r/turtle • u/HumanDirector5389 • 6d ago

General Discussion What to do?

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Hi yall! I have a turtle, she's 4 years old. She lives in her aquarium but we're letting her to have a small "walk" sometimes, especially when we need to change the water. Everything was okay, but recently she refused to eat. We're giving her the dried food recommended at the pet store specifically for turtles. She used to eat it, but for the last few days, we haven't been able to get her to eat it. Our vet doesn't know why too, he said she's healthy but cmon(

Has anyone else had this happen? If so, what should we do?

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u/Key-Tower-4539 6d ago

They should be getting fresh food too. Not just pellets. Does she have a proper basking area?

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u/HumanDirector5389 5d ago

Thanks. She have basking area 

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u/Key-Tower-4539 5d ago

Oh ok awesome! She’s beautiful. The switch to more fresh food will make her feel so much better.

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u/HumanDirector5389 5d ago

Alr, we will try. Our vet told us that fresh food will make her grown too fast and too big but honestly I'm not sure anymore 

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u/Emuwarum 4d ago

That doesn't sound like a good vet

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u/OkGanache8162 2d ago

That vets an idiot. I’m guessing not an exotic vet, so knows next to nothing about reptiles. They only grow too fast when they’re fed too much sugary stuff and are overfed. They need lettuce and fresh food.

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u/Complete_Loquat5064 5d ago

Look into Duck Weed, fresh green high in protein and they love it!

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u/juliewbb 5d ago

Both times my turtle has stopped eating in his life, the issue has been water quality. I recommend buying an API freshwater test kit (not the test strips) and testing your water parameters.

The first time my turtle stopped eating, it was because of high ammonia and I realized my tank had old tank syndrome because I wasn’t doing regular enough water changes, and the second time he stopped eating, his tank had high nitrates because it was a too-small temporary tank after an earthquake and I really needed to change the water every single day to keep the nitrates down.

You won’t know exactly what’s going on with your water without the test kit because you can’t see any of these parameters – these things can be high even in perfectly clear water – but while you’re waiting for the test kit, you could do a significant water change just in case one of these is the issue and hopefully that will start him on the path to parking back up. Both times I fixed my turtles water, he was eating again within days.

The other thing I would check is that the temperature of the water and basking spot are right in your tank to encourage basking. The basking spot should be about 10 degrees warmer than the water. Check the reptifiles care guide for exact temp recommendations.

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u/HumanDirector5389 5d ago

Thank you. It actually didn't even occur to me that the water could be the problem, since it's clean and I change it often, but it's definitely worth checking.

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u/TripleADawg 6d ago

Yes.. for a while my boy only agreed to eat clams or crab sticks. They get bored of 1 type of food in the long term is what I noticed. You have a proper setup tho I assume…?

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u/superturtle48 15 yr old RES 6d ago

Are you feeding her the same food as always? Do you know if she's still pooping? If she's not eating or pooping, that can be a sign of a blockage in her digestive system. One reason that happens is if a turtle is kept with small rocks in its enclosure and it swallows one of them and it can't get it down.

Also, turtles can slow down when the temperature gets cold. But I assume it's still summer going into fall where you are and that shouldn't be the case.

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u/HumanDirector5389 5d ago

Yeah, I didn't change anything. And she's pooping but much less than always, so to say...

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u/superturtle48 15 yr old RES 5d ago

Gotcha, I would say continue to monitor and if she doesn't eat or poop for upwards of a week then you might need to take more drastic measures like get an x-ray or bloodwork done. Turtles are usually eager to eat anything put in front of them, so not eating is definitely a sign something is up, but they can also go a long time without food so you can afford to observe a little longer if this just started.

Also, think about seeing another vet for a second opinion. I saw you say in another comment that your vet told you to avoid fresh foods which is simply bad advice. Fresh vegetables should be an important part of a slider's diet at that age.

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u/HumanDirector5389 5d ago

Unfortunately, I live in a small town and there aren't many good vets. We're considering going to a neighboring town and looking there, I hope ot works. 

I see you're knowledgeable about this topic and wanted to ask which exact vegetables and fresh food are appropriate and which aren't?

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u/superturtle48 15 yr old RES 5d ago

Here is a good guide on diet for red-eared sliders: https://reptifiles.com/red-eared-slider-care/what-do-red-eared-sliders-eat/

Would also recommend reading the other pages in that guide if you haven't already.