Feeding and Nutrition :: vitamin A

[xsavingsaturdayx]

i was reading the nutrition section on another website for RES and i came across vitamin A and how important it is for RES's to get vitamin A,i read that they can get vitamin A deficiency.thats when they're eyes get swollen shut,am i right?

i tried feeding carrots and romaine lettuce to my two 2inch RES's and they just nip at some of the carrot bits and completely ignore it.they dont even notice the romaine lettuce. should i show some tough love and stop feeding them they're pellets and continue to offer carrots and romaine lettuce until they finally accept it?

and another thing,should i feed vegetables and pellets everyday?, or one day pellets another day vegetables?

[scripta_elegans]

When the turtles are under a year, you can give them pellets and veggies everyday. I am sure you have already seen the suggestion of enough pellets to fill their head minus the neck for a serving size. I think that they will eat veggies in time. I know it takes a bit for them to start enjoying veggies, and I love the suggestion I have seen Steve post, which is give them live water plants. a) It's more likely that they would see these in their enviornment, which leads me to think instinct would guide them to eat them. b) if they don't eat them in a day, you don't need to throw the plant away. You can get water plants online at ebay, or liveaquaria.com. Anacharis and duckweed are both good low care choices!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

yeah i was thinking of getting them live plants,but for now ill try some veggies.
how should i cut the carrots up so that they can eat it without struggling to much?
i usually slice the carrots into worm like slices,is that good?

[scripta_elegans]

I usually mince carrots, but that's just what I have found the turts seem to prefer. I know some people cook the carrots before giving them to their turtles as well.

[megcornell]

Leo likes to attack the carrots I feed him, so I usually break the carrots into small chunks so he can grasp them and bite chunks off. If you aare really worried about vit A deficiency and your turtles refuse the veggies, maybe you can ut cod liver oil on their pellets? I know its good to use on their eyes but I don't know if they'll eat it...

[xsavingsaturdayx]

well first ill try veggies and if after a week or two they STILL refuse then i guess ill try cod liver oil on the pellets,if its safe for them to eat.

[industrial_girl_2000]

You can also give them boiled sweet potato for Vitamin A. If your turtle is over 4 inches long, you can prolly get away with feeding them the mushy sweet potato with a small baby spoon.

[marisa]

xssx, foods that contain beta carotene (which your turtle can safely convert to Vit A) also include pumpkin, yams, (I lightly steam these to soften them), red bell peppers and dandelions. I'm not sure about the Vit A content of anachris and duckweed, but duckweed is a good source of calcium.

[Muirner]

i have an amazon sward in my tank, and one of my turtles seems to be taking a liking to one of the plants, i knowticed 2 bite size pieces taken out of a leaf. Which is a good thing in my eyes...

The anachris they havent touched.