diver21 Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 well as the title says my red eared has decided to stop eating. tried a few diffent foods, shrimp, fish, chicken, not going for it at all, she checks it out but wont eat it. shes still active too so cant be hibernating or about to is she? its been about 4-5 days now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 oxheart? and hows your water temperature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Do a water change and put your temp up to about 26 (not higher) and see if that helps. And yes as LA said, try the ox heart. Cut off any fat and cut into wee bits...not too big so it can easily swallow if its feeling a bit off colour. If you only feed your turtle fish thats been frozen its important to balance it out with turtle pellets and/or purina one cat biscuits. Once fish is frozen it apparently contains an enzyme that destroys the essential vitamin thiamine...not a problem if they are getting thiamine in their pellets/ biscuits every other day tho Also it may just be related to cooler temps and a healthy turtle can slow down and go for ages without eating, but unless you're going to hibernate her properly, best to keep her warm and hungry over winter. Hope thats some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 outdoors winding down prob stop feeding now for winter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 outdoors winding down prob stop feeding now for winter? Yep... I hadnt thought it may be outside :roll: :oops: Is your turtle in a tank or outside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 havnt tried the oxheart yet as the GF fed it all to the cats... no shes inside and next to the window so she gets some natural sunlight but the window is only open when its warm. sadly shes only in a 2footer at the monment but do have a 4footer for her in auckland when i get back up there and 2 months. will take a water temp reading when i get home and do another tomorrow morning to see if it drops alot overnite. i dont leave a thermometer in there as shell break it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 a heater with heater guard may be necessary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 yep . if indoors you want temp over 18C as they cant really digest food below that and start wanting to hibernate which isnt a good idea in a tank. basking/heat lamp maybe enough to warm tank to if havent got one already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 yep . if indoors you want temp over 18C as they cant really digest food below that and start wanting to hibernate which isnt a good idea in a tank. basking/heat lamp maybe enough to warm tank to if havent got one already heat lamp maybe best as they can't smash it if it is out of their reach sunlight through a window is not enough to meet the turtles requirements for lighting long term Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 well tanks at 26 deg. it is heated with a 50w jebo. im tempted to put a platty in there to see if she will go for live food. i did put some waterboatmen in there about 3 weeks ago and she ate them all, think that might of upset her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 I run my babies at 30C with no problems.They are more active and eat more and grow faster.Once they are eating well you can reduce it down to 26-28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted April 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 tried the beefheart and she had just one small cube... ive been reading that theyre ment to be omnivores, but what vegies do you feed them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkfur Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 are her eyes ok? if they can't see they don't eat. I had a turtle years ago that had a vitamin deficiency and it made her eyes puffy so I had to force feed her until she improved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted April 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 physically all i can see that could be wrong with her is that her shells dark, but its mre like a little bit of algie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 silverbeet, spinach, broccolli, to name 3 you can blanch them first to make it softer oh and aquarium plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Mine are keen on Elodea canadensis (the legal oxygen weed from the pet shop). Cheaper to hook it out of the river yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Or a slice of courgette, and then cut it in half so she can get to the fleshy bit. They do eat the skin, but if not used to it, prefer to go for the flesh first. Also frozen peas...defrosted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stretch Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 The turtle's digestive capability drops dramatically over the Winter in outdoor situations and it wouldn't surprise me that this would occur with indoor turtles as well what with the shortening of day light hours. It is not good for turtles to have undigested food sitting in their stomachs for any length of time. So, if the turtles look otherwise healthy and behave normally cut right down on the food and don't worry. The elodea plant was a good idea. If it doesn't get eaten it'll cause no harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 she still hasnt really eatn anything, i keep putting in a stick of food every 2-3 days to see if shell go for it but shes still fairly active, still sitting on the rocks to sun herself. i had put in a few plattys to see if she will eat them and ones gone missing, so atleast its something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 I had the same problem with my turtle he went off his food and wouldn't eat anything .. not even ox heart When I was in New World last week I notice in the frozen fish part these packets of "Kingfisher" chunky seafood marinara it has - shrimps, mussels, squid tentacles, clams - and my turtles LOVES it .. now when I am holding the food at his tank he comes straight over and snaps it up Give it a go!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 and then i can eat the rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 and then i can eat the rest! well yea if your turts won't eat it, then you can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Maybe a few water snails? They like those usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted June 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 well i think she ate a mussle from that seafood coctail but none of the othr stuff so i guess im having seafood salad sometime this week and ive only got some small ramshorn type of smail, not very big and dont think she would even be able to see it or care if it was dangling infrount of her (shes ignoring the 3 platys in her tank i tried to give her as feeders) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 mmm, so do you think shes otherwise healthy? Normal behaviours/ energy? :-? Or is this lack of appetite possibly a symptom of an underlying illness, rather than a fussy turtle whose slowed down a bit in the cooler weather? Might be an option to chat to the vet about a multivite injection as a bit af an appetite stimulant, or to check out if theres an underlying respiratory condition or something? I'm just wondering coz it has been a wee while now since she ate much Did she used to have a good appetite, or has she slways been a bit elusive with food? A turtle can be sick for a very long time with no symptoms...and then often lack of apppetite is one of the first signals that there is something else going on? Tricky...What do you think? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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