The turtle does not open its mouth and does not eat. Why does the turtle not want to eat. Reducing daylight hours

You will need

• Salad
• Tomatoes
• Table lamp or heater
• UV lamp
• Plate or bowl
• Boiled water
• Manicure pliers

Instruction

If the turtle has stopped eating, try to determine if it is time for her. Turtles are usually active in the summer and go to bed, which is natural. But there are exceptions. Even the Central Asian or Greek tortoises, which usually follow a normal life cycle for the northern hemisphere, may well fall asleep in the middle of summer to make you think about their winter menu. This happens if the turtle fed well at the beginning of the summer. The Central Asian tortoise has two periods: in winter and in drought. In this case turtle just leave it alone. You can put her a box with dry leaves. Put the "bedroom" in a cool place where there are no drafts.

If the turtle does not hibernate, but does not eat, it may well be that she wants something completely different from what you offer her. Try feeding with lettuce or dandelion leaves. If the turtle remains indifferent, give something that no land turtle is usually able to refuse - a piece of tomato. If this does not help, try giving your pet the right to choose. Take it out on a warm sunny day on the grass. Let her see for herself what she likes. Put on the menu whatever she chooses.

It is possible that the turtle will not choose anything. Try giving her a small piece of bread. Remember that in general you can’t feed a turtle with bread, it has a harmful effect on the liver. But a small bite to stimulate appetite does not hurt, turtles love even what is harmful to them. After bread, give salad or dandelions.

A turtle may want to drink after hibernation, but not eat. Pour water into a saucer and place in front of the turtle. Some turtles do not eat after hibernation because their intestines are full. In this case, arrange a "bath" for the turtle. Pour warm, boiled water into a bowl or bowl, depending on the size of the turtle. The water temperature should be slightly above room temperature. Gently place the turtle in the water. This must be done so that the nostrils are above the water. This procedure will help solve two problems. Maybe the turtle is just thirsty, then he will immediately get drunk. A 10 minute bath is usually enough. But it can also happen that the turtle immediately gets rid of what is in its intestines. Then it must be washed, removed and wiped.

Sometimes a turtle can't eat because its beak is growing back. In this case, the beak must be trimmed with nail clippers. If you cannot do this yourself, contact your veterinarian. By the way, an overgrown beak can be a symptom of calcium deficiency, due to which the turtle can also lose its appetite. In order to avoid calcium deficiency, turtles need to be given pieces of chalk, as well as take them out to the sun or irradiate with an ultraviolet lamp. Turtles usually start eating immediately after being irradiated.

Even a very hungry tortoise will not eat if the ambient temperature is below 18°C. Her digestive enzymes just don't work. Therefore, warm the turtle and the room in which it is located. Put a regular table lamp or heating device. At lower temperatures, the food in the turtle's stomach is not digested and may begin to rot.

note

If you created normal conditions for the turtle and tried to give everything that she liked to eat before, but the animal still did not have an appetite, take the turtle to the veterinarian.

Helpful advice

Instead of leaves, you can put newspaper in a box.

Despite the fact that turtles are considered herbivorous animals, in the deserts they hunt and eat everything that meets on the way. They need some protein food. Once a week, you can give a little boiled fish or poultry.

Sources:

• why did the turtle stop eating

The tortoise is a cold-blooded animal, capable of half slowing down the metabolism, depending on environmental conditions and the general condition of the body. Adults can go without food for up to 90 days, while losing up to 40% of their weight and using body fat reserves. However, prolonged starvation of the animal leads to severe exhaustion and irreversible consequences in the body.

Most often, the refusal of food is associated with changes in the conditions of its maintenance, the season, or the presence of any disease. In the absence of specific clinical signs, emaciation in an animal can be caused by sepsis, kidney failure, and other serious illnesses. When making a diagnosis, the veterinarian takes into account the season. After all, turtles in the period from October to January, reacting to a short daylight hours, begin to eat less. With an increase in temperature in the terrarium and with an increase in the length of daylight hours, starting from January-February, the turtles again take food. . Healthy turtles, subject to wintering conditions, begin to eat already 1-2 days after turning on the heating of the terrarium. If you don’t eat when the temperature rises and the length of daylight hours increases, you need to be examined by a veterinarian and, if necessary, start. After all, the wintering of turtles is associated not only with the rejection of food, but also of water. This entails such unpleasant consequences as a drop in glucose and vitamins, blood concentration, an increase in the level of toxic products formed as a result of metabolism. The most serious consequences of dehydration and exhaustion of a turtle are liver and kidney failure. If the pet looks good, but refuses to from food, it is necessary to examine the eyes. Sometimes conjunctivitis can be the cause of starvation. If the tortoise is not eating, but is active and does not look malnourished, it may be a sexually active male. As a rule, during this period, the appetite of animals decreases.

Related videos

Most often, cats, dogs or are kept in the house. But there are also lovers of exotic animals: parrots, lizards or turtles. Especially popular are those bought at a pet store, on the market, or brought from distant seas. Under the right conditions, turtles can live in an aquarium for up to fifty years. They are unpretentious, however, before starting such an animal, you should take an interest in the conditions of its maintenance. Sometimes the owners of such a turtle are interested in: why the red-eared turtle does not eat anything, is lethargic and constantly sleeps.

Causes of poor health of the red-eared turtle

If the red-eared turtle does not eat anything and sleeps almost all the time, then there may be several reasons for this condition. Perhaps this is a consequence of a change of residence, if you recently bought a turtle, or simply changed the water in the aquarium. After a few days, your pet will acclimatize, get used to the new composition of the water and become active again.

With the advent of autumn, there are fewer sunny days and the turtle becomes less active during this period. Indeed, in nature, turtles need hibernation. But at home, the turtle has only a slight decrease in its activity. If there are no signs of the disease, then this condition will gradually pass in a couple of months with an increase in daylight hours. It is not worth specially creating conditions for the hibernation of a freshwater domestic turtle.

However, it happens that the turtle still falls asleep in the fall. Then you need to place it in a box, which is put until spring in a damp and cool place. Around mid-March, the red-eared turtle should wake up. But if this does not happen, then the owner must wake her up, otherwise the animal may die from prolonged dehydration and starvation. To wake up this “sleeping beauty”, you need to gradually move the box with the turtle to a brighter and warmer place.

If you purchased a male turtle, then during the period of sexual activity, he becomes restless and may abruptly refuse to eat. This state is normalized after the mating season has passed.

The owner of the red-eared turtle should be aware that for the normal well-being of this cold-blooded animal, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within 26-35 ° C. After all, the turtle belongs to the class of reptiles that cannot independently maintain body temperature, as happens, for example, in humans or other mammals. So if your turtle is lethargic, look at the water thermometer and increase the water temperature if necessary.

Sometimes, especially when group keeping turtles, stronger individuals take food from the weak ones. If you notice this, then try to feed these turtles separately.

Red-eared turtles are omnivorous, but it is better to feed these animals in half with vegetable and meat, but low-fat food. Turtles are very fond of fish. It is useful to diversify their food with beetles, grasshoppers and even earthworms. For a strong shell, it is useful for turtles to give crushed bone meal. If you do not adhere to such a diet, then this can adversely affect the well-being of the animal.

In general, aquatic red-eared turtles are not well adapted to our climate and therefore are prone to various diseases: pneumonia, constipation, and helminthiasis. For example, a turtle may have inflamed eyelids, she does not want to eat and sits with her eyes closed. Or she may have nasal discharge, sneezing, bleeding. In any case, you should contact your veterinarian, who will determine the cause of the turtle's discomfort and, if necessary, prescribe the appropriate treatment.

In order to live, all living organisms must eat. And turtles are no exception. If for some reason your turtle suddenly stops eating, behaves inactively - this is a dangerous symptom, she did not decide to go on a diet, but the animal has serious health problems (more about). And, today in our new publication, we invite you to understand the reasons, why a turtle may refuse to eat, and learn how to behave in this situation…

Reasons why turtles don't eat

Quite often, turtle owners ask exactly the question of why their turtle does not eat. If you feed it completely turtle food, but at the same time, the animal does not have an appetite, although the turtle has eaten well up to this point, the following reasons can explain such changes in behavior ...

Stressful situation

Yes, turtles are prone to stress, and anything and anyone can cause them. So, scroll through the events of the last days in your memory, and try to remember what unusual things happened during this period that could frighten your turtle. Be sure to eliminate the stress factor, and when the turtle comes to its senses, the appetite for it will definitely return.

Improper nutrition

Despite the fact that a lot has been said about the proper diet of turtles (more on that), some turtle farmers are trying hard to change it and make it more convenient for themselves. Doing this is strictly prohibited. Since you have brought a turtle into your house, it means that you must respect its gastronomic preferences and feed the animal with what it should be.

Change of living conditions

If yesterday your turtle lived with your friends, and today it lives with you, it is natural that the animal needs time to get used to such changes in its life. And, although this is not stress, it is a cause for concern, and the turtle has no appetite now. Continue to feed the animal, do not try to drastically change the diet and feeding time, try to stick to the regimen and diet that the previous owners adhered to. And, if you want to make some adjustments to it in the future, then do it gradually, and not on the first day the turtle stays in your house.

Get used to the hardship

If you find a turtle (rarely, but it happens), then the animal that lived in the wild yesterday needs time to get used to your terrarium.

Hypothermia or overheating

An uncomfortable temperature for a living organism affects its appetite, so be sure to check the temperature range of keeping a pet (all). If you have a red-eared turtle, then it will also behave sluggishly when it is hypothermic, it will stay on the surface of the water, avoiding diving under water.

Puberty for males

Unlike females, males react quite sharply to hormonal changes that occur in their body during puberty. This may affect their appetite. You should be aware of this if you have a male. ABOUT .

Constipation

When constipated, the turtle instinctively restricts food intake. So, think about the last time your pet had a stool. If it was a long time ago, take it to the vet.

Diseases

More serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, damage to internal organs can affect the appetite of the animal. If, in your opinion, none of the above reasons can explain why your turtle stopped eating - you did not move, did not change her diet, she does not have constipation, the animal may be sick and it needs to be shown the sooner the better veterinarian.

How to Help a Turtle When It's Not Eating

The longer the turtle refuses to eat, the worse it is for him and the more difficult it is for you to get the pet out of this state. If you have the opportunity, be sure to show it to the veterinarian and explain the situation. If there is no opportunity to contact a veterinarian, or there are no turtle specialists in your city, and you do not know why the pet does not eat, we suggest that you follow the points from our instructions for saving a starving turtle:

• Review your turtle's habitat. For an aquatic inhabitant, this should be an aquaterrarium with a volume of at least 200 liters, it must be filled up to half with clean settled water. Check if there is an island in the center of the aquarium, the size of which should be at least 25-30% of the base area. This is very important, as such a piece of land is vital for your turtle. It can be equipped with plexiglass, make notches and pits on it - so it will be convenient for the turtle to climb onto it. You can use sanded wooden boards on suction cups as an island. You can also put a bed of sand, moss, or a piece of any hard rock on the bottom - as long as the bed does not pollute the water. Make sure that there are no small stones in all decorative elements - turtles often swallow them, and this causes intestinal obstruction in them and can even cause death. So, all decorative elements should be 2 times larger than the size of the turtle head... All of them should be securely fastened so as not to crush the pet and break the aquaterrarium when it falls.
• Check the climate. The water temperature in the aquarium should be at least 26 degrees, but not more than 35 degrees. To heat water, use special heaters. Do not forget about the air temperature - it should be several degrees of water temperature - we heat the air with incandescent lamps or ultraviolet irradiators, which will work 12 hours a day both to heat the air and to warn.
• The quality and quantity of water in the aquarium should be constantly monitored by you - there should be enough water to cover at least the width of the shell, and the water should be clean. To purify water, use filters (but not household ones), which would be designed for a volume of water 2 times larger than that in your aquaterrarium. Change the water at least 1-2 times a week, but more often if necessary. Use only clean, settled water, never tap water. By the way, many red-eared turtles refuse to eat because of ... dirty water in the aquaterrarium.
• Review your turtle's diet. Include raw lean fish, liver, bird giblets, earthworms, cockchafer larvae. From plant foods, do not forget about cabbage, carrots, spinach, lettuce, apples, dandelion leaves, duckweed and algae. With regard to special food, it complements the natural diet, and does not replace it. Watch the portion sizes - they should not be too large and monotonous. Indulge your turtle with permitted treats for a change. Little turtles need to be fed only live food - insect larvae, small crustaceans, following the feeding schedule - daily, for 5 minutes.
• Limit walks on the floor, as during them the animal can get cold and become infected with various diseases, including dangerous salmonellosis.

Do not bring the situation to the exhaustion of the turtle - in this case, it will be very difficult to save the animal. Look for the cause in the living conditions that you provided to your turtle. The problem is with them...

Video about turtles - this is how a healthy turtle eats

Today we talked about the reasons for refusing food in turtles, and how to behave in this case, the owner of the tortoise breeder, how to help your pet and save him from death. We hope that our article will help you.

Have you ever had to deal with situations when your turtle refused to eat? What actions did you take in this situation? Share with us your experiences and stories, and of course photos of your turtles and turtles.

The red-eared turtle does not eat, is lethargic and sleeps
The red-eared turtle does not eat, is lethargic and sleeps
Most often, cats, dogs or fish are kept in the house. But there are also lovers of exotic animals: parrots, lizards or turtles. Red-eared turtles are especially popular, which are bought at a pet store, in the market, or brought from distant seas. Under the right conditions, turtles can live in an aquarium for up to fifty years. They are unpretentious, however, before starting such an animal, you should take an interest in the conditions of its maintenance. Sometimes the owners of such a turtle are interested in: why the red-eared turtle does not eat anything, is lethargic and constantly sleeps.
Causes of poor health of the red-eared turtle
If the red-eared turtle does not eat anything and sleeps almost all the time, then there may be several reasons for this condition. Perhaps this is a consequence of a change of residence, if you recently bought a turtle, or simply changed the water in the aquarium. After a few days, your pet will acclimatize, get used to the new composition of the water and become active again.
With the advent of autumn, there are fewer sunny days and the turtle becomes less active during this period. Indeed, in nature, turtles need hibernation. But at home, the turtle has only a slight decrease in its activity. If there are no signs of the disease, then this condition will gradually pass in a couple of months with an increase in daylight hours. It is not worth specially creating conditions for the hibernation of a freshwater domestic turtle.
However, it happens that the turtle still falls asleep in the fall. Then you need to place it in a box, which is put until spring in a damp and cool place. Around mid-March, the red-eared turtle should wake up. But if this does not happen, then the owner must wake her up, otherwise the animal may die from prolonged dehydration and starvation. To wake up this “sleeping beauty”, you need to gradually move the box with the turtle to a brighter and warmer place.
If you purchased a male turtle, then during the period of sexual activity, he becomes restless and may abruptly refuse to eat. This state is normalized after the mating season has passed.
The owner of the red-eared turtle should be aware that for the normal well-being of this cold-blooded animal, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within 26-35 ° C. After all, the turtle belongs to the class of reptiles that cannot independently maintain body temperature, as happens, for example, in humans or other mammals. So if your turtle is lethargic, look at the water thermometer and increase the water temperature if necessary.
Sometimes, especially when group keeping turtles, stronger individuals take food from the weak ones. If you notice this, then try to feed these turtles separately.
Red-eared turtles are omnivorous, but it is better to feed these animals in half with vegetable and meat, but low-fat food. Turtles are very fond of fish. It is useful to diversify their food with beetles, grasshoppers, the red-eared turtle does not eat, is lethargic and sleeps, and even earthworms. For a strong shell, it is useful for turtles to give crushed bone meal. If you do not adhere to such a diet, then this can adversely affect the well-being of the animal.
In general, aquatic red-eared turtles are not well adapted to our climate and therefore are prone to various diseases: pneumonia, constipation, and helminthiasis. For example, a turtle may have inflamed eyelids, she does not want to eat and sits with her eyes closed. Or she may have nasal discharge, sneezing, bleeding. In any case, you should contact your veterinarian, who will determine the cause of the turtle's discomfort and, if necessary, prescribe the appropriate treatment.

The red-eared turtle is one of the most common pets. We fell in love with the turtle for its unusual bright color, as well as unpretentiousness in caring for it. However, many do not know the rules of keeping a turtle or simply disregard the recommendations of veterinarians and pet store salesmen. Hence, there are problems with her health and physical condition. It often happens that after buying a red-eared turtle, the owners bring it home and notice that it is inactive, sleeps most of the time, is lethargic, and refuses to eat. In fact, there are a huge number of reasons for the occurrence of such syndromes, so let's deal with the conditions of the turtle in order to exclude our own fault.

The red-eared beauty comes from America, it is not for nothing that her second name is american tortoise. This pet will be a great friend, because. at home and with proper care, the turtles are active, very hardy. These pets often have personality and character, they are very smart and quick-witted. If you have two individuals, you can observe the aggressive antics of the red-eared turtle - taking away food, fighting, rivalry. At home, turtles live long enough, up to 40 years. Another nice bonus of acquiring such an animal is the absence of an allergy to it. The red-eared beauty is known for its bright olive color, a red stripe running through the entire body. The size is different, from 3 cm to 30 cm, and it should be borne in mind that at home, red-eared turtles develop much faster than in nature.