Hello,
About the feeding thing. I find that turtles can get really funny and picky if they get to only like one type of food but it is important that he learns to eat other things because frozen shrimp alone will not be the best thing for him. My brother in law has a red eared slider for about 20 years now. in the first 5 years of its life he fed it the wrong foods....people food if you can believe it like macaroni and stuff. He found out that he needed to change the turtle's diet but Mort (the turtles name) would not eat anything else. So he did the tough love thing and would only offer pellets everyday. It took Mort about 1 month before he started eating them. It was a battle of wills :lol:
You may have to cut the shrimp out of his diet completely until he starts eating other foods. It takes some patience but he will get hungry enough he will start eating other things. This is what I would do. When feeding him put him in a separate plastic container with enough water for him to eat in. Put some pellets in there and a few cut up greens...for feeders you can try pheonix worms cut up or tiny little crickets. Leave him in there with the food for a bit. He may not cooperate for a while but be persistent and he will finally get the point. But it is important that he learns to eat a good balanced diet. ALso feeding you turtles in a "feeding" dish is a great way to help keep the tank cleaner for longer.
When I got Lucy, she was just a young turtle too. It took her about two weeks before she ate anything. This though I think was stress from being put into a new home. I offered her food and coaxed her every day and finally she first started taking a few nibbles of food. Now 2 years later she is an eating machine. I do not think your turtle will starve if you stop the frozen shrimp. He will get hungry and take what you offer him. I know it will seem tuff to do but don't worry....I think it would be or the best for him.
I have another example for you as well. Just because I know if you try this and he doesn't eat you will be worried that he will starve ( I know I would be too) Friends of mine found some turtle eggs that they decieded to incubate because it was such a cold fall and they thought the hatchlings would never make it. When they hatched and after their yolk sacs disappeared it took a little work to get them to eat. But we took six turtles at a time and put them in a feeding bowl with food. They weren't interested at first but after a couple of weeks they started to eat regularily and turned into fiesty little pirahnna's (there were thirteen of them).
I am going to tell you about my first turtle...don't want to worry you but it is sad. I got a baby RES from a petstore (the baby could have been sick to begin with because they were not kept in great conditions). I didn't know much about turtles and I couldn't get mine to eat anything so I tried raw hamburger. He ate that. I would always offer different foods first but he would always wait out for the raw hamburger. He basically wasn't getting the nutritition he needed to grow. I noticed also that he was not growing either. Then he started pooping white stringy stuff....it looked like sausage casing. After he passed away I read that poop like this wasn't a good sign and meant he had serious nutrient deficiencies. He did pass away. It was so upset.
So be persistent and patient and it will work out for you. As far as getting him the supplements you may have to first try to get him to eat pellets or feeders. You could try this two ways. The first is with feeding tongs or if he starts eating pellets you could lightly dust the pellets and place them on his land area. He maybe would come up to grab the food in his mouth then take it to the water to swallow it down. But make sure you get cuttle bone to leave in the water because this works great for them getting their calcium. Mine always chew and nibble on it. Because he is small you will have to break it up into tiny chunks. He may not use it right away but will eventually. For example...I put one in with the baby snapping turtle I am raising and he didn't use it for about 4 months. I notice now that it is chewed up so he has been using it.
As far as the
UVB light I am not familar with that one. I am not totally sure if I am using the right strength one either. The last one I have been using was the Reptisun 5 which I was told was too strong for the turtles during the winter months and I should have been using a 2.0. When I posted on here I was hoping that someone would be able to clarify the UVB source for aquatic turltes for me because i am still not sure which is the best light and strength for them. you see, painteds are native to the province I live in and I am thinking that their UVB source may not need to be as high.
Anyway if I find out I will let you know. If you have anymore questions please ask. I still plan on posting some video and some pics for you but it will have to be when I get the opportunity.
Danielle