Fine Tuning RES Cares

Question
Turtle Question List:
How can I retrain my RES to eat in a separate container? Total piglette.

I've noticed when feeding my RES, she'll grab food as it floats thru her line of vision. If it settles to the bottom, she won't touch it. Any idea why?

What are safe (she can eat) plants I can put in her tank? There's some lilly looking thing in there now.

When doing partial water changes, is it less stressful to move her to a warmed water separate container or leave her in?

Is there a less stressful way to transition her to larger tanks as she grows? Her next is a 50 gallon, and I'd say based on yuck in 20 in less than a week, it's time for another upgrade. Set it all up like the smaller version and just put her in?

Please suggest some reasonably priced filtration systems that are quiet. I have 3 Whispers by Tetra? now and it sounds like Niagara Falls in my bedroom.

I don't understand beneficial baceria. If the filters are dirty or the water has an odor, out it goes. How do you cultivate beneficial bacteria?

Is Cod Liver Oil a good supplement? Others? How the heck do you get the turtle to take them?

If she's not interested in cuttlebone, how can I be sure she's getting enough calcium? It's in her Reptomin, but since I added chicken and turkey she has little interest in pellets.

What is the normal color of a turtle's mouth, throat?  Never really saw the inside of a her mouth before, but it flew open last night while she was being served chicken. Quite pink unless light was playing a trick on my eyes. She declined my request for a repeat performance. Color should be?

She's wide open; active, curious, eating at least the size of her head every day. Basic cares dead on, temps filters UVB heatlamp. Fine tuning. She asked for a yacht for her 6 mo. Bday, I declined that one.

Looking forward to your response.

C.


Answer
Hi Chris,
You can feed her in a separate container it doesn't cause too much of a problem, it might stress her at first but she should get used to it. Turtles don't always realize food is food when its near the bottom of the water, just like in the wild, if its a small fish/organism in the middle of the water they go after it, if its an insect floating on the top they will eat it. But they aren't ones for scavenging and rarely eat off the bottom of the tank, its normal. Any food that falls to the bottom should be removed to minimize messes.
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Safe Plants:

Arrowhead (Sagittaria sublata)
Canadian Pondweed (Elodea canadensis)
Common Eel Grass (Vallisneria spiralis)
Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans)
Hair Grass (Eleocharis acicularis)
Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)
Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana)
Water Hyacinth (Eichornia sp.)
Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)
Water Trumpet (Cryptocoryne ciliata, C. nevillii)
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Not sure what is least stressful, moving her is very stressful, but an "intruder" in her "territory" could also be stressful, but if you are feeding in another container then she gets used to it then moving her would probably be best (and that is how I work with my RES turtles)

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The best way to minimize stress when movign is instead of going up 10 gallons every time she gets larger is getting the biggest enclosure you can and keeping her in it until she outgrows it, instead of a new one every 3 months its a new one every year. Also its best to keep changes to the minimum, dock, filter, water heater etc. All in the same location. So its not completely new.
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I use the "Whispers" filters and don't have a problem with the noise, if there is a great distance between the flow of the filter and the level of the water in teh tank say 3+ inches then you will have more noise. I position my filters so its maybe an inch above the water line, keeps it much more quiet. You can also buy completely submersible filters, that don't make the splashing noise.
Those are sold at most pet stores, usually found in the turtle section often in the fish area.
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When you talking about supplements she gets most of her vitamins etc. From the pellets, they are usually packed with the nutrients needed, and an offering of vegetable matter also helps. But you don't use human supplements or vitamins, usually at the pet store you will find food or "cricket dust" supplements, the dust is to coat the insects in so they get the calcium, this isn't always best because you are feeding in the water. Just be sure the pellets you are using have vitamins and calcium
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Turtles will eat at the bone as needed, if their bodies are deprived of the needed calcium they will know and try to fix it, but if they don't need more then they will ignore it. Keep it in there at all times and she will go at it as needed.
As for the pellet eating, try to avoid so much meat, it is good for young growing turtles but you need to be sure she doesn't become a "picky eater"
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Light pink is normal throat color, healthy and happy. red is ok too but pink is best, if it gets white, dark red, splotchy, brown, black etc. Then you have something to worry about but pink is normal coloring.

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Thats funny about the yacht, get me one too! :D

-Good luck
Yexalen