Feeding and Nutrition :: Introducing Carrots

[Turtle4Jen]

I am trying to introduce carrots to my turtle. I bought baby carrots and tried breaking one in half and putting them in his tank while he was being fed the usual pellets for dinner. He didn't touch the carrot.

I tried peeling a carrot and feeding the shavings to him during dinner, but they also sink in the water and he doesn't touch them.

I'm assuming that if he's not taking carrots, I'm going to have a difficult time introducing other veggies and fruits.

Any advice on how to get him to eat something new? He won't eat outside his tank. I tried that a few times and he doesn't touch the food at all. I even tried hand feeding him and he won't take it. Only way he eats, is if I drop the food in his tank of water and he swims to get it.

What else can I try???
*Jen*

[ljapa]

Like you said, carrots sink. Pellets float. He may not realize they are food. Have you tried lettuce, which also floats?

I can't offer much advice, because our turtle is a curious pig. Curious in that she bites anything new in the tank. A pig because if its edible--and frequently when it's not--she eats it.

There are Jell-O shots viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17486

Carrots are actually pretty sweet and aren't like what they'd find in the wild mid say get some red or green leaf lettuce. Put some in a few hours before the pellets. Let it float. Let him ignore it. He may eventually decide to taste it. If its not eaten by pellet time, fish it out.

Do that fora few days. If he isn't eating some by then, you can look at other options.

How big is he?

[Kansasslider]

I take it your turtle is young because your now trying to introduce veggies. When young they might not eat any. My turtles took nearly a year before they would eat carrots or red leaf lettuce. Like stated just keep putting some in the tank and sooner or later it will happen. Good luck.

[Turtle4Jen]

Sheldon is 5.5 inches long. I just got him for Christmas- almost a month ago. I read that males at this age are ~3yrs old.

I had a feeling that it may be that he doesn't see the carrots as food, but I thought his nose would pick up on the sweet scent. I'll try the lettuce and will take a look at the Jello-shots thread- thanks for that advice.

Another question- 1. How long can I/should I leave fruits and veggies that sink in his tank for?
2. At this age, is he considered a juvenile turtle? I've seen that term being used a lot, but I can never find what age/size of the turtle they're talking about.

*Jen*

[Kansasslider]

Do you know if he was ever fed veggies? If he only knows pellets it might take a while. Then again he might not ever like them? I only leave veggies in the tank for 1 day. Then swap out for new. I feed veg every day weather they eat it or not.

[Turtle4Jen]

I have no idea if he's ever been fed veggies before.

[ljapa]

The likely answer is not. There's a great section on feeding plants on the main site:

http://www.redearslider.com/plants.html

One thing to note is that you want to go sparingly with sweet stuff like fruits. Turtles aren't evolved to process that on a regular basis because in a pond in the wild, they don't really encounter sugar. I'd be surprised if they can even taste it.

Moreover, at 5.5", it's not healthy for your turtle to get all his nutrients from pellets. They are high in protein, and can eventually lead to health problems. The recommendation by the time they are 4" inches is pellets every other day and plants daily.

Not that you want to start that immediately. Get him interested in plants and then start weaning off daily pellets.

[Turtle4Jen]

Okay. Thanks.

[steve]

What if you held a shaving for your turtle? Let him/her chase it a little?

[lovemyturtles]

I hand feed my turtles carrots and they love it. They go for it every time. I basically make julian strips and cut them about a half inch long. I have also tried steaming the carrots and cutting them into really thin strips. The softness seems to help them chew and digest better. The carrots do sink but I find that when I feed my turts in a separate contained they devour the carrots. Hope that helps.

[lovemyturtles]

My turts were picky at first and still spit out anything green. I make them jello shots. It requires some time but it makes a big batch, they freeze well, and they really enjoy it.