Feeding and Nutrition :: How often should I feed Donna?

[fryman86]

I know this general information is in the stickies for this forum, but I have a particular situation. Donna was given to me and has had two previous owners. Neither of which took good care of her. Once I got her and took her to the vet, the vet said she looked about three years old. However, what I gather from the previous owners is that she is around five years old! So according to the information about feeding, I should only be feeding her every other day. However, she loves to eat! She loves Reptomin, Turnip Greens, and even Carrots. Once I got her healthy and active, she hasn't turned up her nose towards anything. She aggresivley begs for food, to the point of splashing water out of the tank! So I guess the question is, is she aactually Hungry, or does she just like to eat? Any suggestions on how I should feed her?

Thanks,
Fryman86

[jenaero]

Every other day, the amount the size of her head. Turtles are great beggars and they're good at making you think they're starving, even when you know they're not. If you feel bad, throw in some red leaf lettuce.

[fryman86]

Should I slowly back her down to eating once a day, rather than suddenly not feeding her one day?

[steve]

For your turtle, pellets can be offered every other day. You can offer an assortment of veggies every day. www.redearslider.com/plants.html

[marisa]

I don't think she needs to be weaned off of eating every day (kind of you to think this way, though )---in the wild there would be days when she wouldn't be eating at all.

You can vary the pellets with other foods (earthworms, crickets, for example), but on those days, don't give pellets. Giving some plant matter daily (veggies or aquatic plants), even when feeding pellets or other foods, is good. On the no pellet (or other food) days, you can still give some plant matter.

[TheComputerGremlin]

A lot of people on the board give their turtles 1/2 the size of their head worth of pellets every day, rather than 1 head-worth every other day. And you can of course give her as much lettuce whenever (don't go overboard, of course).

[fryman86]

So I guess the consensus is that I could give her a moderate amount of vegetation daily but pellets every other day?

[FLhaven4strays]

^^ Yeah, pretty much. I give my bigger guys veggies every day (or at least OFFER...getting them to eat them is another problem), as well as about 1/2 their pellets - that way I can give pellets every day & I don't feel so bad. I also offer cuttlebone several times a week...if they're aggressivly begging it makes me feel better to offer something I know they like.

I know what you mean about thinking they're starving...2 of my gals try to convince me they're wasting away every time I walk by.

[mikee]

fry-6 --- They are pigs! They are the best beggars and it is hard to not give in, but you must. Every other day is fine. The Reptomin is a good choice. It is a little short on calcium but you can fix that with a calcium block every other week or so. I know what you mean about the splashing. I have three that will splash a lot. I have to put out a towel when I feed them. I feed them by hand and they splash water on me.

[fryman86]

Hey, I forgot to mention that the size of Donna's feces is quite large. In fact, I'm not sure how she passes them. Is this a sign of overfeeding?