feeding problems (Indian roofed turtle)

[chandrima dutta]

i have one indian roofed turtle. it seems to be healthy.. but i am having a problem in feeding it( as i really dont know whether its a male or female.. so referring by "it" )
i gave it dried stick like turtle food that i bought from the pet store. but it is not eating them.. i gave it some carrot and a slice of cucumber and then it started eating.. its 2-3 inches long and i am quite worried about its diet.. as u people suggested i am putting it in sunlight for couple of hours per day and it seem to enjoy it.. my only concern is its proper diet.. plz help me out..

 

[Yvonne G]

I know absolutely nothing about the roofed turtle, however, other water turtles eat live food willingly. So maybe if you try to find some earth worms and crickets...things like that. And water turtles have to be in the water in order to swallow, so you have to feed him in the water.

 

[Yellow Turtle]

I just got 3 pangshura tecta and they eat like pigs. Size when I got them is around 1.5 - 2 inches.

Looking you have 2 - 3 inches, I would suggest feeding blood worms first, especially if you have good quality frozen ones (lived ones are fine, the only concerns sometimes the lived ones are sometimes mixed with all other dirt and parasites). I usually feed them as much as they can eat in the morning time. I give them good quality fish and turtle pellets in the evening. Well, they kind of refuse pellets at first, munching and then throw them out again, but slowly they get used to their tastes and already start eating pellets regularly.

My friend told me that all his tectas are omnivores but tend to eat greens more even during juvenile size, but for tecta your size, I would rather giving them more protein to let them grow faster and stronger. I also prefer juvenile size before start feeding them crickets or roaches, like 3 - 4 inches. You can still feed them greens just for variation but not as staple for your current size.

Sun light is a must, especially looking at the diets you give your tecta now. Well, please do research of UVB and temperature needed for turtles, so you can set up more proper place for them to live.

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Oh, I forget to mention that Anthony, one of the member here put a good review for commercial pellets. Link below,
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/what-to-feed-aquatic-turtles-and-why.70414/

I use some pellets from article above and I like the results, so I'm quite sure, you won't go wrong with his pellets recommendation, only whether they are available in your country or not and price can be quite expensive for some brands. Again, research please to find out proper diets for your turtle.

 

[Vishnu123]

Indian Roofed Turtles can also eat coriander