Feeding and Nutrition :: Watson stopped eating :(

[Watson&Crick]

Watson and Crick have been doing quite well lately and we're getting ready to do another measurement of them to see if they've grown at all in the last month (both have shed some skin, so we're hoping for a tiny bit of growth). We've been feeding Watson and Crick in separate feeding containers since we got them because Crick is bigger and gobbles up all available food immediately. For 2 weeks Watson was eating quite well too, but the last three days he's refused pellets (alternate between Gammarus and Reptomin Baby). He's still eating the lettuce we give them daily because he's definitely still pooping, but is there a reason why he would suddenly stop the pellets?

We also noticed this weekend that while Crick spends a decent amount of time basking but majority swimming, Watson spends about 70% of his time basking.

Water temp is 75-78, basking temp is 91. Eyes aren't swollen and he's still plenty active when he's swimming.

TIA!

ETA: I forgot to mention that Watson and Crick are two hatchling RES, about 1" (Watson) and 1.5" (Crick), so they get fed everyday.

[TheComputerGremlin]

That's excellent that they have already taken to lettuce, since they are hatchlings. Normally they don't take to veggies until they are 3-5" long.

My concern is that remember that turtle's bellies are about the size of their head, no neck. So if you imagine a tiny little turtle skull, that's all that can fit in there. It's possible that his belly is so full of lettuce that he's not interested in any more.

When do you feed them? I've always fed my turtle pellets in the morning, veggies/fruits in the evening. That way, she has time to process the food. If you are already doing that, maybe try not giving lettuce one day and seeing if the next morning he is ready to eat pellets. Also, you can try a different brand of pellets.

[Watson&Crick]

Thanks for replying! I guess I should have put down their feeding schedule, haha! Their daylight timer has them on "day" from 8am to 8pm and since we leave the house by 7am, we normally put fresh lettuce (a piece about the size of Crick's shell) in the morning and feed them their pellets around 4pm.

I was worried he was filling up on lettuce so after the first day when he didn't eat any pellets, I didn't get them lettuce for two days, but he still didn't eat any pellets.

[theartbook35]

That's excellent that they have already taken to lettuce, since they are hatchlings. Normally they don't take to veggies until they are 3-5" long.

My concern is that remember that turtle's bellies are about the size of their head, no neck. So if you imagine a tiny little turtle skull, that's all that can fit in there. It's possible that his belly is so full of lettuce that he's not interested in any more.

When do you feed them? I've always fed my turtle pellets in the morning, veggies/fruits in the evening. That way, she has time to process the food. If you are already doing that, maybe try not giving lettuce one day and seeing if the next morning he is ready to eat pellets. Also, you can try a different brand of pellets.

Say, Gremlin, that's a really smart idea. Nice call, on that one

[TheComputerGremlin]

Hmm, definitely think about getting a different pellet brand then. Sometimes their tastes just randomly change. You haven't been feeding them any yummy proteins, like chicken or fish, have you? Sometimes they'll hold out for the good stuff and refuse pellets.

Turtles can safely go without protein for at least a week, so just keep offering and see if it's just a quick phase he's in. You also want to keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't get lethargic. Little turtles are notoriously ill, usually not even the owner's fault. They come to us sick from the breeders. If he does become lethargic, you want to separate the healthy one from the ill one and consider finding a vet as RIs are common, and usually have a good chance of survival when caught early.

[Watson&Crick]

Hmm, definitely think about getting a different pellet brand then. Sometimes their tastes just randomly change. You haven't been feeding them any yummy proteins, like chicken or fish, have you? Sometimes they'll hold out for the good stuff and refuse pellets.

Turtles can safely go without protein for at least a week, so just keep offering and see if it's just a quick phase he's in. You also want to keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't get lethargic. Little turtles are notoriously ill, usually not even the owner's fault. They come to us sick from the breeders. If he does become lethargic, you want to separate the healthy one from the ill one and consider finding a vet as RIs are common, and usually have a good chance of survival when caught early.

Thanks! He did get some yummy Krill last week. They had some guppies in the tank that got eaten over the span of a week but it was impossible to tell who actually caught and ate them. Prior to that we were feeding them a couple of freeze dried Krill pieces a week, so I'm betting he's holding off.

I think I noted in the OP, but he has been spending a lot more time than Crick basking, should I be concerned about that?

[TheComputerGremlin]

Sometimes basking is in phases, where they'll go crazy and bask a lot, then they'll bask less the next week. As long as you don't confuse excessive basking with lethargy, it should be okay. Basking can be related to having had too big of a meal and they are metabolizing it or shedding or just enjoying the warmth.

Lethargy would be that they stop eating, they simply don't want to move, they are basking and instead of doing the Superman pose they are just kind of laying there, they are still on the basking spot long long after the light goes out, you can easily catch them and they don't fight at all, they keep their eyes closed constantly, basically they look dead.

[Watson&Crick]

Well Watson has always been pretty easy to catch because he knows that when he gets picked up, he's probably getting food. I'm about 90% sure if I gave him more krill he'd gobble it up in a second, so maybe I'll look at getting a third kind of pellet to mix into their diet.

I did take him out of the tank last night and put him and Crick in a big plastic tote with newspaper and he took off, practically running laps around it, but when I put him back in the tank, it's the same low-key activity. He'll swim around the water along the top but won't dive and he seems to prefer, when not basking, to just hang onto a plant with his front claws and just let the water run past him.

Is it possible my filter is causing too much of a current for them?

[theartbook35]

Sometimes basking is in phases, where they'll go crazy and bask a lot, then they'll bask less the next week. As long as you don't confuse excessive basking with lethargy, it should be okay. Basking can be related to having had too big of a meal and they are metabolizing it or shedding or just enjoying the warmth.

Lethargy would be that they stop eating, they simply don't want to move, they are basking and instead of doing the Superman pose they are just kind of laying there, they are still on the basking spot long long after the light goes out, you can easily catch them and they don't fight at all, they keep their eyes closed constantly, basically they look dead.

In other words, when your turtle looks like a paralyzed zombie, this is quite bad.

Good description ^___^

[TheComputerGremlin]

theartbook - Yeah, I was trying to think of good ways to describe it, I probably went too far!

About Watson, the current might be too much, but they should get used to it. I don't know what your setup is, but when my turtle was about 2.5" or so, we put her in a 40 gallon breeder tank with a Rena XP3, and she never seemed affected by the current. It sounds like he might just have a bit of a lazy streak. I mean, my turtle is far from entertaining, she is either floating around at the surface, digging around for scraps, or basking, or sleeping at the bottom of the tank. He might just be like my turtle, a bit of a lazy butt.

[theartbook35]

theartbook - Yeah, I was trying to think of good ways to describe it, I probably went too far!

About Watson, the current might be too much, but they should get used to it. I don't know what your setup is, but when my turtle was about 2.5" or so, we put her in a 40 gallon breeder tank with a Rena XP3, and she never seemed affected by the current. It sounds like he might just have a bit of a lazy streak. I mean, my turtle is far from entertaining, she is either floating around at the surface, digging around for scraps, or basking, or sleeping at the bottom of the tank. He might just be like my turtle, a bit of a lazy butt.

You didn't go to far, at all. I actually know what lethargy should look like now.

[VanishingReality]

Well Watson has always been pretty easy to catch because he knows that when he gets picked up, he's probably getting food. I'm about 90% sure if I gave him more krill he'd gobble it up in a second, so maybe I'll look at getting a third kind of pellet to mix into their diet.

I did take him out of the tank last night and put him and Crick in a big plastic tote with newspaper and he took off, practically running laps around it, but when I put him back in the tank, it's the same low-key activity. He'll swim around the water along the top but won't dive and he seems to prefer, when not basking, to just hang onto a plant with his front claws and just let the water run past him.

Is it possible my filter is causing too much of a current for them?

Have you seen him swim against the current? If so I would think he is strong enough to be okay with it. My little guy has most days when he is overly lazy. The only times he is really active is when he wants food or to destroy things. He could just be bored, try changing things up in there are see if he is more active.

[Watson&Crick]

Thanks! As for the laziness, that's definitely a possibility, we've only had them a month and he was super active during the first couple of weeks but I'm guessing he could just go through stages. Crick started out pretty lazy but this last week he's been crazy in there!

I went ahead and raised the water level last night so the basking temperature will be higher today but until I get my new filter, I can't raise it too much.

New filter should be here tomorrow, then I can raise the water, add a couple more plants, and hopefully this weekend, some guppies or rosy reds!

[Watson&Crick]

Nope, wouldn't even eat Krill treats last night or this morning.

[theartbook35]

Nope, wouldn't even eat Krill treats last night or this morning.

Watson might still be getting used to you, and the new house. Every turtle has their moments where they just are not that into food.

I still think you should try either feeding super smelly foods, like tuna, or soaking pellets in tuna juice. Some people have had success with feeding their turtles canned cat food, but since cat food is for cats, whether or not you want to attempt that is up to you.