Why doesn't the turtle eat anything? Why the turtle doesn't eat - the main reasons for strange behavior

IN Lately It has become fashionable to keep some exotic animal at home, attracting with its unusualness. Among pet turtle lovers, red-eared (yellow-bellied) turtles kept in terrariums or aquariums are very popular. In order for the animal to feel comfortable and live for many years, you should know how to feed the red-eared turtle and properly care for it.

The animal belongs to the family of freshwater turtles and lives in Central and Southern Europe, Southern and North America, countries of Southeast Asia.

Your name Pond slider got it because of an elongated bright red spot that is located behind her eye. The limbs, neck and head of the animal are light green with white stripes. In young turtles the flat shell is bright green, with age, vertical yellow stripes appear on it. They are especially noticeable when the animal is in the water.

IN good conditions Red-eared turtles live about thirty years. However, if not properly cared for, irresponsible or unprepared owners can greatly shorten the animal's life.

For one animal you need an aquarium with a volume of one hundred to one hundred and fifty liters and land connected to water using a rough ladder. If there is insufficient space, the turtle will not swim or move.

In addition, the following conditions must also be met:

The surface of the land in the turtle's home should be large enough, sloping, rough and gradually rising. Everyone necessary requirements The answer is the special islands sold in stores;
The water temperature in the aquarium should be higher than room temperature. To heat it, you should purchase a thermostat;
the air above the island should also be warm, so above it It is recommended to install a lamp incandescent;
the island should be at a level of thirty centimeters from the edge of the aquarium. If it is located close to the edge, nimble pets can escape;
The water is cleaned using external aquarium filters. The frequency of water changes depends on their effectiveness. The cleaner the water in the aquarium, the faster the young turtles will grow;
animals need sunlight, therefore in summer period time you need to walk with them, and in winter irradiate with ultraviolet light. A UV “Tanning Lamp” is suitable for this; it will need to be used three times a week for four minutes at a distance of thirty to fifty centimeters.

During a walk, the animal should be protected from direct sun rays, walking dogs and crows.

What does the red-eared slider eat?

Animals eat pelleted food with pleasure, chopped meat and bloodworms. To prevent your pet from developing a calcium deficiency, boiled fish should be added to its diet from time to time.

Regardless of whether the turtle shows interest in fresh vegetables or not, they should always be given to him. They contain vitamins, calcium and fiber necessary for animals. You can give your pets aquarium plants as greenery.

Vegetable food is especially important for old turtles. Their diet should consist of seventy-five percent aquarium plants and fresh vegetables. This could be lettuce, plantain, dandelion, duckweed, nettle, pieces of zucchini or cucumber.

You can feed the animal with snails, shrimp, liver, and squid. There is no need to boil the meat.

You cannot feed turtles pork, lamb, or crab sticks. Not too often they can be pampered with food insects, mealworms, barkworms, bloodworms, and hamarus.

How often should red-eared pets be fed?

Young turtles that are less than a year old need to be fed artificial food daily. Animals over a year old feed every other day or two.

Newborn pets should receive fifty percent protein in their food. Most foods intended for turtles meet these requirements.

Adult animals should be given twenty-five percent artificial food, and the remaining percentage in the diet should be occupied by various plants.

In the first days of a red-eared turtle’s life in new conditions, food should be given to it, placing it at the very edge of the water.

Once your pet gets used to it, you can feed it from a bowl on the island.

Please note that the composition and size of artificial feeds differ. Therefore, when purchasing them, you should be guided by what the manufacturers write on the packaging.

Why doesn't the red-eared slider eat?

Turtles are cold-blooded animals, capable of environment and body conditions slow down metabolism. Therefore, adults can go without food for three months. Wherein they use their body's reserves and lose forty percent of their weight. However, long enough starvation of a pet can lead to severe exhaustion of the body and various diseases.

Possible reasons

An animal may refuse food for several reasons:

incorrect content. The main condition for the life of these cold-blooded animals is an ambient temperature of twenty-six to thirty-five degrees. Therefore, if the pet not only does not eat, but also moves little and does not open its eyes, then you should look at the readings of the water thermometer. If the water temperature is within normal limits, then the reason for the turtle’s refusal to eat is something else;
suppression of weak individuals. If there are several red-eared turtles in one aquarium, then the toughest individuals can dominate the weaker ones and take away their food. Therefore, oppressed animals should be fed separately;
poor nutrition. If a young red-eared slider is not eating, it may have been switched to adult food early on. Only after a year can pets be given meat, eggs and fish;
change of season. From October to January turtles begin to respond to shorter days and therefore eat less. Starting in February, after daylight hours begin to increase, pets will begin to eat again;
sexual behavior. If the animal begins to behave more actively, but at the same time eats little, then most likely it is a male. During sexual activity, they suddenly stop eating and become restless. After the mating season is over, the animal's appetite will be restored;
diseases. If, as daylight hours increase and the ambient temperature rises, the turtle refuses to eat, then it needs to be shown to a veterinarian.

During wintering, animals not only do not eat, but also do not drink. This leads to a drop in glucose levels in their body and a lack of vitamins. Toxic elements increase their levels, which can lead to liver or kidney failure.

Another cause of fasting is conjunctivitis. If your pet looks good but still doesn't eat anything, you should have his eyes examined.

Due to improper diet, turtles can develop diabetes or stomatitis.

If a pet refuses food, this does not mean that he is sick. A turtle can also go hungry after stress, weather changes or changes in its environment. In addition, the food offered may not suit them. Anyway need to keep an eye on your exotic pet and, if the hunger strike lasts a long time, then be sure to consult a veterinarian. With proper and careful care, the red-eared turtle will live a long time and delight its owners.

Nowadays, keeping various exotic animals in your apartment - crocodiles, lizards, snakes, spiders is considered the highest chic... These and other exotic animals attract people with their unusualness. Red-eared turtles are becoming popular all over the world; they are bred on special farms and then sold in pet stores. These animals are kept in aquariums or terrariums. Turtles are one of the most ancient animals. For two hundred million years appearance almost unchanged.

In nature, the red-eared turtle feeds on animals and plant foods.
To avoid mistakes in keeping these animals, you need to know exactly what the red-eared turtle does not eat, and what is especially useful for it. The turtle's diet should be as balanced in content as possible. nutrients and in terms of calories.

If the diet is formulated incorrectly, the turtles will not grow well. A balanced and high-calorie diet for red-eared turtles is one of important conditions correct content. Young turtles are fed animal food. They also eat dried daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex and gammarus, both dried and live.

The young one does not eat meat and fish, that is, what must be given to adult turtles. For meat, it is recommended that adults be given boiled or raw beef or chicken. Some people prefer to feed their pets instead of meat. fatty fish, then you must first keep it in boiling water. Before feeding big fish you need to grind it, removing the bones. The small ones are crushed together with the bones.
Turtles also need vitamins, which are found in raw liver, shrimp, squid meat and the larvae of various beetles, such as mealy beetles.

Some hobbyists mistakenly believe that the red-eared turtle does not eat live food, or are afraid that it will not be able to catch it on its own. But that's not true. Turtles are excellent at catching live food. Experts even recommend feeding them with live food more often, as this creates conditions that are close to natural.

Adult turtles feed on algae, so in a separate aquarium you need to specially grow plants for feeding, otherwise the reptiles will nibble on the algae and the terrarium will look sloppy. The red-eared turtle does not eat poisonous algae, such as limnophila and elodea. If there is a pond near your house, you can catch duckweed there. You can also collect some other plants. Instead of algae, you can give the animals lettuce or dandelion leaves. Red-eared turtles enjoy eating cucumber or cabbage.

The pet store sells special ones for turtles. balanced feed. It is very convenient to feed them, but you need to look at the composition and make sure that they are fresh. It is best to purchase imported food, as they are more balanced, but dry food for cats and dogs should not be given to turtles - they contain substances that do not meet their needs.

It is useful to occasionally give crushed tortoises eggshells and vitamin D. Food should be thrown into water. You need to give so much food that it does not remain in the water, otherwise uneaten pieces of fish or meat will rot very quickly and the water will have to be changed.

To feed red-eared turtles, you can transplant them into another aquarium, but not all animals like this. Young turtles need to be fed once a day, and starting from two years old - every couple of days.

Healthy turtles always a good appetite. The reasons why a red-eared turtle does not eat can be different - the diet has changed, or it is simply not hungry, or maybe it is just sick. In this case, she should be shown to a veterinarian immediately. A turtle may also refuse to eat because it is in a new environment. In this case, you just need to leave it alone for a while.

The most private and probable reasons The reasons why he is not eating could be:

stress;
poor nutrition;
abrupt change living conditions;
addiction to captivity;
overheating or hypothermia;
period of puberty in males;
constipation;

Most often, the turtle does not eat anything after purchasing and changing its home. The move itself and the change in living conditions are very stressful for the turtle.

When hypothermic, the red-eared turtle also does not eat, becomes lethargic, floats only on the surface of the water, and cannot dive.

Solution

If you don't know why your turtle isn't eating or what to do, follow these instructions:

Create the right conditions for a turtle to live in your home. To do this, you need an aquaterrarium with a volume of at least 200 liters, which is approximately half filled with water. An island is equipped in the center with a size equal to 25-30% of the base area. Such a piece of land is made either from plexiglass with notches or pits on the edges for the turtle’s convenience, or from polished wooden planks with suction cups. You can put a soft bedding of algae, moss, sand or a piece of any hard rock on the bottom that will not pollute the water. However, it is necessary to take into account the size of the decorative elements, since turtles can swallow small pebbles, which can lead to intestinal obstruction and even death. Therefore, their size should be 2 times larger than the turtle’s head. On the other hand, when using very large and unstable decorative elements, the turtle may break the glass.
Provide a comfortable climate. The water temperature must be at least +26°C and no more than +35°C, for which heaters are used. Sufficient air temperature (2-3°C higher than that of water) is achieved using incandescent lamps and special ultraviolet irradiators, which must be turned on 12 hours a day not only for heating, but also to prevent rickets.
Monitor the quantity (should cover at least the width of the shell) and cleanliness of the water in the aquarium. It is necessary to install a special filter (not a household one) designed for a volume of water 2 times larger than your aquarium. The water should be changed as it gets dirty, but at least 1-2 times a week, and pour in pre-settled water.
Feed your pet correctly. His diet should include raw lean fish, liver, bird offal, seafood (do not remove bones, shells, shells, etc.), earthworms, May beetle larvae. From herbal products there should be cabbage, carrots, spinach, lettuce, apples, dandelion leaves, duckweed and various algae.
Special food should only complement natural food and not replace it. You cannot feed monotonously, in large portions.
Do not send your turtle to walk on the floor, as hypothermia and infection (for example, salmonellosis) may occur.
If your turtle is severely malnourished, it needs to be treated immediately.

When a turtle does not eat anything, hibernates, does not come onto land, does not dive, and becomes lethargic, we can talk about manifestations stressful situation and diseases that can kill turtles.

Your veterinarian will be the best person to help you determine the reasons for your turtle's lack of appetite. But not an ordinary one, who treats mainly warm-blooded animals, but a herpetologist - a specialist in turtles.

The small red-eared turtle also does not eat if the water is polluted, so you need to be especially careful about the cleanliness of the water in the aquaterrarium for young red-eared turtles. Special requirements are also imposed on the diet of young animals - it must be only live food (small crustaceans and insect larvae), as well as on the feeding schedule (daily for 5 minutes).

Red-eared slider - popular a pet. Bright color, unpretentiousness in food and low price have made this breed a frequent inhabitant of home terrariums.

Not all owners follow the rules for caring for and feeding their pet. Most often, the red-eared turtle does not eat, is lethargic and sleeps due to unsuitable conditions.

Causes of loss of appetite - from improper care and puberty to the situation in the terrarium and diseases.

Improper feeding

Feed your pet specialized food and approved products. Poor nutrition will cause not only loss of appetite, but also all kinds of diseases intestinal tract. The diet of an adult red-eared turtle must include meat, sea fish with bones, shrimp, and plant foods.

It is impossible to force a turtle to eat food it does not like.

Young individuals will not eat vegetables.

Binge eating

Often the animal refuses food when fed excessively. Young animals eat every day, and adults feed once every 2 days. Normalize the food system, watch your pet to find out how much food he needs.

If the portion is not eaten completely, the amount of food should be reduced.

Diseases

Diseases internal organs do not appear externally. If the animals are lethargic, refuse to eat, and constantly try to sleep, then only a veterinarian can determine the cause. He will appoint correct treatment, will recommend vitamins, and advise on diet.

Improper care

The most common mistake in content. Make sure that the temperature is maintained consistently within the range required for the specific breed. Reptiles cannot maintain their body temperature on their own. When exposed to hypothermia, they become lethargic, refuse to eat, get sick and die.

Aquatic rocks exhibit a lack of heat, remaining exclusively on the surface. If the reptile does not swim at all, pneumonia is possible. .

Stress

Animals are subject to stress. Loud sounds, sudden movements, a sudden change in habitual conditions - these factors lead to a refusal to eat. Eliminate sources of stress and your appetite will gradually return.

Overwintering

An individual hibernating accordingly refuses to eat. The pet becomes lethargic and inactive, constantly sleeping. Veterinarians do not recommend such overwintering at home, as it carries a risk of death of the animal. To avoid hibernation, ensure constant temperature around 30 degrees and clear daylight, or consult a professional.

If your pet is not eating on the 5th day after coming out of hibernation, take him to the vet. You may be exhausted, dehydrated, or have gout or liver failure.

Mating season

During puberty, males become more active, but eat much less than usual. After the mating season ends, food consumption will return to normal.

Change of living conditions

If your environment changes abruptly, it will take time to get used to it. Follow the animal’s usual routine and diet. Having gotten used to the new place, the pet will begin to eat. If you want to change the feeding plan, do it once the animal has settled down.

Getting used to captivity

Wild individuals trapped in a terrarium experience stress and often refuse food for a week. Be patient and create conditions in the room that are close to natural. If, even after habituation, the turtle does not eat well, reconsider the diet.

Constipation

When constipated, a turtle will not eat anything. If your pet hasn't had a bowel movement in a while, consult your veterinarian to determine the exact problem.

Suppression of weak individuals

Males can be quite aggressive towards each other. And the suppressed individual may not receive sufficient quantity feed or refuse it altogether. This state of affairs threatens the life and health of the animal.

Solution

The longer a red-eared turtle goes without eating, the more dangerous its condition becomes. Contact a specialist. If this is not possible, for example, there are no veterinarians in the city who specialize in reptiles, start by checking compliance with the conditions of detention.

A complete diet. Turtles refuse food they don't like. Replace it, but remember to balance your diet.
Check if the turtle has enough space in the terrarium.
Clean all surfaces of the turtle house.
Remove small rocks and decorations that the turtle might swallow.
Adjust the temperature.
Aquatic breeds need a place to rest outside of the water. Check if there is enough space for all the inhabitants of the terrarium.
Remember, the red-eared turtle at home is very demanding on the quality and purity of water. Install high-quality filters and change the water at least once a week.
Limit the animal's walks outside the terrarium.
Make sure that no food remains submerged in the water. It will pollute the water.
Don't study self-treatment pet. Without experience, identifying and treating the disease is not easy.

How long can a turtle not eat?

Turtles can survive without food for 3 weeks without harm to their health. IN emergency situations up to 3 months.

conclusions

There are many reasons for lack of appetite. A specialist can find the problem and solve it. If the turtle does not eat, is very lethargic and sleeps, and visible reasons are absent, do not delay visiting the veterinarian. Pay attention to changes in your pet's condition. And remember: preventing a disease by following the basic rules of care is easier than curing the consequences.

Many owners of exotic animals are concerned with the question, why doesn’t the red-eared turtle eat? A turtle is a cold-blooded animal that can slow down its metabolism by half depending on the environment and the state of the body as a whole. Adults can easily go without food for about 90 days, while losing 40% of their weight and using their body fat reserves. However, prolonged starvation of the animal will lead to severe exhaustion and severe consequences in organism.

Reasons why a turtle doesn't eat anything

Most often, a turtle refuses food when its conditions change or the presence of some unusual disease. With absence clinical signs, turtle wasting disease may be caused by sepsis or renal failure, as well as various other serious diseases.

When making a diagnosis, the veterinarian must take the season into account. After all, turtles from October to January react to shorter daylight hours and begin to eat less. At elevated temperature in the terrarium, with increasing daylight hours, that is, starting from January-February, turtles eat food again.

Refusal to feed in the spring is typical for overwintered turtles, especially those that for a long time were at a cool temperature and without moisture, for example, in an apartment on the floor. Healthy turtles, if wintering conditions are properly observed, eat food within a few days after turning on the heating of the terrarium.

If, as the temperature rises and the length of daylight increases, your turtle does not begin to eat, then you urgently need to conduct a thorough examination by a veterinarian, and, if necessary, begin treatment. After all, the wintering of turtles is associated not only with the refusal of food, but also with drinking. This entails such very unpleasant consequences such as a drop in the level of vitamins and glucose, blood concentration, an increase in the level of toxic elements that are formed as a result of metabolism.

The most serious consequences of emaciation and dehydration in a turtle are kidney and liver failure.

If your pet looks well enough, but categorically refuses food, you should have your eyes examined. There are cases that the cause of fasting is conjunctivitis.

If the turtle is not eating, but is very active and does not look emaciated, then it may be a male that is showing his sexual activity. As a rule, during this period the appetite of animals decreases significantly. Of course, it’s best to ask a veterinarian the question of why a turtle won’t eat, but the information provided in this article will definitely not hurt you.