Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My hatchling won't eat. Well, he may be eating a little bit.

When he stopped hibernating he was (understandibly) a bit emaciated. In the past few weeks he has gained a lot of weight. His legs used to be really skinny, now they are very healthy looking.

I give him red worms. If they are big I cut them in half but no smaller than that otherwise they stop wiggling so much. When they wiggle he'll attack it. He has trouble getting a good bite. Eventually they stop wiggling and he'll just stand on top of the worm, his little feet pinning it to the ground. But after that he doesn't try to to take a bite. He just sits there.

I'm confused because he's gaining weight, but apparently not eating? Or maybe he's secret. But the worm carcasses I pull out of his cage are mostly whole. I'm confused.

Do you try to feed the baby a lot of different foods?
My turtles will not eat the same foods day in & day out, I have to offer all sorts of different food items or they will refuse meals.

Is your baby's tank humid and warm enough, do you have UV/B lighting?
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PHRatz

Yes, I have the correct lighting and temperature is correct.

Currently I'm trying to find places that sell something besides red wigglers, and I offer him carrots, broccoli, strawberries, and apples. All shredded so it would be easier to eat. When I feed him fruits and veggies I'll put some water in the dish also.

It's more like he's trying to eat the worms, but he can't get a bite off. And then they get dry or stop moving and he wants nothing to do with it anymore. When I cut them up he can't get his little foot on top of the worm to rip it apart. And then the worm dies faster so he doesn't want it anymore.

Try looking at bait shops for different kinds of maggots, and maybe some smaller crickets from a pet store. Those will move enough to get a turtle's attention.
Broccoli and strawberries aren't the best to offer all the time. Try adding some peeled and shredded/grated squashes such as acorn, butternut, or kabocha. Green beans and greens like dandelion, mustard, turnip, collard, chicory(escarole), and endive.

If they're the European variety of Red Worm, I've noticed that some of my hatchlings don't like them. Once that sticky, yellow ooze gets in their mouths...they lose interest. From then on they'll grab one, bite it, get the taste, and walk away.

Worms fresh from the garden seem to be a little more hardy. You can chop them up fairly small and they'll still wiggle quite a bit.

I haven't seen a hatchling yet that wouldn't eat small meal worms. Not something you want to feed all the time but it sure gets them eating so you can then try other things.

Thank you for all the advice!

My mom told me I should get a spade and start digging up worms instead of buying them from the store. I'm going to start. There are a lot of worms here to dig up.

I haven't seen any maggots in the pet stores. I'm still waiting for a brave guy to buy the crickets for me and cut off their "hopping legs" so they can't escape from my baby and he can eat them without too much trouble.

The worms I bought recently (at Wal Mart) are "panfish/trout worms". They are a bit larger than the red wigglers, but when I cut them up, they go WILD. They are very active and my turtle seems to enjoy those more as they stay alive longer.

Thanks also for the info on other vegetables. My baby seems the most interested in carrots, but I'll try squash. I haven't tried that before, and I buy it all the time for myself so I'll start letting him have some.

Thank you so much for all the information. You are all very helpful. I know my baby appreciates it too. He's getting fatter by the day.