Feeding and Nutrition :: Turtle eating like there is no tomorrow plant wise

[daredevilgirl013]

Mine gets garden lettuce now too once in a while. He likes green peppers. Now here is the funny part. I went and got him a 7 dollar aquatic plant thinking hey I'll give him a little treat. He nibbled at it. Won't even eat it hardly. So now that plant is going to my cousin since he won't eat it.

But he's calmed down some. He prefers his turtle food over anything else and I try to put some extra stuff in there to get him to eat some different stuff. Though he does like the algae wafers too. I throw those in for my pleco and Michelangelo carries them around like a dog and hides them from the pleco. Then he'll eat them later.

[Jessica313]

wow, i am also having a similar situation! i coulnt get my turtle to eat ANY vegetablkes for the longest time, i tried everything and kept giving it to him and he still wouldnt touch it..

well i decided to buy him an aquatic plant the other day.. i didnt think he would eat it but i wanted to put in there just to temp him with it..
i also put some romaine lettuce in at the same time
i came home that night to discover that he entire plant was all gone!!!
however all the lettuce was completly untouched..
the next day i got him to eat a little bit of carrots
i am so happy because up until now i havnt been able to get him to eat any veggies at all...

anyone have any advice for me as to get him to eat more?
i offered him so many different things in the past and he wouldnt touch any of it..

glad hes finally beginning to come around

** oh and you are sooo right about the aquatic plants making a HUGE mess with the filter
i have 2 and they were both sooo clogged afterwards i spendt an hour cleaning them all out

[marisa]

If I had an aquatic plant that my turtles wouldn't eat, I'd leave it in the tank as a decoration. (But I think one day, when they would want a snack, that would be the end of it. )

[Jessica313]

yea, i put in there thinking it would be a decoration i wasnt too hopeful that hed eat it, but i was happy that he did..

he needs his veggies!

[reptilegrrl]

Is "awall" some Ohio thing? I've never seen that before!

I would defintiely go with feeding more vegetation. Also, you mention that he is still hungry once the plants are gone; you should have him checked for worms! prasitic worms will eat the food before his body gets to absorb it, so they will keep him hungry.

[reptilegrrl]

I don't know how I missed it, but I didn't realize that red leaf lettuce was a good option for turtles. I've been trying to come up with some alternatives to keep a good variety in Mr. Turtle's diet.

My problem now is that he has his favorites, and if I try to give him something that's not he snubs his nose at it! Romaine and carrots are his favorite, but I know there are other greens that are much more vitamin rich. Unfortunately I have yet to be able to find dandelion greens. I live in a metro city area, so going out and picking some is just to risky!

you can buy dandelion greens at Whole Foods or a similar store.

[daredevilgirl013]

I can't get him checked. there isn't a vet around here for miles and miles and miles that will take a turtle, especially one that likes to bite a lot. I don't think he has worms as he has grown almost 2 inches since I have had him and he's almost a year old. So he's normal on the growth and he doesn't look skinny at all. In fact he kinda looks a wee bit fat. He isn't as crazy about plants anymore, instead he likes to rip the fins off my fish now.

[steve]

Is it possible to get a stool sample and have someone else check it? The pics you posted last time would definitely encourage me to check it out.

[reptilegrrl]

I can't get him checked. there isn't a vet around here for miles and miles and miles that will take a turtle, especially one that likes to bite a lot. I don't think he has worms as he has grown almost 2 inches since I have had him and he's almost a year old. So he's normal on the growth and he doesn't look skinny at all. In fact he kinda looks a wee bit fat. He isn't as crazy about plants anymore, instead he likes to rip the fins off my fish now.

1) He could have gotten worms recently. They could have come in on an aquatic plant or a prey animal. The fact that his growth has been normal thus far does not mean he is worm-free. Nor does notlooking skinny mean he's worm-free.

2) Any vet can look at a stool sample. His biting is irrelevant. Stool doesn't come out of the mouth.