Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all
This is my first post, I just had a quick question.

What does everyone do as a diet for your turtles, I feed mine commercial pellets, feeder fish, and veggies, but what is the ratio of each you guys use?
thanks,
Pat---

When I first got my RES, they were in rough shape. The person who had them before me had them for many years and they never had exposure to UVA/UVB and ate commercial pellets exclusively. I feed them commercial pellets every other day. On about 2 of the non-pellet days, I feed them vegetables such as dandelion greens, carrots, romaine lettuce, kale, etc. (I basically feed them whatever 'salad' I've prepared for my tortoises). And about once a week, I feed them crickets/guppies/worms. I have found that through this diet, along with uva/uvb and proper temperatures, the turtles are in near perfect shape. Their shells are still a little pitted from all the years of poor husbandry. I find that these blemishes are starting to dissapear. Another thing you have to be careful about is over-feeding. I found it took me a while to figure out what the proper amount was. There is no exact science to figure this out. Just pay attention to your turtles and in time you'll figure it out.

Hi, also put them on a schedule. My little guy likes his schedule. He acts hungry but I don't feed him every time he "begs" me for food. I'm trying to get him to eat more veggies, but he's still young and prefers pellets and feeder fish. Every once in awhile when I know he's having a hard time catching fish (they can get places he can't) I'll catch one for him and stun it. Makes it easier for him.

What has been working for me lately is to give him a 3 finger pinch of pellets, leave the room for about 15 minutes and scoop out whatever is still there. I also like to try and hand feed him treats. Every once in awhile the Turtle Treats have a thick cluster of the krill so I hold it while he grabs at it. Really cute.

Be careful when hand-feeding... try possibly putting food on a string so he can simply pull it off (without having your fingers right in front of his face) Just a quick glance inside his mouth, and you will understand me.

You said "just a quick glance in his mouth and you will understand..." That reminds me of a question I have (this will probably sound stupid to most, but I don't have my turtles yet...I will be getting them next week so I haven't seen the little guys yet)...Anyway, do turtles have teeth, and if so, does their bite hurt? Mine that I am getting are hatchlings...when do I have to be concerned about their bite?

Thanks for the info!
Ann

I have no clue if my turtle has teeth. He's pretty small still. I do know he's "bitten" my mom twice and she said it felt like a pinch. I guess there is something towards their throat, but I really don't know... just speculating. This is my first and only turtle. I can't even piss him off enough to get him to try and bite me. They do have really strong mouths so I would hate to get my finger stuck in there.

When I said I hand feed my turtle, keep in mind my turtle is only 2.5 inches and 64 grams. We are talking about a head the size of my pinky finger.

>>You said "just a quick glance in his mouth and you will understand..." That reminds me of a question I have (this will probably sound stupid to most, but I don't have my turtles yet...I will be getting them next week so I haven't seen the little guys yet)...Anyway, do turtles have teeth, and if so, does their bite hurt? Mine that I am getting are hatchlings...when do I have to be concerned about their bite?
>>
>>Thanks for the info!
>>Ann