Feeding and Nutrition :: How much is too much...lettuce?

[cutepanda86]

Very good. Thanks.

Quick Question! Ever since I have started feeding Shledon lettuce, his water quality went in the tank (so to speak). Still doing everything as usual so not sure what was going on.

[steve]

And you can give it to him every day. Has his poo been breaking apart more?

[cutepanda86]

I give it to him every other day. This morning his filter was gunked up and I had to make a water swap and clean up. His poop seems to break apart more with romaine than the red leaf.

Some of it got under the filter and that's why I think this last time was gross. Maybe I need to invest in a bigger filter.

[J0NATHAN85]

So I've had my RES Charlie in his new 30 gal home for about 6 weeks. I just wanted to check in and make sure I'm doing everything right: specifically my veggie feeding routing.

Charlie's grown a bit and I'd say is around 3 1/2 inches. As a result, I've been feeding him 3-4 reptomin sticks each day. Most days I've also thrown in a whole leaf of lettuce (usually rotate between green leaf and red leaf). Most days the lettuce is pretty much eaten/shredded when I get home from work. Sometimes it takes him 2 days to get through it. Either way he really seems to enjoy eating and playing with his veggies. He tends to use romaine as a raft.

I feed in tank, and through water changes I seem to be able to siphon most of the uneaten lettuce out (hopefully before it rots?). Ive also read lots of posts about how the turtle's poop is a good insight to the health of your turtle. I have to be honest and say I have never seen any poop in the tank. I'm guessing this is because I have an XP3 powering 25 gallons. I did, however, clean the filter for the first time 2 weeks ago, and found all the poop caked to the bottom of the canister.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions on how to better care for my turtle, I'd love some suggestions!

[cutepanda86]

^^My vet says that after 12 hours I should scoop out any uneaten lettuce as it will lead to unclean water, although Sheldon swallows all of his rather quickly. As far as the poop in the filter, nasty isn't it? Sounds like you're doing the right thing though.

[penelope]

Just reading the notes of the week...Penelope had a final visit to answer residual questions. Penelope has been chomping down Red Lettuce - I was happy because of the calcium. The vet burst my bubble a little bit. The notes here say she agrees it is good for calcium, but also has a higher water content than other greens, so it didn't hit the very top of her list.

Pellets aside, the new "greens" diet is Dandelions (the staple - about two-thirds) mixed with mustard greens, collards, endive or radicchio daily (keep in mind she is not a baby, so less protein; more greens in her case)
Again absolutely nothing wrong with red lettuce, this is just my vet's preferred menu and there will always be differing opinions.

I'm supposed to limit it to a 'loose handful' - as if putting your hand in a salad bowl and lightly grabbing a handful - this is for an 9.5 inch turtle (I thought she was nearly 11 inches, but obviously I can't read a ruler).

Scooping out uneaten greens makes sense...its gets all wilty and gross at that point anyway.

[cutepanda86]

Ah I see. Well I guess I have to start looking for Dandelion greens in my grocery store. There is no way I can give Sheldon lettuce everyday. His poop just... well lets just say that I'd be growing a gross vegetable garden in my tank.

[J0NATHAN85]

^^As far as the poop in the filter, nasty isn't?.

So nasty! Fortunately I had a cold and couldn't smell a thing.

And throughout all the information I've read I think your conclusion is right Penelope: there will always be differing opinions and no one way is necessarily the right way. It does sound like I may be over feeding on the greens just a bit, and I should aim for a greater variety. Since I'm still a new turtle owner, I guess I was just looking for a one answer fits all turtles type of solution that doesn't really exist. Charlie is active, responsive, and has a great appetite, so I'm happy with how things are going so far.

The next challenge is I leave for vacation tomorrow, and I'm making my final preparations today. Lamps are set to a timer, automatic feeder is set up (hope it works as advertised), water change will be done later today. I just need to set up a schedule for someone to top off the water once or twice while I'm gone, and possibly buy a new heater. As of yesterday it decided that it wanted to maintain a water temp of 75 degrees, instead of 78!

I did puchase an eheim jäger on amazon 2 weeks ago, but the box looked like it had been trampled so I didn't want to risk using a damaged product, given its purpose. I guess it's off to the pet store for me.

[cutepanda86]

Good for you (minus the cold part). Glad to hear Charlie is doing well.

A visit to the pet store would be in order and I would see about sending the heater back. No point in taking chances.

[texasreb]

I feed Frida different types of greens: green and red leaf, buttercrunch, dandelions, kale, tops of carrots, beets greens, mustard greens parsley (a universal fave), etc.--all organic. I also have Guinea pigs and a rabbit so I'm constantly looking for greens that all can eat at least once in a while.

She seems to not prefer other types of veggies, but she still gets her jello shots 1-2/week and her pellets. I feed her M-F, rotating through the pellets, jello shots and greens. She doesn't get to eat on the weekends.

Incidentally, I've never seen her poop or evidence that she's pooping. I guess the filter is taking care of it.