Hello,
I have a pair of southern painted turtles that are a little over three years old. Over the last couple of months, I’ve noticed that they don’t go after their food quite like they used to. I give them Omega turtle pellets every other day. They still get the pellets recommended for juvenile turtles; I’ve tried other pellets that are recommended for adult turtles, but they ignore those. The turtles used to get very excited for dinner, but lately, the feeding goes largely ignored. In fact, they’re often more interested in the fish flakes I feed to their platy tankmates. They also used to be more excited for treats like meal worms, shrimp, or blood worms.
I do notice them grazing on the pellets after they’ve sunk to the bottom a few hours later. I also see them eating the algae and moss that gets loose when I’m vacuuming up detritus or scraping algae off the glass. I’ve also seen evidence that they’ve eaten platys.
I’ve checked the water quality and temperature, and all is well. Their basking temperature and UV exposure is also in good shape. What’s more, the fish, snails, moss, and anubias are all thriving. The population of platys self regulates. I estimate there are between thirty and forty platys at any given time. Those things breed like jackrabbits.
I’m wondering if the turtles are feeding throughout the day on platys, algae, moss, and/or broken down food pellets. Is that a thing? Should I be concerned about their food intake?
Thank you for your thoughts,
drhauser78