All Turtles Message Board

kelleytidwell

I know to feet babies 1x a day and adults every other...

BUT HOW MUCH.....

I feed my big guy 5-6 peletes and then 3 in evening
the babies i feed 2 pellets per turtle

Am I feeding them correctly?

dixieee · Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 10:42 am Post subject:

there's no exact measurement..i used to feed mine 2 pellets twice a day then i noticed they are getting over weight so i cut it down to one pellet twice a day..sometimes i still feel it's too much so i feed them once..i suggest u cut down their meals cz i think it's too much but keep some floating leaves so if they feel hungry they can eat them

check this article too if u like http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/howmuchhowoften.htm
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Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject:

I have had my turtles on a diet for a couple of weeks, I read a poster on another board saying that he was doing the same because his turtles were getting chunky, so I decided to do the same, they still have the feeder fish in the tank with them so if they starve it won't be for lack of food, I feed them very well on Monday-Wednesday-and Friday, and I give them some on Sunday to hold them over til monday and the cycle begins again, recently, I put in some Romain lettuce to see if they ate any of it, after a few hours I checked and it was still there, I was discouraged but I left it in there, the next day I saw a ring of vegetable matter on the edge of the tank, they had pretty much destroyed it and only little fragments remained Laughing

, so now every once in a while I will put a leaf of Romain in the tank for them.
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dixieee · Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 4:14 am Post subject:

oh the poor things were starving stray Laughing

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 9:46 am Post subject:

Nah, I think that they found out that the lettuce is edible, that is why they started eating it, besides, if they are hungry enough, they can always eat the fish. Laughing

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dixieee · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 7:01 am Post subject:

lol yeah..but are u sure they ate it? maybe they just attacked it like what my turtles do with their poop Rolling Eyes

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

Britny · Level 1 Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 13

Are you serious about how little you feed your guys? I must be doing something wrong. Sid eats ten of the reptomin pellets in the morning and three meal worms and then ten at night plus a cricket. He's always begging for food but doesn't seem over-weight to me. Is that too much? He's about five inches in length.

Britny · Level 1 Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 13

Are you serious about how little you feed your guys? I must be doing something wrong. Sid eats ten of the reptomin pellets in the morning and three meal worms and then ten at night plus a cricket. He's always begging for food but doesn't seem over-weight to me. Is that too much? He's about five inches in length.

dixieee · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 4:38 am Post subject:

20 pellets/day?? how many cans do u get per week? Laughing

no this is too much..besides, ur turtle has to eat more veggies now..cut the pellets portion to let's say 2-2 and keep some floating leaves in the tank..by time he'll get used to it and eat them when he starves
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

Kitty · Level 3 Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 100 Location: Tracy, Ca

If you can get some water Hyacinth, put that in the tank, it's a living water plant that floats on top of the water, it has many benifits. first the turtles use it as a dock. second they eat it, and third, it filters your water, the long roots collect debree, and keeps your water crystal clear, I havn't run a filter in my large pond in over 15 years and my water is clearer then one with a filter and no plants, plus I never change the water in my pond....well maybe once in a year and a half...maybe...lol and my turtles are all healthy and breeding, and all bigger than they are supose to be. but like I have said before " they can't read" so they didn't know they were supose to stop growing...LOL
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There is nothing more exciting than to see baby Turtles, popping up out of the ground, or to find them wondering across the yard.

Britny · Level 1 Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 13

Kitty · Level 3 Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 100 Location: Tracy, Ca

Feeding has a lot to do with us....Lets face it every body, WE LIKE TO WATCH THEM EAT!.....any way I'm just as quilty as everyone eles. turtles and all living things, will very with there own needs, we need to reconize this.
If your turtle is getting fat, then cut back or change it's diet. just as if it were us.( I wish it was that easy...LOL) we can follow guide lines but they are just guide lines, just as anything I write or any body eles writes, it's just our 2 cents worth..Not meaning anything bad by that, just what works for one may not work for someone else. I have had Turtles all my life, yet I have learned alot in the short time that I have met all of you....Thanks, never stop learning... P.S. crickets have no nutrtionaly value, but reptiles love them, good for dusting with vitamins, ect. or just a treat.
_________________
There is nothing more exciting than to see baby Turtles, popping up out of the ground, or to find them wondering across the yard.

dixieee · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 12:23 pm Post subject:

yes kitty learning never ends Smile

(although sometimes it's a Crying or Very sad

)

Britny it depends on ur turtle..what's its size and what is the size of those pellets?
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

Britny · Level 1 Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 13

Sid is about five to six inches in length and the pellets are maybe 3/4 of an inch. I don't want to hurt him though. He doesn't seem to be overweight to me, but how can you tell?

dixieee · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:25 am Post subject:

hmm..i still believe he shouldn't eat all that..flip him over, if u see flesh coming out of his hand and feet holes that means he's overweight..and be careful cz it can happen fast and easily
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

brinnan · Level 1 Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 15

I'm having trouble figuring out what to feed my new RES too. He's about 10 inches long (maybe even 12) and always begs. He is on a lot of antibiotics, so I was worried his appetite would be affected. Instead, he just begs all day long. I give him pellets and floating greens. He inhales anything I put in the tank. He would probably eat a whole head of romaine in a few minutes if I put it in there. I know he had a really hard life recently, but I'm really unsure about how much to feed him.
Oh-- and after he eats everything in the tank, he goes to the bottom and turns over all the rocks on the bottom (the big pond rocks) looking for bits of food. He's really strong!

Kitty · Level 3 Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 100 Location: Tracy, Ca

Hi Brinnan
You could try what I do. I have over 25 Adults, and adding. So it is very hard to see how much each turtle eats, I put out as much as they can eat in 10 mins, then take the rest out, this also works well for me as there are fish in the pond as well, so everyone eats at once. But I do have water plants in the ponds all the time and they snack on them as well. The larger turtles do seem to eat more...a lot more... I have a wastern painted that at last mes. 16" just the shell. I feed everyday all my turtles hatchlins to monster adults, using this same manor of feeding. there are many experts that recomend this when you are not sure how much, also they eat more as the weather gets warmer, as they are more active. Also if this is a female, mine eat alot more when getting ready to lay eggs....And there doesn't have to be a male for a female to lay eggs...
_________________
There is nothing more exciting than to see baby Turtles, popping up out of the ground, or to find them wondering across the yard.

Britny · Level 1 Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 13

Thanks for the help Kitty...

I'm curious as to how much you all feed, how often, and to how big of turtles.

Kitty · Level 3 Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 100 Location: Tracy, Ca

britny... I feed my turtles everyday, the babies 2 times. The babies get reptomin sticks, and there is always guppies in the tank, plus water Hyacinth, No body is over weight, To be honest I don't count how many sticks I throw in, I will add more if they clean it up real fast, but right now I am feeding 32 babies, sometimes I add a feeding in the middle of the day, I want to make sure every one gets food. My adults are in a large pond out side year round, So I feed them a higher protine diet, and try to bulk them up just before winter hits, because they will not eat all winter long. sometimes they will, but not usally. Most of my turles in the pond range from 14 to 16 inches maybe 17" and that's just there shell, they love water Hyacinth, I just put in over 200 plants, the next day....All Gone! maybe 10 plants letf. there is fish in there all the time, but they don't eat them. I call them there pets...lol
The pond turtles sometimes get an extra feeding, because when they beg
they come out of the pond, and just keep comming for you, and don't stop till they are at your feet, if you move away they fallow. So I use the 10 min all they can it system, and that works out good for us. there is some where arround 25 turtles in the pond, with the smalles being about 7 or 8 inches,then jumping up to about 12" maybe 3 or 4 at thst size, then the rest rang from 14" to 16"..... any way that's how I feed I do switch there diets around a little to give them a varity, I'm sure there are alot of people saying..I over feed but, no one is fat, and about 1/3 of my pond turtles (RES, and western painteds) are 50 plus years old, well have been in the family that long....not really sure of there true age. but again this works for me, you need to find what your turtles needs are. is your turtle active? or lazy? is he really hunger all the time or bored???? The 10 min system is recomended by several experts. You can always try it, see how much he eats in that amount of time. and How long before he wants to eat again.
_________________
There is nothing more exciting than to see baby Turtles, popping up out of the ground, or to find them wondering across the yard.

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:17 pm Post subject:

I would think of turtles being like little kids at your family's house, if you bring candy for them every time you go visit, after a while, they will come to expect you to bring candy with you, if you don't bring any, they will be disappointed but they will be expecting it again the next time you visit. Turtles are the same way, they know that every time you come around you bring food with you, so naturally they expect to get food when you come around, that doesn't mean that you have to feed them every time they start to beg. Very Happy

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Kitty · Level 3 Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 100 Location: Tracy, Ca

You are so right. I don't feed them everytime I go out there, but I do talk to them...lol I tell them to get there butts back in the pond, you don't belong up here, now get!...I think it's the waving of my hands, but they turn around and go back. If I don't make eye contact, and just go past the pond real fast, they usaly stay in the water, or on there logs. Some time I feel as if we are playing a game.
_________________
There is nothing more exciting than to see baby Turtles, popping up out of the ground, or to find them wondering across the yard.

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:59 pm Post subject:

It does sound like a game Laughing

, I wish my turtles would interact with me that way, usually they just dive into the water when they see me. Laughing

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kevin89 · Level 2 Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Posts: 66

i feed mine little guy twice a day with pellets i cut them up in pieces for him then i am going to try to soak =them in tuna juice to see if he eat more. he rarley eats i see him eat couple time but not much.

Britny · Level 1 Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 13

I checked Sid out the other day... I think he's overweight. Is there a way I can fix that without cutting his portions drastically because he got mad at me and started eating rocks when I tried. Will more lettuce and less crickets help? Does lettuce make them fat? Sorry for the questions, but I want to make sure he will be ok.

dixieee · Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:04 am Post subject:

no u can depend more on the veggies, it'll help a lot..critters should be given as treats only..he shouldn't be annoyed if u stop them for a while
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

SkeetSkeetPinoy · Level 1 Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 19

wait wait wait .. so you guys are saying 2 pellets? as in .. two .. of those small pellet? I'm confused on how much to feed cuz .. according to my nutrafin max turtle gammerus pellets .. i should "feed daily as much as turtle can eat in two hours". Bwahhh? lol I just dunno how much to feed ..

dixieee · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:16 am Post subject:

every bottle has something different..the one i have says "as much as they can consume in 2 minutes"
it took me lots of time to decide what is the best quantity for them..now i feed them 2 pellets once a day or 1 pellet twice a day (which is the same)...i figured that this is the best portion for my babies after so many trials-and-errors Rolling Eyes

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 1:10 pm Post subject:

Yeah, turtles will eat until they throw up, and you don't want that, it will lead to over feeding and their shells will start to get bumpy until the shells get so bad that it starts to affect their health. Very Happy

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SkeetSkeetPinoy · Level 1 Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 19

ok so like .. literally like 2 of those small .. 2 cm pellets right?

yaya · Level 4 Joined: 10 Jun 2004 Posts: 558

the pellet should be a staple in their diet and the amount should be the size of their head(WITHOUT the neck)... once a day for a hatchling and every other day for a juvenile(1 year to 3 year old)and adult...u can try to introduce some aquatic plant or veggies,stay away of the spinach..but don't expect too much,since hatchling are more carnivorous.
resist to the begging,they are really good actor!! Wink

...
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i'm not a expert,i just try to help....

dixieee · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:13 am Post subject:

i agree..to be on the safe side and not get that guilty feeling, keep some floating leaves inside the tank so they can eat if they think the food u're giving is not enough
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint