Turtle lost 1.5 grams in 24 hours. Normal?

tiffew

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You may have read my posts about our 7 month old Eastern Box Turtle hatchling that we are having feeding troubles with. We weighed it yesterday and today and today it is down 1.5 grams, weighing 25.5 grams right now. Is that normal? Shouldn't its weight only be going up? I can only get it to eat one or two Omega One pellets that are soaked and then tossed in the carrot water he soaks in. He walks away from all worms no matter what kind, won't even look at veggies or fruits.
 

PJay

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You may have read my posts about our 7 month old Eastern Box Turtle hatchling that we are having feeding troubles with. We weighed it yesterday and today and today it is down 1.5 grams, weighing 25.5 grams right now. Is that normal? Shouldn't its weight only be going up? I can only get it to eat one or two Omega One pellets that are soaked and then tossed in the carrot water he soaks in. He walks away from all worms no matter what kind, won't even look at veggies or fruits.
I have an adult box turtle that I have been weighing daily for the last few weeks and noticed that it can change weight, up and down, up to 12 grams per day. Food in, poop out, water weight changes, etc. Try to establish a routine that allows the turtle to be comfortable and feel safe from the big predators that might be around. Offer some food, walk away and leave it alone. The next day, do the same. Routine feels safe.
 

Tom

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You may have read my posts about our 7 month old Eastern Box Turtle hatchling that we are having feeding troubles with. We weighed it yesterday and today and today it is down 1.5 grams, weighing 25.5 grams right now. Is that normal? Shouldn't its weight only be going up? I can only get it to eat one or two Omega One pellets that are soaked and then tossed in the carrot water he soaks in. He walks away from all worms no matter what kind, won't even look at veggies or fruits.

They can lose that much in a poop or pee.

DId you fix the problems? The red bulb and the cfl? Did you get some white light in there for day time and a CHE for night heat?
 

PJay

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Couldn't agree more with this.
I agree! In case I was misleading, I mentioned weighing my adult daily, but she is established and is very comfortable with me. She doesn't even try to close up her shell when I pick her up! I can grasp her legs and even touch her head without much negative response. You have a very shy and reclusive young turtle who hasn't established a relationship with it's food god yet. Try not to handle it much. Your goal should be to provide a quiet, movement-free environment where food is available on a regular, predictable basis. I would suggest that your only interaction with this turtle should involve the offering of food for a while. It will get comfortable with the routine and eventually become a chow hound!
 

tiffew

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Yes, I corrected the environment in terms of the light and heat.

We handle it to soak it because this is the only time it eats--we float prepared Omega One pellets in the water and it is eating those, 5 today actually. We still offer it other things after its soak, but it walks away and buries itself into the moss. We don't watch it or stay in the room while it has food, we watch on a baby monitor and give it space for a good long time. Uggh, so frustrating.
 

PJay

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Yes, I corrected the environment in terms of the light and heat.

We handle it to soak it because this is the only time it eats--we float prepared Omega One pellets in the water and it is eating those, 5 today actually. We still offer it other things after its soak, but it walks away and buries itself into the moss. We don't watch it or stay in the room while it has food, we watch on a baby monitor and give it space for a good long time. Uggh, so frustrating.
I think 5 Omega One pellets in one sitting for that size turtle is a victory!
 

tiffew

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They are the small size for baby turtles, but, yes, we are happy. Just need to get him to eat something that isn't soaking in his bathwater!!!
 

PJay

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They are the small size for baby turtles, but, yes, we are happy. Just need to get him to eat something that isn't soaking in his bathwater!!!
My last two hatchlings first began eating in their soaking bowls. I think it was three weeks before they began eating and then nothing but blood worms would do. They started with one or two worms at first and over a week or two became surprisingly good eaters. Over time, they started eating flake fish food, brine shrimp, turtle pellets and then small earthworms while soaking. They wouldn't eat anything outside the soaking bowl for a long time. I think the first thing they ate outside of water was pill bugs, the second was earthworms. I was shocked at the size earthworms they were willing to take on.
 

tiffew

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That's a relief to know. How old were they at that point? Ours is maybe 7.5 months.
 

PJay

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They were considerably younger, I didn't start trying to feed them until they had nearly finished absorbing their yolk sacks. It's still a similar situation as it was new to them, just like the new environment your box turtle is adjusting to. If it is eating anything at all, you are on the right track! Keep up with the consistent routine and it will come through.
 

tiffew

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Well our turtle ate 9 pellets of Omega One yesterday and two reptimin sticks. Today it is down 2 grams despite eating all that food! And, it didn't eat anything at all today. I can't understand why it's not gaining weight, but instead is losing. Should we be worried? This is so stressful!!!! To make matters worse we are going away for 6 days and it will stay at our in-laws. I worry the change will make it stressed out.
 

PJay

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Well our turtle ate 9 pellets of Omega One yesterday and two reptimin sticks. Today it is down 2 grams despite eating all that food! And, it didn't eat anything at all today. I can't understand why it's not gaining weight, but instead is losing. Should we be worried? This is so stressful!!!! To make matters worse we are going away for 6 days and it will stay at our in-laws. I worry the change will make it stressed out.
No, you are good! My turtles weights seem to go up and down without explanation, its just the food in, poop out, water gain/loss cycle. If it is eating that regularly and with variety, it is doing great! Tell your in-laws what you have been doing and if they keep it up, all will be fine.
 

tiffew

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Ok, thanks. No variety, unfortunately. He seems to only like the tiny pellets and sticks, no veggies or worms lately.
 

tiffew

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He is now down to 21.5 and when we got him in early February he was 23.6 and two weeks ago was 27. He didn't eat at all today and only ate 4 Omega One pellets yesterday. We are going on vacation for 6 days and I'm terrified he will die while we are gone. My husband's sister is taking care of him and has detailed instructions, but he seems so fragile now that he's lighter in weight. Are you all sure that this weight is ok for a nearly 8 month old?
 

cmacusa3

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Why just once a week? Thanks for any help.
To help with the stress, even weekly with box turtles may not show much gains. Remember they are small as adults and don't grow as quick as we see torts on here. I've had some very slow growing box turtles and a few that exploded in gains. I had one that was similar to what you describe and it took me sometime to figure the little guy out. He would bury a lot, which wasn't bad. A Few things I did that ended up jump starting his appetite. I would buy crickets a pull the legs off at first, just so it would move around and get his attention. Then it got to the point as soon as he would see me he would go straight to the feeding station and wait on me. Then I would put him in a tank with about 10 crickets that he would have to chase around, cutest thing ever and I should've videoed it. Dubai roaches, I know I know, people freak out when they hear the word. "Roaches" the fastest and best gains I've seen are when I feed these. Put them in a glass tank and they can't climb the glass and get out, Great protein. Don't worry so much about the weight right now, it's easy to get caught up on here seeing torts with fast gains and the starting worrying, but turtles stay smaller and won't have the same gains. Just keep him hydrated and he will figure out the food part. Moving little insects really get their attention.
 

tiffew

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This is so frustrating. He now weighs less than when we got him two months ago. Tonight we put a red wiggler in his little "bathtub" we soak him in. I left the room to make him not feel threatened. I have no idea whether he ate the worm or not because it wasn't in his tub. It may have crawled out and is in the moss so now I need to take apart the entire habitat tomorrow to see if the worm is in there. He stopped eating Omega one baby pellets and Reptomin sticks, has no interest in anything and has been having very bright green poops that are mucous-y and the color of Easter grass. What on earth is going on?
 
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