some junk food to make sure she is still eating.

Oh, and your basking temp is way too low. You want to bump it up in the 85-100 degree range, that helps them metabolize their food.

[RyanJ]

Has the basking area always been that temp? As TheComputerGremlin said, the temperature should be much higher, otherwise they don't feel the need to bask if the water temp is close to the basking area temp.

[HollyP]

She almost never gets anything other than her pellets. The basking temp has always been that way, but admittedly the thermometer I used may not work as well on air as it does in water. She's never refused to bask (or jump off and splash us while we're eating). I thought about the slowing metabolism when she was eating less, but now she eats nothing at all. I'll try some greens, see if she likes that.

[Caphits]

Yeah, she might just be wanting some variety. Go with some red or green leaf lettuce. maybe some carrot strips.

[grem89]

are You completely positive 4 to 5 pellets is all a turtle needs to maintain? Thats like nothing. where did you hear that?

[RyanJ]

That sounds right for the amount of pellets to be given (based on how many can fit in their head space) but it definitely needs to be supplemented with greens on a daily basis. There's a great section on the main website that outlines what you can feed your turt and how often, I'd suggest perusing it (or saving it as a Word file like me :p)

[grem89]

ive read that but i thought An 8 inch turtle would have a bigger head and therefor require more than 5 pellets. Ive read this site probably 5 times over lol.

[marisa]

Water temp is fine (I actually have it cooler for my RES), basking area temp could be around 5 degrees warmer (I wouldn't go higher than 90F).

The number of pellets also depends on the size of the pellets you're giving.

If she's otherwise active with no other symptoms, she could just be taking a break from eating. Try offering her something different, preferably with a smell to it.

[HollyP]

Got her some boston lettuce and she gobbled it up like it was candy (not the whole head). I guess she wanted more veggies. Is she maybe done with her food sticks (reptomin)? If she doesn't take anymore sticks after having greens for a few days, should I try a different brand?

[jozzep]

Well happy to hear the problem was solved before i got to this thread...
I would keep giving her pellets,but just buy a brand that has more fruits and veggies than protein.I buy "turtle bites"...My turts love em!!Anytime i get close to the tank, they come to the front and splash all over the place lol
A good rule of thumb for basking area temp is "atleast" 10 degrees higher than water temp that should be 75-78 degrees.
good luck