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Reptiles/Red Eared Slider's

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Expert: Yexalén - 8/11/2007


Question
I have 2 red eared sliders that I purchased as hatchlings from a flee market.  They are now a couple months old. I have them in a 20 gallon aquarium with good filtration, light source, etc.  THEY ONLY WILL EAT SHRIP!  I have tried feeding them "hatching" food, turtle sticks, carrots, lettuce, melon, and they won't eat anything except the dehydrated shrimp & mink-krill "ReptoMin." From the things I have read online the their protein diet is only supposed to be 25%.  I'm worried that they're not getting the right diet.  Do you have any suggestions of things I can give them to try to get them to eat?  Thanks!!!

Answer
Hello Stacey, when RES turtles are young they tend to be more carnivorous and not eat many greens. You can try to hand feed them (use tongs if you are afraid of being bitten) I am glad you did research on these guys instead of sticking them in a box and throwing lettuce at them. Keep offering other foods and maybe try to "flavor" the pellets, with shrimp juice type of stuff. Something to get the smell of live meat. Some turtles don't like it but mine do, pet stores sell this food that is soft, small, pink, and they say turtles love it. It has all of the vitamins that you will find in pellets but it sinks and some turtles don't go after it. I get mine from PetCo so try to go to the site and look up turtle food. It should be there. Also if you take frozen veggies (thaw them) and then maybe a green bean or something hold on to one end, and then make it move like a fish inside the tank and see if they will go after it. Like I said before though, many young turtles will only eat meats. As long as you keep offering other foods they might start going after it. Good luck and keep trying. Let me know if you need more ideas.

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Yexalén

Expertise

I can answer any care, habits, housing, breeding, egg keeping, supplies, and feeding questions you may have on Australian and Chinese(Green) Water Dragons, Bearded Dragons, Chameleons, Leopard Geckos, Anoles, Skinks, Moniters, Most Geckos, Uromastyx, and other lizards. I can also research any other question you might have and questions about semi-aquatic turtles. I can not answer medical questions or questions on snakes and only some questions about frogs/toads. I can research snake, frog, toad and medical questions to the full extent but can not give you an answer only a link to help you find what you are looking for. I prefer not to answer questions on wild caught animals unless it was a rescue mission. Taking animals out of their wild habitat for your own fun is not something I like to deal with. Please if you want a reptile pet go to a breeder or a good pet store and do your research FIRST! Thanks--------------------------------------------- I am here to help and there is no such thing as a stupid question or too many questions. I would prefer you ask as many as you can to ensure your animal is getting the proper care and is happy and as healthy as ever. Thanks for caring.

Experience

Have owned several reptiles over the course of 5 years. Always researching and learning new things in this subject.

Education/Credentials
Have researched and owned reptiles for over 5 years. I have been involved in many q&a sites such as this one and leaded in best answers. I belong to many reptile groups and forums. I am always researching new topics on all types of reptiles. I love to read and learn in order to answer questions to the best of my ability.

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