Is your red eared slider turtle ignoring its food lately? A healthy slider should be an eager eater, so loss of appetite can be worrying. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore all the possible reasons why your aquatic turtle stopped eating and how to get its appetite back.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Loss of appetite in red eared sliders is usually due to stress, improper temperatures, malnutrition, disease, or incorrect diet. Evaluate your turtle’s environment, basking area, and diet to identify and correct the issue.
Check Water and Habitat Conditions
Ensuring your red eared slider’s habitat conditions are optimal is crucial to stimulating their appetite. Below we will examine key elements of their environment that impact eating.
Water Temperature
Water that is too cold can suppress a turtle’s metabolism and appetite. Ideal water temperature for red eared sliders ranges from 75-85°F. Use a submersible aquarium heater to maintain the proper temperature if needed.
Water Filtration
Filtration is vital for keeping the water clean and removing waste products. Dirty water can stress turtles out. Use a high quality external canister filter rated for at least double the aquarium size.
Tank Size
Red eared sliders require spacious enclosures as they grow rapidly in their first few years. Generally 10 gallons per inch of shell length is recommended. Tanks too small induce chronic stress that impacts appetite and health.
Basking Area
Having a proper basking area for turtles to completely leave the water and dry out is crucial. It allows essential behavioral and physiological functions related to feeding. Position basking areas under UVB/heat lamps.
UVB Lighting
Specialized UVB lamps are essential for animals to metabolize and utilize calcium and vitamins. Without proper UVB exposure, turtles often refuse food due to metabolic disorders. Use long linear UVB bulbs designed specifically for reptiles.
Correctly setting up the habitat according to your turtle’s needs is the first step towards getting them to eat again. Pay special attention to temperature regulation and filtration. Once their environment is stabilized, try offering a variety of greens and proteins to stimulate their appetite.
For more detailed pet turtle care guides, check out:
- https://www.thesprucepets.com/red-eared-slider-1238372
- https://www.everythingreptiles.com/red-eared-slider/
Assess Your Turtle’s Health
Signs of Illness
There are several signs that your red-eared slider may be ill, preventing it from eating properly. These include puffy eyes, discharge from eyes/nose, patches of red skin, abnormal breathing, and unusual spots/bumps on the shell or skin.
Illnesses like respiratory infections make it hard for the turtle to swim and catch food. Other diseases may reduce its appetite. It’s important to get a vet checkup if you notice these symptoms.
Parasites
Intestinal parasites like worms are another common reason for appetite loss in red-eared sliders. Parasites irritate the intestinal lining and make it painful to eat. They also compete for nutrients, leaving the turtle constantly hungry but unable to gain weight.
Floating white specks in the turtle’s feces may indicate parasite infection. Have a fecal test done and use anti-parasitic medications if parasites are found.
Metabolic Bone Disease
Metabolic bone disease (MBD) from calcium/vitamin D deficiency can also cause appetite problems. Turtles with MBD experience bone/shell abnormalities and weakness that prevents them from catching food easily.
Provide proper full-spectrum lighting and make sure the turtle’s diet includes calcium-rich foods like kale, shrimps, and calcium supplements. MBD is reversible if caught early – another reason veterinary care is vital for non-eating turtles.
The longer your red-eared slider goes without food, the weaker it gets and the harder recovery becomes. At the first signs of appetite loss or illness, take action with a veterinarian’s guidance. With proper diagnosis and care, most turtles can make a full recovery.
Ensure Proper Nutrition
Appropriate Dietary Variety
A varied diet is crucial for red-eared sliders to get all the nutrients they need. Here are some guidelines for providing dietary variety:
- Include both plant and animal matter. About 50% of the diet should consist of dark, leafy greens like kale, collard greens, and turnip greens. The other 50% can be a combination of vegetables, fruits, pellets or kibble, insects, worms, small fish, shrimp, and other meat sources.
- Vary the specific foods offered. Rotate through different leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, proteins, etc. instead of feeding the same things day after day. This exposes the turtle to a broad range of vitamins and minerals.
- Provide both aquatic and land plants. Offer a mix of foods that can be given in the water and those given on land in a dish.
Frequency of Feeding
In addition to providing a varied diet, it’s also important to feed red-eared sliders at the right frequency. Here are some recommendations:
- Hatchlings (under 1 year) should be fed every day.
- Juvenile turtles (1-3 years) can be fed 3-4 times per week.
- Adult turtles can be fed 2-3 times per week.
- Reduce feeding frequency in winter when metabolism slows. Once or twice weekly is usually sufficient.
The exact amount to feed depends on the turtle’s size and age. Offer as much as the turtle will consume in a 10-15 minute period. Uneaten food should be removed to avoid fouling the water.
Supplements
While a varied diet is ideal, supplements can help fill any nutritional gaps. The following are useful for red-eared sliders:
- Calcium: Needed for proper bone and shell development. Can dust food items with calcium powder or use calciumprotein blocks.
- Vitamin D3: Aids calcium absorption. Can be used to coat food.
- Multivitamin: Provides comprehensive vitamin and mineral support.
These supplements are especially important for growing and egg-laying turtles who have increased nutritional needs. Always follow package dosing instructions carefully.
Reduce Stress
Tank Mates
Having incompatible tank mates can cause a lot of stress for red eared sliders. They are generally solitary turtles that prefer to live alone. Tank mates like aggressive fish or other turtle species may nip at their shell and fins causing injury or constantly harass them.
Ideally, red eared sliders should live alone or only with other passive tank mates like some types of catfish or bottom-dwelling fish. Reducing competition for food, basking area, and preferred spots in the tank helps lower their stress levels.
Handling
Frequent or improper handling is another common stressor for red eared sliders. These turtles generally do not enjoy being handled as they see humans as potential threats or predators.
Limit handling your red eared slider to only when necessary, such as tank cleaning or medical examinations. Always support their body fully when picking them up and avoid restraining them or holding them completely out of the water for more than a few minutes.
Environmental Changes
As reptiles, red eared sliders require specific temperature, lighting, and humidity ranges to thrive. Dramatic fluctuations in their environment can cause a lot of stress.
Ensure the water temperature stays between 75-85°F, basking temperatures reach 95-100°F, the UVB light and heat lamps have consistent daily cycles mimicking natural day/night duration, and humidity stays around 60-70%.
Avoid completely changing all the water, switching to a new UVB bulb, or making other major adjustments all at once.
Gradually acclimate your turtle to any necessary environmental modifications to minimize the stress. Having proper temperatures, lighting, clean water, and a stable routine makes for a less stressed, happier red eared slider.
Conclusion
In most cases, a red eared slider will regain its appetite once you identify and address the underlying issue, whether it’s incorrect temperatures, habitat problems, illness, or stress. Be patient, make gradual changes, and consult an exotic vet if your turtle continues refusing food.
With proper care, your red eared slider can make a full recovery and be eagerly awaiting mealtimes once again.