Feeding and Nutrition :: tomato peel/skin question

Turtle diets and eating habits discussed here.

Post Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 12:51 pm   tomato peel/skin question

Does anyone here know what nutrients/vitamins the skin of a tomato has, compared to the actual meat of the tomato?

Tomatoes have a lot of nutrients in them, but are also acidic and I'd like to get more nutrients in my turtles if the skins are better or equal to the rest of the tomato.

What about the seeds? Are those considered edible and nutritious, too?

(I've had no intention of giving it to them without first knowing what they are getting).
Spike - Egyptian mau mix, 8 years old
Phryne - Japanese bobtail, 9 months old
Hurricane - RES, 8 yo, 6 1/2 in. long
Typhoon - RES/Map hybrid, 8 yo, 7 in. long
Sadie - RES, 20 yo, 10 in. long
Sophie - Colombian red tail boa, 5 yo, 5 ft. long
User avatar
theartbook35
 
Posts: 2422
Joined: Mar 25, 2009
Location: Connecticut, US

Post Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:49 pm   

I know with most fruits a lot of the nutrients are in or just under the skin. It's probably safe to say it's the same for tomatoes.

When I give tomato, I usually just give a thin slice with skin and seeds. Neither of mine much care for it though, so I only give it every couple of months. I've never tried giving skin only. I have a feeling it would get sucked into the filter quicker than it would get eaten.

The only thing I could find on tomato skins specifically is that they are high in Carotenoids and Flavonols (Health Properties of Tomatos)
­Ralpheal, "The 'L' is silent."
Frankie, "Young at heart."
User avatar
BullDog
Senior Member
 
Posts: 3889
Joined: Jun 21, 2006
Location: BC, Canada

Post Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 2:32 pm   

BullDog wrote:I know with most fruits a lot of the nutrients are in or just under the skin. It's probably safe to say it's the same for tomatoes.

When I give tomato, I usually just give a thin slice with skin and seeds. Neither of mine much care for it though, so I only give it every couple of months. I've never tried giving skin only. I have a feeling it would get sucked into the filter quicker than it would get eaten.

The only thing I could find on tomato skins specifically is that they are high in Carotenoids and Flavonols (Health Properties of Tomatos)


The tomato itself has a truckload of different nutrients you're right, and I know it's good for skin in humans, so I wonder if it has the same effect on turtles...

It's worth a shot. It's thinner than lettuce too, so, it should be easier for them to bite and chew.

The last time I gave them tomato pieces, they gobbled it up really fast.
Spike - Egyptian mau mix, 8 years old
Phryne - Japanese bobtail, 9 months old
Hurricane - RES, 8 yo, 6 1/2 in. long
Typhoon - RES/Map hybrid, 8 yo, 7 in. long
Sadie - RES, 20 yo, 10 in. long
Sophie - Colombian red tail boa, 5 yo, 5 ft. long
User avatar
theartbook35
 
Posts: 2422
Joined: Mar 25, 2009
Location: Connecticut, US

Post Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 2:48 pm   

I occasionally give some tomato to my turts, and when I do, they get pieces of the firmest part, under the skin, along with the skin---it has the brightest color and the most nutrients. I don't give the inner part with the seeds (too watery), but I suppose a few stray seeds wouldn't hurt.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
marisa
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 12993
Joined: Apr 21, 2005
Location: CT, USA

Post Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:11 pm   

Those stray seeds can even start to grow. Your own hydroponic garden lol.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20862&highlight=sprout

I tried feeding a little bit of cherry tomatoes, sliced, but he didnt really go crazy for them... :?
Cap-hits, not Cafits.
User avatar
Caphits
 
Posts: 952
Joined: Jan 16, 2009
Location: Wyoming

Post Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:17 pm   

Caphits wrote:Those stray seeds can even start to grow. Your own hydroponic garden lol.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20862&highlight=sprout

I tried feeding a little bit of cherry tomatoes, sliced, but he didnt really go crazy for them... :?


Eh... My turtles have a weird taste.

I think so I can preserve them better, that I just might get those cherry tomatoes. I'll go through them a little bit quicker, since I only give them tomato once a week. (I use romaine lettuce too, which we almost always have in my apartment. If I don't have either I'll give them pellets on their lettuce and tomato days, to keep up with their nutrients.)

That would be kind of funny to have a tomato plant growing in my tank, although they would probably destroy the roots and stems.

Typhoon was so funny, yesterday, she tried to eat the plastic root of the frog bit bottom plant I got. Turtles have actual facial expressions/mannerisms. She just tilted her head funny, chomped on the root, and it wouldn't break off. She chomped again, realized the horrible taste of plastic, spit out bubbles, (bleh!) and then reared her head back with her eyes crossed like, dude, what the heck is this crap?
Spike - Egyptian mau mix, 8 years old
Phryne - Japanese bobtail, 9 months old
Hurricane - RES, 8 yo, 6 1/2 in. long
Typhoon - RES/Map hybrid, 8 yo, 7 in. long
Sadie - RES, 20 yo, 10 in. long
Sophie - Colombian red tail boa, 5 yo, 5 ft. long
User avatar
theartbook35
 
Posts: 2422
Joined: Mar 25, 2009
Location: Connecticut, US

Post Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:16 am   

I give my turt a small piece of the thickest part of the tomato with the skin, no seeds. From what I've read from this site and the information my herp vet gave me I do not give tomato on a regular basis because it's too acidic. I did include two slices of tomato, without the seeds, in my jello shot formula.
1 RES Barnie, 4 years old
7 dogs, all rescues (Misty, Chewbacca, Lexus, Toby, Sable, Claree, Harley)
1 cat, Eric
trudykurz
 
Posts: 113
Joined: Nov 4, 2008
Location: Houston, TX

Post Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:03 am   

I have a hydroponic garden I'm growing cherry tomatoes in right now, and on occasion I'll get one and slice it into a few thin slices and feed it to Sam, but he doesn't really eat more then like 1/4 of the cherry tomato. I always feed my turtle in a seperate feeding container because that's what the vet told me I needed to do.
Rosepruner
 
Posts: 147
Joined: Jan 21, 2009


Return to Feeding and Nutrition

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests