Content

• Steps
• Advice

You will probably be very worried when your pet turtles stop eating. If the turtle does not eat for a long time, the turtle can starve or fall sick. This article will guide you on how to feed a turtle and how to handle it when a turtle is determined not to eat. Turtle refusing to eat is a common problem for many turtle owners, this can be caused by environmental impacts or also by sick turtles. You can fix this by adjusting the turtle's habitat, recognizing signs of sick turtles, and being more creative in feeding them.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Determine the cause of the turtle's refusal to eat

1. 

   Check temperature. Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles and will not eat if the environment is too cold. If you have box turtles indoors, give them a warm and cool place. The cool place temperature should be between 20 and 22 ° C; Warm places are around 29.5 ° C during the day and can drop to around 15.5 - 24 ° C at night.
   • For water turtles, the water temperature should be around 25.5 ° C; Sunbathing area temperature is about 26.5 - 29.5 ° C.
   • If you keep canned turtles outdoors, they will be too cold if the temperature drops below 5.5 ° C.You will likely need to install a ceramic heater so that the turtle's habitat is at the right temperature.
   • Use a thermometer to check and adjust the turtle's habitat temperature as needed.

2. 

   
   
   Provide more light. Turtles also need the right amount of light in order to eat well. Water turtles need both UVA and UVB rays in the aquarium. You should light the turtle for about 12-14 hours and then leave it for 10-12 hours. Box turtles need at least 12 hours of light a day, be it direct sunlight or light from UVB bulbs combined with incandescent bulbs.
   • If light is received for less than 12 hours a day, the turtle may stop eating.
   • If you have a box turtle outdoors, you will need to adjust the light source for the turtle according to the season. For example, turtles need more artificial light in autumn and winter when the days are short, but do not need artificial lighting in summer.

3. 

   
   
   Check for signs of sick turtles. If there is no problem in the habitat and the turtle is not eating it may be because it is sick. Turtles can be under stress or suffer from a number of diseases such as: vitamin A deficiency, constipation, respiratory infections, eye pain or pregnancy. If the turtle does not eat, watch for additional symptoms to see if the turtle is sick and needs to see a veterinarian.
   • A lack of food and white patchy white spots on the shell can be a sign that turtles are deficient in vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency also causes respiratory problems in turtles.
   • Some other symptoms of respiratory infections include: wheezing, difficulty breathing, sneezing, runny nose, swelling of the eyes, and drowsiness.
   • If a turtle does not eat and does not go to the toilet, it is likely constipated.
   • If there are eye problems and cannot see, the turtle will not eat. Check that the turtle's eyes are clear, bright, and free of foreign objects.

4. 

   
   
   Identify hibernating turtles. Some turtles like Asian, European and North American turtles will hibernate when winter comes. Although farmed turtles have a favorable habitat and abundant food resources, they are likely to choose to hibernate. If you have examined the turtle's habitat and fitness and still cannot find the cause of the turtle's refusal to eat, you should ask your veterinarian to check if it is hibernating.
   • Hibernation puts great pressure on the body of the turtle. You should only hibernate the turtle when it is healthy.
   • If your veterinarian determines that a turtle can hibernate, lower the temperature of its habitat by 2-3 degrees per day to help slow down its metabolism.
   • Do not let the temperature drop below 10 ° C. After about 10 weeks, you will begin to gradually increase the temperature by about a few degrees per day.
   • Continue to feed the turtle until it has stopped eating.
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Method 2 of 3: Stimulate turtles to eat

1. 

   Give the turtles fresh food. Turtles are often attracted to movement and prefer raw foods such as crickets, flour worms, worms, earthworms, snails, slugs, or stomach mice. Survival food is attractive to turtles because they have a strong odor.
   • Be careful when digging earthworms to feed turtles. You should not feed turtles with earthworms from contaminated soil, it is best to buy worms from a worm or bait store.
   • Turtles also like to eat larvae, beetles, crustaceans, shrimp, flies, grasshoppers, bloodworms and spiders.

2. 

   Combine pellets with other foods. Bran or dry food is often the main food in the turtle's diet. You can crush the pellets and mix them with raw food for the turtle to eat or soak the pellets in canned tuna water for a more rich and attractive flavor.
   • You can also soak the bran pellets in a caffeinated juice or energy drink to stimulate the turtle to eat.
   • If you have a box turtle, put the food in the water, as it may be more likely to eat it underwater than on land.

3. 

   Give the turtles bright color food. Turtles are also attracted to the bright colors of their food. You can feed the turtles with strawberries, potatoes, papaya, mangoes, watermelon, rose petals, or other brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Fruits should not play a major role in the turtle's diet, but you can use them to encourage the turtle to eat.
   • You can combine foods with vibrant colors and raw foods for better results. Eye-catching colors and rich flavors will make food more attractive.
   • Vegetables are more important to turtles than fruits. Soak the vegetables in tuna water to stimulate the turtle to eat.

4. 

   Change your diet. A turtle may not eat it simply because it does not like the type of food you give. For example, today you can crush vegetables, pellets and mix with bloodworm water and feed the turtles, the next day you can change them to mango and pellets mixed with tuna juice. Turtles also have hobbies that you need to observe and explore.
   • Keeping a log of the turtle's diet and reactions will help you learn his preferences.
   • You can also try terrestrial and underwater feeding the tortoise to see if this affects its eating.

5. 

   Feed turtles early in the morning. Turtles are usually flexible in the early morning hours and love to eat at this time. Many times a turtle will not eat if you feed it at other times of the day. Feed the turtle at 4:30 or 5:30 am or as close to dawn as possible.
   • In addition to feeding your turtles at the right time of day, you'll also need to adjust the time according to the season. For example, if you keep turtles outdoors, in the winter they will not be able to eat early in the morning when it is too cold, so you need to feed them a little later.
   • Box turtles also like to eat in rainy mornings because it is easy to find earthworms and interest slugs at that time.

6. 

   Take the turtle to the vet. If the turtle is not responding to all food and environmental changes, you should seek medical attention. It is possible that the turtle is struggling with disease and its health is also in danger of not eating. A professional examination will quickly find out the problem and how to deal with it so that the turtle's condition does not deteriorate.
   • You should have turtles see a veterinarian who specializes in reptiles, because in addition to the common animals, they have additional training in reptiles.
   • If you cannot find a veterinarian who specializes in reptiles, you can contact your local zoo, animal lover community or universities (veterinary, animal health science, etc).
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Method 3 of 3: Provide a healthy diet

1. 

   Ensure a balanced diet. Turtles need a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and meat. The water turtle's diet should contain 65% to 90% of the meat (such as earthworms, snails, mollusks, frozen stomach mice, tortoise / pellets dry food) and 10% to 35% fruits and vegetables (such as collard greens, grated carrots, grapes, mangoes, melons). The diet for canned turtles should contain 50% meat (crickets, worms, snails, snails) and 50% fruits and vegetables (berries, beans, pumpkin, petals).
   • Young turtles need to eat more meat than adults.
   • The above diet is a general guide and can vary from turtle to turtle.
   • Turtle food needs to be fresh.

2. 

   Add calcium to your diet. Turtles will get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from a varied diet, but they still need calcium. You can supplement your turtles with calcium by giving them mineral pellets, squid shells, or canxim powder once a week.
   • Place a mineral or squid shell in the turtle's habitat so they can nibble.
   • You can also mix calcium powder into food before feeding it.
   • You can also feed your turtle a turtle or reptile multivitamin twice a week.

3. 

   Know which foods to avoid. A varied and balanced diet will help the turtle to thrive. However, turtles cannot eat certain types of food. Avoid giving your turtles the following foods:
   • All dairy products (such as cheese and yogurt)
   • Sweets, chocolates, breads, refined sugars and flour
   • Canned and processed foods are high in salt and preservatives
   • Garlic foods
   • Rhubarb tree
   • Avocado
   • Fruit nuts
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Advice

• Consult your veterinarian for questions about the turtle's diet.
• Feed your turtles a variety of foods, including seasonal fruits and vegetables.
• Love the turtle so much that it knows it has a good owner and a great home.