Painted Turtle always hungery!

[SilverFire54]

hi, my eastern painted turtle cheese, is about 6 months old, the size of your palm, and is growing like a weed. There are several problems though. First I will explain what I am feeding him and my other four baby snappers. I feed them one or two of one of these options:

Turtle pellets ( I have baby and regular)
Shirmp and Krill (dryed)
Feeder Fish (bought at a pet store)
and some lunch meats like ham, turkey or roast beef (fish somtimes from dinner)

The lunch meat is only because its winter and in the summer I feed them insects that I find in my yard or in a pond. I have tried greens but there not interested.

Cheese eats constantly, between me, my mom, and my sister they get fed at least twice a day. The snappers are picky and wont eat unless they want to. Cheese eats everything including the food thats for the snappers, and he never stops until theres nothing left. I have never seen a turtle so hungery before and Im begining to get conserned. He has started to develope these large lumps on either side of his top shell. I would assume its from over eating but since hes always so hungery I am unsure what to do.

If a photo is needed I can post one, please get back to me so i dont perminently diform his shell :(

[That_girl]

I can't help you, but I forwarded your question to my fiance, he should post within a day or so. :)

[Salzy]

Is this within the day? ;)

Painted turtles can often consume huge quantities of food, especially when they are young. You may be seeing some typical behavior, but it's hard to say.

A few questions for you...

Could you post a picture of these lumps you are talking about? I will be able to get a better idea of what may be going on there. How long have you had this turtle, and where did it come from initially? Is it a wild caught animal, or one from a breeder? What is the temperature of your setup? A higher temperature will induce much higher metabolic rates, and your turtle will appear to always be hungry. I'd recommend keeping them in temperatures in the lower 70's.

The diet you are feeding them seems just fine, although the snappers are going to consume much larger quantities of protein than the painted turtle. The painted turtle should be getting a bit more of the "greens", like the pellets, lettuce, kale, etc. Try feeding it earthworms also. Nightcrawlers are a favorite for painted turtles.

I'd also suggest separating the painted turtle from your snappers if you can. You'll be able to regulate how much food it gets much easier if it isn't in the same tank as the other species.

I hope that helps a little bit. Be sure to ask plenty of questions if you have them.