“Tweaking” A Turtles Diet
Transcript for:
“Tweaking” A Turtles Diet MR. SAM LITZINGER
12:17:32
Welcome back to "The Animal House." I'm Sam Litzinger with Dr. Gary Weitzman of The San Diego Humane Society. You can call us at 1-877-610-3647 if you have an animal-related question. You could send your question via email to animalhouse@wamu.org. Again, that telephone number is 877-610-3647. You could email us, animalhouse@wamu.org. And don’t forget to visit our Animal House Facebook page to see animal news, videos, our animal of the day, all kind of cool things on that page.
MR. SAM LITZINGER
12:18:05
Let's take a telephone call, if we can, from Rebecca. Rebecca, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
REBECCA
12:18:11
Hi. Yes.
LITZINGER
12:18:11
Hi.
REBECCA
12:18:11
How are you? Thanks for taking my question.
LITZINGER
12:18:12
Sure.
REBECCA
12:18:14
I have a Red Eared Slider turtle. I've had him for about nine years, since he was the size of a quarter.
DR. GARY WEITZMAN
12:18:20
Aw, that's great.
LITZINGER
12:18:21
(laugh) Was he adorable as the size of a -- I bet he was so cute.
REBECCA
12:18:25
A turtle pup.
REBECCA
12:18:26
He was so cute. He was a spring break indulgence.
WEITZMAN
12:18:30
Oh.
REBECCA
12:18:31
I didn't realize the responsibility.
WEITZMAN
12:18:33
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:18:33
Well, what's his name and what's his problem?
REBECCA
12:18:35
His name is Luis. And he doesn't have a problem. I've just noticed interesting behavior. I've been feeding him goldfish for the past couple years. Not solely, just…
WEITZMAN
12:18:45
Okay. Good.
REBECCA
12:18:46
…as a treat every once in a while. And I usually get like five to seven fish at the store.
WEITZMAN
12:18:51
Okay.
REBECCA
12:18:52
And I put them in his tank and immediately he starts chasing them and he eats, you know, a good half of them…
WEITZMAN
12:18:59
Right. It's Thanksgiving day, okay.
REBECCA
12:19:01
Exactly. And then over the course of the next 24 hours he'll finish some of the other ones off. But then it seems for the past couple times that I've fed him, he seems to not eat one or two of them. For example, he had one that lived with him for six months. And then I ended up killing it…
WEITZMAN
12:19:19
Really?
REBECCA
12:19:20
…by accident when I cleaned the tank. Yes.
WEITZMAN
12:19:22
Oh, okay.
REBECCA
12:19:22
And he's done this a couple of times. And right now he has three that have been living with him for a good four months. And…
LITZINGER
12:19:28
Very interesting.
WEITZMAN
12:19:28
That's interesting.
LITZINGER
12:19:29
Now, you -- now, Gary, what do you know about Red Eared…
WEITZMAN
12:19:32
Oh, yes.
LITZINGER
12:19:33
…Slider turtles? A lot?
WEITZMAN
12:19:34
Yeah, I am so glad you asked.
LITZINGER
12:19:35
Did you do any work in -- you didn't, did you?
WEITZMAN
12:19:37
Could we get a little bit of help on this one?
LITZINGER
12:19:39
Yes, we can.
WEITZMAN
12:19:40
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:19:40
Katrina Smith is adoption coordinator at the Mid-Atlantic Turtle And Tortoise Society. She's also author of the book, "Red Eared Sliders." I mean, how perfect…
WEITZMAN
12:19:48
Perfect.
LITZINGER
12:19:48
…could this be?
WEITZMAN
12:19:48
Yeah, perfect.
LITZINGER
12:19:49
Katrina, are you with us?
MS. KATRINA SMITH
12:19:50
Hi. Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:19:51
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:19:51
Oh, you're my hero. Thank you.
LITZINGER
12:19:52
You gotta help Dr. Gary a little bit.
WEITZMAN
12:19:54
Help us.
LITZINGER
12:19:54
Now he knows a good deal about turtles, but is this turtle adopting other animals? (laugh) I mean, is the turtle having pets? What's going on here, Katrina?
SMITH
12:20:04
Well, she's gonna end up with a lot more pets if she keeps buying the goldfish.
LITZINGER
12:20:07
You're thinking Rebecca may end up with a lot more goldfish, huh?
SMITH
12:20:11
Right. As Sliders get older, they tend to want more plant matter than animal matter in their diet. Although they do still like chasing things and eating animal matter like goldfish, they're true omnivores. They will eat anything they can get their mouths on.
WEITZMAN
12:20:25
Yeah.
SMITH
12:20:26
But as they get older they tend to eat less animal matter in the wild. And some of them just get used to having the goldfish around. And so, you know, like she said, six months later, he decide to eat one again and you lose your goldfish. Or the goldfish keeps growing and the two become companions in the tank and you may end up with a six or eight-inch goldfish along with your six or eight-inch turtle.
LITZINGER
12:20:48
Oh, so you're suggesting a possible dietary change here, Katrina?
SMITH
12:20:53
That could be part of it. He could also just decide he doesn't want goldfish anymore. But I like the fact that she said that it's not the main part of the diet. It's only a snack or a treat. Because goldfish contain thiaminase, which is an enzyme that breaks down B vitamins and can cause neurological problems.
REBECCA
12:21:10
Oh.
WEITZMAN
12:21:11
Now this is exactly why we have you on the show because I wouldn't have said that in 100 years. Terrific. Okay. So Rebecca, so what else are you feeding?
REBECCA
12:21:19
Well, the regular, you know, bottled turtle food, the pellets and things. Usually also whatever veggies or fruit I'm having at the moment. So sometimes I give him banana or apple pieces or carrots. He really loves red things, it seems. Strawberries, oh, my goodness. Watching him eat a strawberry is more entertaining than television.
LITZINGER
12:21:42
And Katrina Smith, that's all okay?
SMITH
12:21:44
That's good. As treats, that's great. You can also throw in some romaine lettuce, you know, whatever leafy greens you have on hand every once in a while.
REBECCA
12:21:52
Okay.
SMITH
12:21:52
But that sounds like a good varied diet.
REBECCA
12:21:55
Good. So now I have some extra goldfish pets.
LITZINGER
12:21:59
That's right. (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:21:59
Yes, you do.
LITZINGER
12:22:00
You may have a lot of extra goldfish if you're not careful. Katrina Smith, thank you very much for the help on this.
SMITH
12:22:05
Okay. Could I also add that since 1975 it's been illegal to sell the little baby turtles.
WEITZMAN
12:22:13
Oh, that's good to hear because that's what we asked. Okay.
SMITH
12:22:14
So whatever store was selling those is selling them illegally. Usually people buy the baby ones as kids presents for, you know, they go on vacation and see them and get one for their children, not realizing they can carry salmonella and everyone has to wash their hands after they handle the turtle. And also not realizing that little baby turtle, as you've probably realized, can get up to 6, 8, 10, even 12 inches long when it's full grown.
WEITZMAN
12:22:38
They can live to be like 30 years old, right?
SMITH
12:22:39
Yeah, we have one for adoption that's 46 years old.
WEITZMAN
12:22:42
Oh, my.
REBECCA
12:22:43
Oh, my.
LITZINGER
12:22:43
Wow.
WEITZMAN
12:22:44
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:22:44
You've got a long life ahead with Luis I think, Rebecca.
REBECCA
12:22:47
Yeah, as I was in for a surprise when I bought him as a, you know, quick -- not a souvenir, but a little pet and came home to realize it was…
WEITZMAN
12:22:55
Right.
LITZINGER
12:22:55
But you wouldn't give him up for the world now, I bet you…
REBECCA
12:22:57
No.
LITZINGER
12:22:58
You're probably very fond of him.
REBECCA
12:22:59
I very much am. Who knew you could love a turtle so much?
SMITH
12:23:03
Oh, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:23:04
We did.
LITZINGER
12:23:04
And so does Katrina Smith. Katrina, thank you very much for all your help.
SMITH
12:23:08
Thank you. All of you have a good day.
LITZINGER
12:23:09
All right, bye. Katrina Smith is adoption coordinator at the Mid-Atlantic Turtle and Tortoise Society. Our telephone number is 877-610-3647. Our email address is animalhouse@wamu.org. You were talking before, you used to be able to buy those things at Woolworths.
WEITZMAN
12:23:24
Yeah, I remember those. Yeah, you're right. Woolworths. And that's what put them out of business.
LITZINGER
12:23:28
What a rotten child I was 'cause I'm sure I bought like -- they were a quarter.
WEITZMAN
12:23:31
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:23:31
You'd go…
WEITZMAN
12:23:32
Along with the chameleons and I had sea monkeys.
LITZINGER
12:23:34
What was wrong with me?
WEITZMAN
12:23:36
Not even realizing…
LITZINGER
12:23:36
Amazing sea monkeys.
WEITZMAN
12:23:37
…they built cities that I couldn't see.
LITZINGER
12:23:40
Let's take a telephone call from Toria. Toria, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
TORIA
12:23:46
Yes. Hi, Dr. Gary.
WEITZMAN
12:23:47
Hi, there.
TORIA
12:23:48
I have a little barn cat named Blossom.
WEITZMAN
12:23:51
Okay.
TORIA
12:23:51
Who adopted me about 12 years ago.
WEITZMAN
12:23:53
(laugh) Adopted you, yes. Okay.
TORIA
12:23:55
And oh, she's wonderful. And she's very active. She used to just hunt all the time and jump up on hay bales. And she loved the snow. About two months ago, she went blind.
WEITZMAN
12:24:05
Oh, okay.
TORIA
12:24:06
And it's just breaking my heart 'cause I…
WEITZMAN
12:24:07
Yeah, I bet.
TORIA
12:24:08
…see her now and she's an inside/outside cat. And she kinda gingerly walks through a room and, you know, bumps the legs of chairs and…
WEITZMAN
12:24:15
Oh, right.
TORIA
12:24:15
…you know, hits a table. And she's able to find her way to the cat door and she goes outside. And she kinda, you know, crinches (PH) along the side of the house outside. And when I'm out there with her, I speak loudly or I stomp loudly on the ground…
WEITZMAN
12:24:29
Sure, right.
TORIA
12:24:30
…and she just follows me around. She has a detached retina in one eye. And a broken…
WEITZMAN
12:24:35
Okay. So you brought her to the vet?
TORIA
12:24:37
I did, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:24:38
Okay.
TORIA
12:24:38
And broken blood vessels in the other eye. And unfortunately I wasn't home -- I’m a pet sitter also. So I'm not home a lot. So I don't know what happened, if something traumatic happened to her, if she fell or…
WEITZMAN
12:24:48
Right.
LITZINGER
12:24:49
Oh, poor baby.
TORIA
12:24:49
Anyhow, so yeah it really is breaking my heart. It's tough when I go into a room and I flick a light on and she's just sitting in the middle of the floor with her head down. And…
WEITZMAN
12:24:57
Oh, no. Yeah, that's tough.
TORIA
12:24:58
…I just know, yeah, she used to be so active and so full of life.
WEITZMAN
12:25:00
Toria, can you keep her indoors?
TORIA
12:25:02
I can't. She does…
WEITZMAN
12:25:03
I know.
TORIA
12:25:04
She refuses to use the litter box. I have tried and tried and tried. She just…
WEITZMAN
12:25:08
Or do you have any way that there's a -- I don't know. Do you have a screen porch or anything that you could put the litter box in or…
TORIA
12:25:13
Yeah, we do have a screen -- yeah. My thing is, I've got two other cats.
WEITZMAN
12:25:16
Yeah.
TORIA
12:25:16
And I do have a screened porch. And I have a little rip in the screen and they all go in and out of that part. She goes out of the house and onto the screened porch.
WEITZMAN
12:25:26
Right. Right.
TORIA
12:25:27
So I guess maybe I could put the rip someplace else that she can't get to, but she just won't use the litter box. She'll…
WEITZMAN
12:25:33
Oh, right.
TORIA
12:25:33
…go to the bathroom on the (unintelligible).
LITZINGER
12:25:34
This is a tough one.
WEITZMAN
12:25:35
Well, you know, it's hard. And, you know, the obvious answer is to keep her indoors.
TORIA
12:25:39
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:25:39
That's what you would do if you had an indoor cat.
TORIA
12:25:41
Right, right.
WEITZMAN
12:25:41
But I know that, you know, you've got a barn cat. So you have a cat that's very acclimated to being outside. It's gonna be impossible for you to even keep her inside, even if she did use the litter box.
TORIA
12:25:49
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:25:49
She'll go crazy trying to get out, but, you know, it's not wonderfully safe out there for her. Okay. But that all being said -- and you've heard that before. You know, she's probably -- the inside is the same as the outside to her. I mean, as long as she has access to safety and being indoors, what you wanna do is make sure that the things you can keep stable, are. You know, whatever you've got in your house that is her normal routine.
TORIA
12:26:10
Right, right.
WEITZMAN
12:26:11
That she can always get to that, that that's okay. She'll go outside. And probably she'll just venture to the point of safety, you know, places that she feels and can smell and touch with her whiskers. And she won't, I hope, go too far, you know, beyond that.
TORIA
12:26:25
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:26:25
So, you know, that's the way it works. You know, unfortunately there's no way to keep her inside.
TORIA
12:26:29
Right.
LITZINGER
12:26:30
Will it get better over time? 'Cause presumably she's using other senses now…
WEITZMAN
12:26:33
Sure.
LITZINGER
12:26:34
…to get around.
WEITZMAN
12:26:35
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:26:35
So is she gonna get better at that?
WEITZMAN
12:26:36
You know, yes and no. She'll get better and she'll get more used to dealing with her limitations, but, you know, the senses fail and they all start to do that. And I think the retinal detachment, the other issues that your vet is seeing in her other eye, are probably progressive. I mean, you know, that's what generally happens. They're usually not due to trauma. They can be due to infection or they can just happen. But it sounds like she's pretty much, you know, she pretty much has acclimated. How long has it been?
TORIA
12:27:03
It's been about two months.
WEITZMAN
12:27:05
Two months?
TORIA
12:27:06
And what I've done especially outside is I've got little triggers every place. I've got wind chimes by a door. And she can…
WEITZMAN
12:27:12
Perfect.
TORIA
12:27:12
…hear the -- I know she can hear the bird feeder when all the birds are there 'cause she'll sit and listen. And I've got a big dawn-to-dusk light.
WEITZMAN
12:27:20
Mm-hmm.
TORIA
12:27:20
And it makes a big buzzing noise. So at least she knows night from day. And she's getting used to the smells, I think. She's got her little pile of mulch that she likes to scratch and go to the bathroom in.
WEITZMAN
12:27:28
Okay.
TORIA
12:27:28
And she lets me pick her up and she just purrs and purrs. And I put a little space heater on for her and she just curls up in a little ball and just is happy as can be.
LITZINGER
12:27:38
Good for you, Toria. Thanks for very much.
TORIA
12:27:40
I just love her. She's my bliss. Well, thank you for your help.
WEITZMAN
12:27:42
Well, that's great.
TORIA
12:27:42
I appreciate it.
LITZINGER
12:27:43
Thank you very much. 1-877-610-3647 is our telephone number. Our email address is animalhouse@wamu.org. Let's take a telephone call from Andres. Andres, it's glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
ANDRES
12:27:56
Hi.
WEITZMAN
12:27:56
Hi, there.
ANDRES
12:27:57
We have an English Bull Terrier. And last weekend…
WEITZMAN
12:27:59
Oh, those are great dogs. Go ahead.
ANDRES
12:28:02
Yeah, she's fantastic. And she's nine months.
LITZINGER
12:28:03
Okay.
ANDRES
12:28:05
And is a sweetheart. We just moved from D.C. to Maryland. And the move has been a little bit traumatic for her.
LITZINGER
12:28:11
What is her name, by -- Andres, what's her name so we can refer to her?
ANDRES
12:28:14
Ponio.
LITZINGER
12:28:14
Okay. Ponio, okay. Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:28:16
Well, what is she doing?
ANDRES
12:28:17
So she's great.
WEITZMAN
12:28:18
What is she doing that makes you think it's been traumatic?
ANDRES
12:28:20
Well, I can't get her to pee and poo on command. I had like a spot for her.
WEITZMAN
12:28:25
Right.
ANDRES
12:28:25
And she has been holding it for a while, but finally today we made some progress. She finally went today, but her appetite has been pretty down.
WEITZMAN
12:28:35
Oh, okay.
ANDRES
12:28:36
So I have to bribe her and get her the wet food that she loves, the Wellness wet food.
WEITZMAN
12:28:41
Good. Okay, good.
ANDRES
12:28:42
But I just kind of wanted to check to make sure everything's fine.
WEITZMAN
12:28:44
You know, it's, listen -- and point of fact, moves are one of the most stressful things that any human goes through and it happens with the animals, too. You've changed her whole world. And you've got total control over her world. And I guess you just experienced what the ramifications of that are for her. You know, it's tough for her to go to a different environment, to different outdoor behavior, to being house broken and it's confusing. I mean, she's only nine months.
WEITZMAN
12:29:10
You know, and she's -- Bull Terriers, too, they need, you know, they don't grow up 'til they're about five years old. So it's gonna take her a while to really get used to everything, but I think you're doing the right thing. Just reassure her. Try to get into a routine as quickly as you can. You know, that's the biggest thing here. If house breaking's an issue, give her the safety and security of the crate, again, just for a few weeks. And honestly, you know, I think you're gonna need it for like four days, to be perfectly honest.
WEITZMAN
12:29:35
Because she'll get it pretty quickly. So unless you moved from a house with a great rolling lawn down to the Potomac to a, you know, a 10-story condo loft or something like that…
LITZINGER
12:29:44
In New York City, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:29:45
…I don't think it's gonna be really hard for this dog to get used to it. She just has to accept the first part. And then she can learn how to deal with her new environment. But it sounds like you're doing the right thing. Get the food, bribe her, you know, get the treats ready, reassure her. And, you know, she'll acclimate, too.
LITZINGER
12:30:01
Well, report back to us maybe in a couple of weeks.
ANDRES
12:30:03
Thank you. Well, while I got you on the phone, quick question for you, Doctor. She's nine months. When can I switch her over to regular food? She seems to be bored.
WEITZMAN
12:30:11
Oh, a Bull Terrier? Yeah, I would say you can definitely switch her now. You know, we usually say depending on the dog size you can start as early as, honestly, even seven months. But I would talk to -- I would have everybody out there talk to their vet before deciding on this first. But I think a Bull Terrier, generally, nine months you could probably start switching her now and get her transitioned to adult food within about a month.
ANDRES
12:30:31
Okay. Fantastic. Thank you so much.
LITZINGER
12:30:33
Good for you. Thanks, Andres. Dr. Gary Weitzman will be back to answer more of your questions. You can send them to animalhouse@wamu.org. You can call us, 1-877-610-3647.
MS. KAREN MUNSON
12:30:46
I’m Karen Munson and this is The Animal House Dateline.
MR. CEE LO GREEN
12:30:49
I saw this bird fly by and it landed on my windowsill and I just fell in love. Isn't that right?
MUNSON
12:30:55
That’s the voice of pop singer and TV personality Cee Lo Green, who's taking heat over his plans to replace the pet cat he took to his TV show "The Voice," with a Moluccan Cockatoo. Animal rights organization Born Free has expressed concern, explaining that the species is not only endangered, but is also believed to develop self mutilation when kept as a pet.
MUNSON
12:31:17
A new program in San Francisco will pair carefully selected dogs from shelters with panhandlers in an effort to steer the latter away from asking for money on the streets and keep the animals from being euthanized. The temporary guardians -- the words pet and owner are frowned upon in San Francisco -- will receive weekly stipends of $50 to $75 and must agree to jettison those cardboard signs in the pilot program called WOOF, which is short for Wonderful Opportunities for Occupants and Fidos. The program is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. And the animals will eventually be placed in permanent homes.
MUNSON
12:31:52
A 450-pound sculpture dubbed, "The National Fire Dog Monument," has just completed a 12-city, 2000-mile tour, recently reaching its permanent home in Washington, D.C., named "From Ashes To Answers." The sculpture depicts a firefighter looking down at his Labrador Retriever. The bronze statue was created by Jerry Means, an arson investigator from Colorado. It was sculpted by Denver-area firefighter Austin Weishel, and serves to acknowledge the work of certified accelerant-detecting arson dogs.
MUNSON
12:32:22
For more information about these stories, visit wamuanimalhouse.org.
LITZINGER
12:32:26
Coming up, what animals can teach us about human health in "The Animal House."
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