How is this feeding routine for my Painted and Red Ear Sliders?

[karate626]

Thanks! Later I will take more pics of turtle 4 and 5 (she is the same age as number 3 but she hasn't grown as fast).

 

[karate626]

More pics of turtles!
Turtle 1: Couldn't get anymore of his tail. It is nubby anyway so a picture of that probably wouldn't help.

Turtle 2:

Turtle 3:

Turtle 4:

Turtle 5:

Turtles 3, 4, and 5's tank just for fun! (The decoration fell but I fixed it after the pic) The convict cichild looks evil!

 

[komodo182]

The protein foods I sugested are to be fed once in a wille (adult turtles once every 2 weeks) and are safe to use. That is the rotine I have been using in the warm mouths in my large turtle group for many years now and they are completly healty and lay eggs every year.
Tiaminase doesant apply if you either use your fish straing from the market or if need be taw it in warm water. Never had any problem with it.
Dont use stink bugs, they can indeed contain noxious quemicals in their bodies and some are actually poisonous. There are plenty of completly safe to use protein foods, even if you rater not use raw fish and meat. Purina for example makes mazuri turtle food which you can buy in bulk cheap and has allmost everything your turtles need.

How does thiaminase not apply if you get your fish at the market?

This enzyme is found in certain fish and invertebrates. It is found in some fish in the wild. How does it disappear if the fish hit the market?

It is true not all fish contain it, but there are lots of fish that do, so do a search on it to find out which species can be fed.

You can certainly risk it if you want, but my turtle's health is not worth risking in my mind.

thiaminase is an enzyme, therefore it needs to be built up overtime. I can't find an exact amount of how much would cause issues since this is not fully studied yet.

 

[komodo182]

I would say turtles 1-3 are female.
Turtle 4 would be male I am thinking and 5 is too small as of yet in my mind.

 

[coura]

How does thiaminase not apply if you get your fish at the market?

This enzyme is found in certain fish and invertebrates. It is found in some fish in the wild. How does it disappear if the fish hit the market?

It is true not all fish contain it, but there are lots of fish that do, so do a search on it to find out which species can be fed.

You can certainly risk it if you want, but my turtle's health is not worth risking in my mind.

thiaminase is an enzyme, therefore it needs to be built up overtime. I can't find an exact amount of how much would cause issues since this is not fully studied yet.

Thiaminase builds up in frozen fish, so the faster you use a fish the less it will have, either if you freeze it or not...in the case the amount present in that particular species is relevant (like in Cyprinids). I know for experience talking with other people that using Cyprinids in species such as matamatas can in the medium term cause some serious health damage in this or other delicate turtle species. But the fish species Im sugesting for you to use are very safe ones, they dont pose ANY health risk if fed to turtles of apropriate size (apart from softshell turtles, not because of the fish species themselfes but because softshell turtles arent good candidates for eating any whole fish apart from very small ones) and they supply very important nutrients. I have been using those same fish species with many diferent species over the corse of close now to 20 years and they are big healty turtles. I think that should count for something. Thiaminase is destroyed by heating, so if you want to use a fish that has been frozen for some time all you have to do is taw it in water at 30c for several minutes, then your fish is safe to use. And that is why as well you can eat thiaminase full species of fish whiout getting hill, because human beings cook their food (that however doesant appply to turtles, so its better to stick to low thiaminase ones). Sardines, silversides and anchovies are great choices. By the way, its important to train your turtles to eat in a bugget apart to avoid contaminating the main tank with the fish juices. Ideal fish size would be small ones, if you could get them finger size it would be great.
By the way, your painted is a male, for shure.

 

[komodo182]

Anchovies are reported to contain thiaminase.

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1114&page=64

Also, Coura,do you have any articles that state 30C will denature thiaminase? Since our bodies and I am sure turtle's bodies are a higher temperature than 30C...... water does not even boil until 100C.... how would an enzyme stop functioning at such a low temperature?

 

[coura]

Anchovies are reported to contain thiaminase.

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1114&page=64

Also, Coura,do you have any articles that state 30C will denature thiaminase? Since our bodies and I am sure turtle's bodies are a higher temperature than 30C...... water does not even boil until 100C.... how would an enzyme stop functioning at such a low temperature?

Your obcessed over thiaminase Look, if by any reasons you dont want to use raw fish that is just fine. The most important adjustement you have to do to your turtles diet is quit using stink bugs, those dont do anything good in there. If you dont want to use raw fish my other recomendation would be to stimply stick to a good turtle food staple to serve as the animal part of the diet, being mazuri turtle food the cheap high quality one you can buy in bulk.
As I already stated I have been using those fish species and others as well with great results in my animals over a very long period of time, you will use that information as you please. That being from a time where there was no speciality foods and nobody knew nothing about thiaminase. I only do something major about avoiding that enzime when Im feeding delicate species like matamatas. Granted I dont use Cyprinids in any of my turtles, but many times if the fish Im using has not been frozen for to long I simply taw it in room temp water and toss it, if the species are res, yellow bellies, maps,etc. Never had any problem with it or that I could relate to it. The expossure to the 30 degrees comes from a copple of sources (books) that were the first 2 places where I read about thiaminase and why its important to avoid it. I consider both books to be very reliable sources of info on many aspects related to herpeculture, so I took their advice. Once again you will use this information as you please.

 

[karate626]

Do stinkbugs have any nutritional value for turtles?

 

[coura]

Do stinkbugs have any nutritional value for turtles?

They have probably the same nutrition as any comparable size insect but more inportant than that they contain irritant and even toxic substances. Its a insect group to avoid.

 

[komodo182]

I would love to know what books state that 30C will denature an enzyme found in a certain species of fish.

I want to find these books of yours to see why they state that and see if I can use it on campus for something like a study grant haha

I do not use stink bugs if that is what you are implying. I have no idea if they are good for turtles or not, I would be more worried about any chemicals they got into than their nutritional value.

The only fish I feed my turtles really are convicts and shrimp( cooked shrimp since, yes I am worried about thiaminase) , but I am wondering if the cooked shrimp are safe really.

The main diet is omega one veggie rounds (sadly the best food IMO that I have found so far for turtles, hoping to find a better one) and also omega one seaweed since my turtles will not take lettuce of any type

Strawberries and cumcumber once and awhile. They also get superworms every month of so and I feed the superworms lots of lettuce haha-this way the turtles get some parts of lettuce at least


Next step, to try dandelion greens from the grocery store. Some people have told me their turtles love them.