Feeding live food... good or bad?

[Delilah1623]

I have a baby diamondback terrapin. Right now she is eating a variety of pelleted and flake food and once or twice a week a dried shrimp or mealworm.

I have been wondering about starting to feed her live food once in awhile, probably feeder guppies and ghost shrimp.... but will this make her more likely to bite if she starts thinking of moving things in her tank as food? I thought maybe the stimulation of watching and chasing them down would be good for her.

Right now she is very friendly, I put her in a separate container to eat so she is used to being handled so if she ever has any health issues that need attention it is less stressful for both of us.

Thoughts?

 

[tortdad]

Sure why not. I fell it's good to make them hunt food. It's what they have to do in the wild.

I also think it's good that you feed in a separate tank

 

[Tom]

I wouldn't label the practice as "good" or "bad". If it must be labeled, I would label it unnecessary, but not harmful. This will not make your turtle more aggressive toward you, given your current routine.

 

[Jacqui]

I agree with it being good, as it allows them to do a more natural hunting which gives both mental stimulation and exercise.

 

[Delilah1623]

Thanks everyone! I will try and see how it goes!

 

[Anthony P]

If I can interject with a thought on this, think of your turtle as a wild animal, because it is. To me, a healthy turtle should want to bite a human whom picks it up, no? I have a Geoemyda japonica that pees all over me every time I touch it. That turtle is so healthy and happy in its large naturalistic enclosure, that human interaction still bothers it very much. I wish I could say the same about all my animals.

I think most every other question you've posed has been appropriately answered by others, so I just wanted to comment on the biting piece.

I didn't mean to open this can of worms (no pun intended), but just wanted to comment as this tends to come up a lot.

 

[Tom]

Very good points Anthony. I think it is good to have our expectations grounded in reality. These are not domesticated animals, and their wild instincts remaining intact is a good sign in my view as well.

 

[Anthony P]

That means a lot coming from you, sir

 

[zenoandthetortoise]

A different take on the subject- none of mine live apart from human interaction. Between weighing, inspects, the occasional maze work, and yes hand feeding I am under no illusion they are wild. To various degrees they are conditioned that a ruggedly handsome human walking around them is at least ok, if not a harbinger of food. For my purposes, a wild tort reaction of bitting, peeing, or simply withdrawing for extended periods would be counterproductive for both parties (and a real bummer for classroom visits)
Anyway, to the OP, I have not noticed an increase in human bitting linked to live foods. Instead they get exercise and mental stimulation.

 

[Delilah1623]

If I can interject with a thought on this, think of your turtle as a wild animal, because it is. To me, a healthy turtle should want to bite a human whom picks it up, no? I have a Geoemyda japonica that pees all over me every time I touch it. That turtle is so healthy and happy in its large naturalistic enclosure, that human interaction still bothers it very much. I wish I could say the same about all my animals.

I think most every other question you've posed has been appropriately answered by others, so I just wanted to comment on the biting piece.

I didn't mean to open this can of worms (no pun intended), but just wanted to comment as this tends to come up a lot.

I would kind of have to disagree on this.... isn't that kind of like saying there should be no feral dogs because they are domesticated and so all dogs should be used to people? If someone's yorkie escapes for several years and becomes feral does it make it a wild animal?

If a turtle is born and raised in captivity and handled regularly and gently I would expect it to behave much differently since it has never been hunted or hurt or had to really search for its own food.

 

[leigti]

I think since she is already used to being handled when you move her to the other two meetings, that feeding life food would not cause her to bite etc. I think animals do best when you feed them what they are meant to eat. We spend so much time money and effort to give our turtles and tortoises the best environment possible so then why would we feed them processed food? and having them chase down that food is a natural behavior, which we all I think is also a goal of proper care. so I feel that feeding natural life food has a great deal of benefits I would do it more than just occasionally, I would shoot for most of the time if possible.

 

[Anthony P]

I knew I might be starting a debate, so I'm sorry for that, but it think this is one of the more interesting and friendly debates out there. Both sides come from a positive place, so please don't take anything I say as argumentative to your views, guys. I appreciate them very much.

To me, this is what sets us apart from the snake and lizard people walking around the reptile show with their new animal wrapped around their arm or sitting on their shoulder, not realizing the stress it might cause the animal. We chelonian people are more like LL Bean shoppers than death metal rockers. Most of us don't have face tattoos. (Please don't take offense to that if you do. That's just my attempt at humor). But honestly, we study. We don't keep our animals in rack systems. We try to provide the most naturalistic experience we can for our turtles, including terraria, diet, lighting, heat, etc. if a turtle wants to bite you, that's just justification that your turtle might be living in the right conditions.

If you've ever kept turtles in outdoor ponds, you'll know that they are are likely to retreat from basking sites and are more likely to bite than turtles kept indoors in 20 gallon aquariums with turtle docks.

That's my only point. I keep turtles both ways, so I'm not saying either way is wrong. I'm just saying that I personally take pride in my turtles acting like turtles, not like a Maltese. And educating students what turtles actually are might not be a bad thing. I talk about this exact thing when I do presentations at schools, community centers, pet stores and herp society meetings.

 

[zenoandthetortoise]

I knew I might be starting a debate, so I'm sorry for that, but it think this is one of the more interesting and friendly debates out there. Both sides come from a positive place, so please don't take anything I say as argumentative to your views, guys. I appreciate them very much.

To me, this is what sets us apart from the snake and lizard people walking around the reptile show with their new animal wrapped around their arm or sitting on their shoulder, not realizing the stress it might cause the animal. We chelonian people are more like LL Bean shoppers than death metal rockers. Most of us don't have face tattoos. (Please don't take offense to that if you do. That's just my attempt at humor). But honestly, we study. We don't keep our animals in rack systems. We try to provide the most naturalistic experience we can for our turtles, including terraria, diet, lighting, heat, etc. if a turtle wants to bite you, that's just justification that your turtle might be living in the right conditions.

If you've ever kept turtles in outdoor ponds, you'll know that they are are likely to retreat from basking sites and are more likely to bite than turtles kept indoors in 20 gallon aquariums with turtle docks.

That's my only point. I keep turtles both ways, so I'm not saying either way is wrong. I'm just saying that I personally take pride in my turtles acting like turtles, not like a Maltese. And educating students what turtles actually are might not be a bad thing. I talk about this exact thing when I do presentations at schools, community centers, pet stores and herp society meetings.

Hilariously well played sir!
Bad news for me, as I have been adopted by a bearded dragon as of a week or so ago and clearly didn't realize the level of commitment necessary. I thought chasing crickets was punishment enough, now I have to pick out a death rocker face tattoo. Hopefully one that compliments my LL bean fleece vest.

 

[Anthony P]

Hahahaha, classic

It's an odd look, but I pull it off..

And that's what I get for roping lizards and snakes together anyway. Totally different animals, literally