Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i caught 2 red ear sliders in california about 2 weeks ago and have offered many things such as tomatos, dandylions, mustardflowers, oranges, aquatic plants, turtle pellets, etc. but i havent actually SEEN them eat anything. they are full grown. The pellets seem to dissapear, either that they are disinigratingg since there was a big particle cloud a day later, and when i put tomatoes in their pin, the dish was flipped so i ddint really get to see. is there any way to tell if they are eating or not? its been 2 weeks and they seem juss as fast/strong and curious as when i first cought them. im looking for signs like skinny neck? discolor? what? what time do they usually eat, and i heard somewhere turtles cannot eat out of water, because they have a "fixed" tonge or something like that. please reply!

o btw i heard they eat snails, i dunno if they ment land or aquatic, i think both because they said slugs too. how big should the snail be compared to the turtles head?

Hey DJ,

Your sliders will only eat while in water. Sometimes, they'll pick things off of the shoreline but they will always drag it back into the water in order to consume it.

You are on the right track with the food items that you are offering. Go to any pet store and purchase a few bunches of Anacharis(Elodea). This is an aquatic plant that should thrive and grow in an outdoor pond. To my aquatic turtles, this stuff is like crack! They love it. That way, you'll have a constant supply of food in the water without having to worry about fouling.

For fussy feeders, you can try boiled chicken breast or earthworms. These can often spark a feeding response.

The biggest issue for any wild caught adult turtle is stress! A turtle will literally starve itself to death if it is too stressed. Granted, this usually requires absolutely horrible conditions. There are varying degrees. It may take up to a month for turtles kept in the best of conditions to acclimate to their new surroundings. In the meantime, you need to look at ALL of your husbandry practices in depth! Any of these things can affect appetite:
- Do they have access to direct sunlight in which to bask? If so, how many hours?
- How many gallons of water are you providing?
- What is the temperature of the water first thing in the morning, at noon, and at dusk?
- What are the air/ground temperature highs and lows in the pen throughout the day?
- Are you handling them often?
- Is the water filtered? Is there a current?
- Are they actually basking?
- Do you have an outdoor dog that spends a lot of time near their pen?
...just to name a few.

Sliders will feed throughout the day. As adults, they do a lot of "grazing". They will bask(heat up, digest their food), then drop in the water and eat, then bask, then eat, then bask...you get the idea. Temperatures and lighting must be correct in order for them to properly bask and digest their food, which affects their appetite. Throw in mating and going to the bathroom...the life of a slider in a nutshell.

A picture of your setup, with the turtles in it, would help.

Symptoms of starvation vary and can take a VERY long time to show up. Unseen symptoms are more dangerous, like damage to internal organs. The absolute BEST thing for you to do would be to monitor their weights weekly with a gram scale(postal scale, chef scale, etc.). A 10% drop in weight over a month combined with anorexia may warrant a trip to the Vet. for fluid therapy or force feeding.

I hope this helps.

alight now i know they eat in water. ill to buy some anacharis for them. will the anarcharis grow without dirt in the water? i have a kiddie pool in a big corner of my backyard which is pinned. ill try to find a couple earthworms to throw in there.
the turtles are in the same conditions as where i found them except the water is still. i see them bask ALL the time and i find poop on the bottom of the pool floor all the time. ill take a picture as soon as i get baterys for my camera :S
ill try to keep weight under chartings, but first i gotta barrow a scale from someone!
thanks for your help!

Yes, if it isn't eaten, the Anacharis will grow without soil. Just let it float on the surface. Sometimes, it will even send out roots from its stems.

It sounds like your problem is mostly stress. Red-ears are very adaptable, and they should settle down soon. I wouldn't worry too much yet.

You may want to consider filtering the water at one point, although I know that you clean it often. If you don't filter, try to do 25% water changes weekly. If your water is highly chlorinated, this can irritate them. If possible, use a dechlorinator.

I know that I said this before, but you've done a great thing by removing those Red-ears from an area in which they are invasive!

thanks alot guys! i got them to eat! i tried everything i could think of then i thought about salami. i threw it in the pool at ngiht and boy did they go for it! i tried also a slug and they are eating those too! thanks guys!

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