Anyone else worry loads about turtles?

[ninja_smurtles]

Hi everyone...
i have just discovered this site and I think it is great.
I have 6 turtles and I worry about them constantly.
3 of them have been to the vets once and they were fine.

I was worried about 1 not growing but it was coz she was a girl so we got her a tank of her own and now she is bigger than the other 2.

I brought them over from England to Sweden and bought a huge tank and 3 more turtles and I still worry about them.
There is so much i want to know about them.

They are little pains when it comes to eating. When people tell about feeding theirs veggies and other stuff i think how???

Mine will only eat blood worms and 1 type of plant. i am trying not to give them so much blood worm as it is too fatty but i do not want them to starve.

I have tried tomato, cress, spinach, plants, frozen fish, dried prawns, dried pellet things and carrot. All to no avail.

Any suggestions??

I am also planning on building them a pond for the summer (can not go out in winter as it is always between 0 and -20 here) and was wondering if anyone can help with how to build one...

[horse_chic89]

my turtles love corn!! i used to put it on a blunt toothpick, and let them chase it around their tank awhile!! it was fun. hum.... mine was picky about veggies too. mine liked that freeze dried shrimp that you can buy at pet stores!

[Mygala]

What kind of turtles are they?

[ratty_ratkins]

when i was younger i had a box turtle who loved carots.

[Ravnos]

In my experience most aquatic turtles are largerly carnivorous even though most of the literature says they get more herbivorous as they age, I haven't really seen it. Of course, that would vary greatly depending on which species they are. I feed a large variety fo stuff to my turtles, including cray fish, crickets, meal worms, earth worms/night crawlers, minnows and other feeder fish. It is great fun watching turtles chase fish. I sometimes put in greens like collards or a little romaine, but I have never really gotten a big response out of it. They taste test it and then ignore the rest. North American aquatic turtles are usually consuming things like arrowhead, water lilies, hyacinths, and duck weed in the wild. Our commonly consumed veggies are probably pretty bland compared to those.

Rav

[ninja_smurtles]

2 of them are map turtles and 4 are yellow-bellied sliders.

I think they may have been eating the carrot i put in.

They have nipped off some of the tails of the fish that are in there but thats about it.
I guess I read stuff and it contradicts other stuff I have read like do not feed cooked meat like chicken and that and then other people say to feed cooked stuff.

I think i am a worrier over them.
I love them to bits.

[elfomatic]

It is totally normal to worry lots about your turtles. Any good turtle-owner would do it! Owning reptiles is a big responsibility and it is very challenging. There is a lot of information out there-- good and bad. The best way you can help your turtles is to read as much about their care as possible and then make decisions for yourself as to what is best for them. Coming to forums is great. Joining groups is good too. The more you learn and study about your turtles the better equipped you will be at understanding the good information from the bad. Don't take anything you read on the net at face value. Always do lots of research.

Don't give up on the greens. Keep on offering them every now and then. They may change their mind. I've found that it helps to alternate plant matter and animal matter when feeding. Don't feed them these things on the same day or they will always choose what tastes better to them.

It sounds like you are a really responsible owner who wants to do right by her turtles ... good luck!

[ninja_smurtles]

I try my very best with the little rascals.
I have some cute pics that i will show everyone when I get them scanned in my comp.

I think they are liking the carrots.
Any idea how much they should weigh when they are 4 inches shell lenghth?

[ninja_smurtles]

I have just got them to eat sweetcorn.
It is ok from a tin right?

The map turtles would not eat it though but the fish did.

Any more suggestions?

[furryscaly]

When they're young turtles are almost strict carnivores. Don't worry, they're supposed to be. As they age they will begin to accept more and more vegetable matyter, but the majority of their diet will still be meat.

Turtles need an incredably varied diet. Fish, crayfish, earthworms, bloodworms, krill, squid, daphnia, brine shrimp, crickets, locusts, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, butterworms, cutworms, leeches, pinkies, cockroaches, and food sticks are good options to include in the meat department. As far as veggies go, dandelions, collards, bok choy, and romaine are best. Its more the greens that you're going for than actual vegetables when it comes to aquatic turtles, although the occasional veggie or banana piece will be good too.

Make sure you've got the right temperatures though, and be sure you have the right sort of UVB light and that yoiu change it often enough. Without the UVB light your turtles will die.

[ninja_smurtles]

I am gonna swop that light today coz i have had it for 5 months.
I cant wait for the summer so I can build them an outdoor thing so they can play in the sun.
When are they classed as juveniles and not babies? They are all about 4 inches long and weigh between 40 and 70 grams.
They hate fish and sticks.
I might try them with snails but I was worried that there little mouths could not crush them yet????
I will try and find them meal worms.
They seem to be eating a bit of spinach and carrot and they love sweetcorn.
Is this ok for them?

[furryscaly]

What sorts of fish are you offering? For smaller turtles, danios, guppies, and baby mollies make good prey items. As they get older you can upgrade to minnows, goldfish, and full-sized mollies. What sort of light did you have? Many lights are advertized to appear they're good enough, but there's only a few specific types of lights that are actually any good.

[ninja_smurtles]

Well I used to give them frozen fish but they never touched it and it stunk.
I am in Sweden so I have not got a clue what the english names for the fish are that I have for them.
They are small with a blue stripe on them.
I think they are being eaten coz I started out with 10 and there is 5 left and I have not found any dead bodies and the ones left have bits missing off their tails.
I have a basking lamp and a long light but I am not sure it is right.
What should it be called?

[elfomatic]

It should be a UVB florescent. They are usually advertised for reptiles. You can't use common aquarium/plant lights. Somewhere on the packaging there should have been some info on the amount of UVB output -- for turtles you should use at least 5%. If you can't find the info on the bulb then don't buy it. Real UVB bulbs aren't exactly cheap.

[ninja_smurtles]

I will look in the shop and get them a new one anyway coz I love my little guys and if anything happened I wouldnt know what to do with myself.