Hello,
I just got a pig nosed turtle after doing a lot of research and always wanting to own one. I am living in China so they are readily available here. I bought him at a local store and was told that he's a little less than 2 years old. He's a little small for his age - his shell is about 5 cm long. He looks very healthy, not a mark on him. I got him home and put him by himself (except for a couple snails, shrimp, and guppies) in a cycled tank.
The problem is, I have had him for 5 days and have yet to see him eat *anything*. The store I bought him from gave me the Fly River turtle food he had been eating (sinking wafers). I have tried those, algae wafers, spinach and water lettuce which I tucked under a rock so they weren't floating. I also tried thin slices of banana and apple which I had both floating and some I had tucked partway in the sand bottom. He doesn't seem to care about any of it!
He's a bit shy, and his tank at the store was just glass with water. No decorations or gravel and he was in with one other pig nose the same size. So I figured for the first few days that he was just adjusting. His new tank is heavily planted and has some driftwood, as well as sand bottom on one side and pearlite on the other. But at this point I'm getting worried that he is choosing not to eat and starving himself. Water is crystal clear and 28 deg C. Nitrites, Nitrates, pH are all in check.
He is pretty active when he's not sleeping. He swims around and perches on the different plants for hours. I did see him poop once on Day 2... But that's it. And I've never seen him eat. The shrimp end up eating his wafers and I remove the fruit each day and put fresh to keep from fouling the water.
Does anyone have similar experiences with new pig nosed turtles not eating or any other suggestions? I'd really appreciate it. My turtle experience is with musk turtles and they eat pretty much everything with no hesitation. So this is quite different and I want to know how much I should worry. Thank you!
I just got a pig nosed turtle after doing a lot of research and always wanting to own one. I am living in China so they are readily available here. I bought him at a local store and was told that he's a little less than 2 years old. He's a little small for his age - his shell is about 5 cm long. He looks very healthy, not a mark on him. I got him home and put him by himself (except for a couple snails, shrimp, and guppies) in a cycled tank.
The problem is, I have had him for 5 days and have yet to see him eat *anything*. The store I bought him from gave me the Fly River turtle food he had been eating (sinking wafers). I have tried those, algae wafers, spinach and water lettuce which I tucked under a rock so they weren't floating. I also tried thin slices of banana and apple which I had both floating and some I had tucked partway in the sand bottom. He doesn't seem to care about any of it!
He's a bit shy, and his tank at the store was just glass with water. No decorations or gravel and he was in with one other pig nose the same size. So I figured for the first few days that he was just adjusting. His new tank is heavily planted and has some driftwood, as well as sand bottom on one side and pearlite on the other. But at this point I'm getting worried that he is choosing not to eat and starving himself. Water is crystal clear and 28 deg C. Nitrites, Nitrates, pH are all in check.
He is pretty active when he's not sleeping. He swims around and perches on the different plants for hours. I did see him poop once on Day 2... But that's it. And I've never seen him eat. The shrimp end up eating his wafers and I remove the fruit each day and put fresh to keep from fouling the water.
Does anyone have similar experiences with new pig nosed turtles not eating or any other suggestions? I'd really appreciate it. My turtle experience is with musk turtles and they eat pretty much everything with no hesitation. So this is quite different and I want to know how much I should worry. Thank you!
