Feeding and Nutrition :: If youre struggling to get your turtle to eat their veg...

[benjitheturtle]

....Try the albacore tuna method. I learned this method on reddit when I was asking for advice on how to get Benji to eat his vegetables. So far, no luck, until today! You dip the veg you intend to feed in tuna water (it must be albacore, other tuna varieties are too high in thiaminase, and pick a low sodium variety) then give it to your turtle. It will no doubt pique their interest and make it that much more appealing to get them to take a bite. If they don't go for it past a few bites, try soaking the veg in the tuna water overnight. I'm sure you could use this method with other kinds of fish water, as long as it contains little thiaminase and isn't too salty.

what do you guys think of this method? ever tried it?

i also found some other good resources other turtle owners might find useful. sorry if something like this has been posted before.

[benjitheturtle]

its the most hilarious thing...ever since ive been being tough with benji and pretty much only exclusively offering veg, he will bang his front paw/flipper on his food ring a few times to tell me hes displeased and wants pellets/protein, not this green cr*p lol!!

[steve]

We've done the tuna water method before. At this point, it's more for a little variety and use as treats.

its the most hilarious thing...ever since ive been being tough with benji and pretty much only exclusively offering veg, he will bang his front paw/flipper on his food ring a few times to tell me hes displeased and wants pellets/protein, not this green cr*p lol!!

That's pretty cute! When my female RES is unhappy with her food, she slams her front arms to splash water

[Longhorn]

Our female Cooter doesn't know the meaning of the words "unhappy with food", however, our males, RES & YBS, are more finicky than a 5 year old child with a plate of vegetables.