My reed eared sliders wont eat?

Question

any advice io feed them the right food they havent eaten for 2 days

Answer 1

RES are opportunistic eaters.  They generally beg for food even when they don't need it.  What are you feeding them now?  Maybe they need something different. Try a variety of safe and nutritious foods for them and see if they'll eat. If they turn down all foods offered, then it's time to worry about a health issue.

Answer 2

Try feeding them bloodworms or redworms, you buy them in frozen chunks.  My slider loves them! A lot of turtles don't like the pellets, maybe that's your problem.

Answer 3

If you just got them, they may be acting just like my hermit crabs did when I first got them...they go domant for a few days because of fright. If they dont eat for over 2weeks call a vet.

Answer 4

This question is difficult to address without more information.  Are they established turtles (have you had them a while)?  Are they new?  What age are they?  When did they eat last, and how much?  What are you offering them?  Are you providing a basking area, and a good source of UVB light?  Is their water temperature correct for digestion?  Are they healthy?

Younger animals are more carnivous than older animals, so knowing age is important to answer your question.

If you're offering your RESs crickets, are you gut loading the insects first?  

Here's some information you might find helpful:

GUT LOADING CRICKETS for REPTILES:

The number one problem: Dried up and malnourished pet store crickets and mealworms. These food items are essentially useless. A dehydrated and unfed cricket contains almost no nutrients at all; refrigerated mealworms are even worse. A lot of the variety in nutrients found in wild insects is actually in the stomach content - usually plant material. We need to duplicate this to provide the best for our reptiles; without the risk of illness/disease/parasites which can result from feeding our pets wild insects.

Please note that wax worms, while fattening, are not nutritious.

Basic Dry/Staple Cricket Food:

Equal amounts of dry Iguana food, dry dog food, chick starter mash, oatmeal (you can add dry baby food wheat/rye/barley, etc. as well; even shredded wheat - no sugar).

Grind these items together.  Place in a small lid/bowl for the crickets to eat.  Store the unused portion in the refrigerator or freezer, until needed.

Supplement daily with one of the following: bananas, zucchini, oranges, carrots, strawberries, assorted squashes (acorn, yellow, etc.), grapefruit, green beans, apples, kale, spinach, cactus pads, and just about any other nutritious item you can think of (except potatoes – these are starchy and only good if used as a moisture source during shipping).

Provide the dry food and kale at all times (kale is readily available during the winter months, too), rotating the other food items through in succession. The key is variety, and to provide an assortment of varying nutrients. What you are trying to do is offer your reptiles crickets with guts 'loaded' with fresh foodstuffs.

The crickets should be gut loaded for 2-3 days prior to offering them to your reptiles.

Don't offer more crickets than the reptile(s) will consume within: 1.) a few hours if it’s a lizard, salamander, frog/toad, or 2.) a few minutes, if it’s a water turtle, so you know the crickets will still be full of the good stuff when eaten.

And:

There are many opinions on how to meet the dietary requirements of your RES (and other water turtles).  You can consult your vet for their recommendation, too, and google turtle breeders/sites to see what they feed.  This is what I have found to provide a happy/healthy reptile:

In the wild, red ear sliders eat both animal and plant sources of food. However, juveniles are mainly meat eaters, and eat less plant matter than they will as they grow.



In captivity, the diet for juveniles should consist of a commercial aquatic turtle pellet product (like Reptomin floating food sticks); aquatic plants (research which are safe for consumption); gut loaded crickets; and very small feeders guppies/goldfish/minnows. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed on a daily basis. The diet can be supplemented with frozen tubiflex worms and earthworms. Plant matter, in the form of leafy greens (like curly kale) or finely chopped mixed vegetables, can be offered once weekly but may not be readily accepted until they grow a bit older, or curiosity sets in.

Get a cuttle bone from the bird dept at a local pet shop (you can easily cut this to a desired size or use whole for larger turtles/tanks) and drop it in the water for added calcium.  Turtles are curious, and eventually they'll bite at it.

For adults the diet is relatively the same (amounts increased as they grow), but more of the diet may consist of commercial turtle pellets and plant items. All my turtles, regardless of age, enjoy their gut loaded crickets.  Offering fresh live fish supplements their diet, and provides a good source of exercise as they swim, stalking and catching them.  Adults should be fed assorted greens several times a week.  Adult turtles may not eat daily, but most will if offered the opportunity.

Alternate/rotate the greens to provide a variety of nutrients: kale; romaine/red leaf lettuce; mustard greens; dandelion greens/flowers; watercress; parsley; Swiss chard; shredded carrots; shredded squash; mixed vegetables (fresh is better, but thawed frozen can be used) and miscellaneous fruits. NO iceberg; brussel sprouts, or cabbage!

You can reduce your task of keeping their environment clean by removing your turtle(s) to a small tank/plastic water filled container (water turtles primarily feed in the water) for feeding.  Turtles shred their food with their beak and front claws, and tend to be quite messy eaters.

Do a little research, and hopefully, you'll discover the problem, and get them eating soon.  If they are pretty young animals; don't wait too long (few days).  If you can't get them eating, I would recommend taking them to a qualified/reputable reptile vet.

Good luck!

I hope this has been helpful.