Some possible reasons for why your red eared slider is not eating include overfeeding, lack of appetite due to illness or injury, and stress caused by environmental factors.
Overfeeding
You should know that turtles are optimistic feeders. This mean that as long as there is food in front of them, they will likely eat. They developed this trait while living in the wild when food was sometimes a scarcity. For this reason, a turtle might be able to consume a lot of food in one sitting, and then go a long period of time afterwards without eating.
It is important that you only feed your turtle as much as they can eat in a 10-15 minute window. If you let your turtle eat for longer than 15 minutes, there is a good chance it will cause health problems.
Stress
There is a good chance your turtle is no eating because you have not set up the proper habitat. Your turtle might also lose interest in food if the temperature of their tank is too cool. This is because they need warmth for their digestive system – feelings of being cold will suppress its desire ingest food items.
A turtle’s mobility and metabolism will significantly drop if the turtle is kept in a tank that is too cold. If you suspect this is the problem, you should raise the temperature of your heat lamp by a couple degrees.
A turtle can also get stressed out if they don’t have a proper basking spot. If this happens, the turtle will become restless and lose their appetite. Make sure it is important that your turtle has a basking spot that is easily accessible and directly under your basking light.
Your turtle might also be stressed out by other turtles in the tank. It is not uncommon for multi-turtle households to have aggressive turtles that intimidate others. If you think this could be the cause, you should try feeding your turtles in separate parts of the tank to insure they each get enough food.
If you have other animals such as a frog in your turtle tank, they also might be the cause of the stress.
Illness or injury
There is a chance your red eared slider’s loss of appetite is due to an illness or injury. The key is to look for symptoms of illness, such as swollen eyelids, head twitching, or discharge coming from their eyes or mouth.
You should also closely monitor your turtle’s movement to make sure none of their limbs have been injured. If you notice that they start to walk or swim funny, you should take them to the vet.
What diseases cause your pet turtle not to eat?
Diseases that can make turtles stop eating include respiratory disease, mouth rot, head and neck tremors, fatty liver syndrome (FLS), vitamin A deficiency or renal failure. These conditions require immediate veterinary care for the health of your turtle.
If you notice any symptoms of these illnesses in your animal contact an experienced reptile vet immediately! Symptoms will vary depending on what type of illness they have contracted but may include: swollen eyes or nasal passages; damaged shell; swollen joints or limbs, difficulty breathing and regurgitation.
What should I do if my red eared slider is not eating?
The first thing you should do if your red eared slider isn’t eating is to make sure you are providing them with a balanced diet.
Red eared sliders are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and vegetables. A well-balanced diet for them is 50% animal protein and 50% plant foods. They also need calcium in their diets to help grow healthy shells.
The easiest way to feed your turtle a balanced diet is to feed them a combination of commercial pellets and fresh vegetables.
You should also try mixing up your turtles food by offering them treats. I personally recommend trying out worms, snails, crickets, waxworms, or even fish.
I suggest that you only feed your red eared slider once or twice a day. Anything more than that and you risk overfeeding your turtle.
