Need help with my RES turtle

[green&grey]

I wanted to ask if any of you knew a good place to ask about Red-Eared Sliders. Though if anyone is knowledgeable here that would be great too.

Is there ways I can get my turtle to eat lettuce? I know it's very important but she will barely touch it, and if she bites it she spits it out. I know you can offer it in different ways for birds to try it, but I'm not sure what to try with a turtle.
Recently she was sick and didn't eat for months, now she's better but won't eat her pellets anymore. She will only eat dry gammarus, cooked carrot, and cooked chicken. A little bit of sweet potato, peas and corn also, but she's not too big on them. Better than not eating anything at all but still not enough

I should add that nobody knew what was wrong for the past few months. She just stopped eating and was very lethargic, vets were stumped. Then one day it was like somebody flipped a switch and she was eating again. My best guess is that she was preparing to brumate, or that she just got bored of her old food.

 

[TikiMyn]

I don’t really know anything, but have you tried chopping it? Hanging it from something Maybe? Maybe a life plant could get her to eat plants? Or put the veggies in a bowl of water? I hope you figure out what’s up with your girl soon!

 

[green&grey]

Tried chopping it and giving in tiny pieces. Her whole habitat is basically a big bowl of water. Could work for a tortoise but not sure how it would help here. I'm trying to figure out how to hang it, I'm afraid of using my birds' veggie clips because they might think it's for them and fly into the tank when I'm not looking. I might just plop in the biggest leaf I can find, would work about as well.

Live plants are a good idea! Hmm... I have some anubias nana in my fishtank, I could try that. I know it's turtle-safe but not sure if it's exactly edible so I'll look up what aquatic food plants I can get here..

 

[TikiMyn]

I just thought of something, Maybe just a pot of regular grass? I know very little of turtles, so I have no idea of this Will help but it might stimulate her and it is easy to try out.

 

[green&grey]

I'll look into it. Thanks, TikiMyn!

I just tried arugula instead of lettuce... Nothing. My birds are taking to it nicely, though.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

I'm so sorry to hear your turtle was sick and now not eating his veggies. I wish I could help. I wish I knew a good forum send you to as well. It would be nice if every pet community had a forum as great as AA. I hope you are able to get some good advice.

You might try looking thur YouTube channels. It can be hit or miss but sometimes you can find out about a good forum that way although searching for that kind of is hard. I don't follow a lot of pure reptiles channels but one I recently got into was is this one. SerpaDesign - YouTube
He seems like a really nice guy and knowledgeable too. He use to have a snapping turtle.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Urg! YouTube can like a landmine field with bad info. But occasionally you come you with something good I found this video talking a good forum.

The only thing is it's old video but hopefully the forum is still around and is still as good. Sounds like AA but for turtles and tortoises. I really hope it's still good and will be able to help you. Best of luck with your turtle

Edit - I was curious so I looked it up. Its still very active Here's the link https://tortoiseforum.org/ Best of luck with it

 

[green&grey]

Thank you so much!! Especially that you took the time to find it I'll be registering ASAP. Looks like they're mostly about tortoises, but there's bound to be people knowledgeable about turtles too.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

No problem Glad I could help. Please keep us updated on your turtle. I hope he'll be ok

 

[Just-passn-thru]

I have a red eared slider in my pond outside , I don't feed Lettuce , they are really more into insects and small fish , I feed her pond pellets and dried shrimp you can get in the turtle section at pet store. lettuce is really no value nutritionally. Aquatic turtles are omnivores they lean on the side of carnivores. my turtles have the choice to forage in a pond, since your turtle is in an indoor tank he/she doesn't have many options for foraging, a better choice for greens would be to get some live tank plants for her/him. this could be given as a treat. Pellets and dried shrimp would be the best. do you have a basking area with full spectrum lighting / heat lamp ?

 

[WallyLoopey]

A red eared slider??

That’s a water/marsh turtle. I don’t give mine lettuce- they get freeze dried mealworms, live wingless fruit flies, feeder fish and feeder shrimp.

Are you providing a heat lamp and a uvb source? No glass between the uvb and the turtle- place it no higher than 12” above your basking spot. Use flourescent uvb bulbs and fixtures, not the regular bulbs that say uvb.

Also will eat cuttlebone (in the water) for calcium.

 

[green&grey]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, in the past few hours I've learned romaine lettuce isn't all that great for them after all. Lots of conflicting info on the Internet as always Though most still say that an adult RES should eat plenty of greens?? I'm confused.

I don't really have a problem with her getting the protein she needs, she tears apart insects and the like.

Yes, she has a dry basking spot with UVB. I let her bask outside in the summer, with supervision of course. Has a heater and filter... I think I'm doing well, except for her diet... I asked a question about it on the forum as well, waiting for a reply now...

 

[WallyLoopey]

Variety is key and they usually only eat in the water. You could rip some small pieces of greens and let them float and see what happens.

I think she might just need a new food source to peak her interest! Tried crickets? The movement in the water will surely entice her.

You can “gut load” them prior to feeding them to her.

 

[green&grey]

Variety is key and they usually only eat in the water. You could rip some small pieces of greens and let them float and see what happens.

I know, and I've already tried that... I'm gonna try hanging a cucumber for her just out of her reach so she might be enticed to try it. I think it has enough water to not be a problem to her. Not much for nutrition, but maybe a gateway to healthier veggies.

I think she might just need a new food source to peak her interest! Tried crickets? The movement in the water will surely entice her.

You can “gut load” them prior to feeding them to her.

That's what I'm thinking too. I haven't tried crickets before, actually. Gutloading seems like a great idea, if she won't eat any greens Thanks! I used to give her wild grasshoppers so I'm sure she will take to them nicely.

 

[Bagpipes]

Years ago, I had a red-ear slider I had since she was 3" or 4" big. Fortunately, I had a friend who raised them and other Critters. It can be challenging and time-consuming, but worth the turtles health. I would buy a beef heart from the market, and then boil it until it was cooked. It does smell up the house so unless you can cook it outside you will want to turn on Vents and fans. After it cooled, you put it in a food processor, and pretty much puree and or chop it finely. I would place enough of it into ice cube trays cover it with wrap and freeze it for future use. Most people will put a couple of goldfish in the tank with the turtle, but mine was not fast enough to ever catch them. But even though it sounds cruel, you can also freeze them individually, and then put it in the tank with the turtle. And remember too, that they do not need to eat everyday , otherwise it will make your water yucky very quickly .You will have to remember that when they go through their shedding process the water can get really nasty and you will have to clean the filter more often . I never bought replacement media I just would make my own out of a knee high stockings, tied a knot and put ammo carb into it. Always remember to rinse it under cold water really well to make sure you get the loose carbon dust off of it. You will also want to keep an eye on the scutes, to make sure that when she is going through a growing spurt they develop correctly. If you notice that they are crooked or raised you will want to check her diet, UV , water temperature Etc. She will molt those as well, make sure you let them come off on their own and you do not peel them off as it will make her susceptible to bacteria. I also used a "python" to clean the tank, that I had used for my fish aquariums as well. You hook it up to the kitchen sink and there's a toggle that lets you suction, drain as well as fill it back up. It was so much easier than having to empty it by hand. I'm pretty sure they still sell those at the pet stores. And you only want to put a quarter of the tank of water in it so that she can get up on her basking Flat Rock, yet enough so that she can swim freely. And always make sure they have a proper UV and heat lamp, and heater. Long story short she got bigger than a dinner plate and kept bumping her heater to where I was afraid she would get electrocuted. I couldn't find anyone or a store that could take her, so I ended up releasing her into a huge pond.
I hope this helps and remember that it is a long term commitment, as long as you have big enough tanks. I had her in a 75 gallon tank and like I said she outgrew it. At the time I was married and my ex did not want me to get a larger tank. If it was just myself like now, I would have gotten a bigger tank and figured out a way to keep her from the heater.
Hope this helps and good luck

 

[Aubrey]

Tortoise.org is a great site.

They concentrate on torts more than water turtles but do have areas where you can look up about a RES. you can also start threads to ask specific questions. I'd check them out.

 

[green&grey]

Sorry for the late reply! I got caught up with other things and sorta forgot about this thread for a while x-x

I found it kind of patronizing when people started giving me basic turtle care facts(but still understood since I know you all just want the best for her), and then I realized I didn't even write how long I've had her. She isn't a baby, in fact I've had her for half her wild lifespan - more than ten years! Sorry for not pointing that out sooner!

I didn't always know how-to-turtle of course. This info would have been so helpful way back then. Wish I knew you guys back when I was a kid.

I was concerned with diet as they can live on mostly pellets, but mine stopped eating them so I had to find a balance. However a few days ago I tried again and she ate a few! Not as ravenous as usual, but hopefully she's gaining a taste for them all over again.

Not too much help from the forum as of now. One person with turtles responded, saying they can live basically entirely on pellets. Which would be great, if only my turt liked pellets xD
I found this though - Care Sheet - Red Ear Slider - and was told it's a respected source, so I will be heeding that one on diet info until I can get responses from more RES keepers.

Thanks for the feedback once again! I really appreciate the dedication of this community.

 

[green&grey]

I managed to get her to eat turtle pellets again! Maybe she was still slow from the wintertime and the pellets just didn't sit right for a while. Anyways thank you all!

 

[Love My Zons]

Glad to hear your little turtle is doing better!:super: I love turtles!

 

[jax7271]

The Tortoise Forum is a great place for advice....there are a lot of knowledgeable people on it that work with both turtles and tortoises.