Feeding and Nutrition :: Diet suggestions?

[octpusgirl8]

In the last 6 months or so my beloved Turtley has become quite the eater. He has always been a pellet fiend, but i've finally gotten him onto his veggies, and he's eating great now. He's even started to eat his cuttlebone! Anyhow, i wanted to check and make sure the feeding plan i have him on sounded good, and to get some suggestions of other goodies to add in for variety. He's 5" SCL for reference. Here's what he's been eating:
Sunday/Monday/Tuesday- 1/2 head of pellets, a big piece of lettuce
Wednesday- whole head of pellets, big piece of lettuce, some yellow squash or zuchinni, a few pieces of red or green pepper, some carrots
Thursday/Friday- i'm gone so he gets whatever's left over from wednesday
Saturday- whole head of pellets, lettuce

There are a few feeder fish in there with him "just in case" but he hasn't been interested in them. I get him anacharis sometimes, but soon he will be getting a lot more of that because i'm setting up a tank to grow it in. Also, is there such a thing as too much cuttlebone? He's been eating it up pretty quick, i've been giving him as much as he wants is that ok? And how's his meal plan looking? Any suggestions?

[DavidY]

His meal plan looks good to me. What kind of lettuce do you feed him? I like to buy a variety of greens like kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, romaine, green and red leaf lettuce, radiccio, etc. You can also get a bag of "Field Greens" salad mix which has a good mixture of stuff. There's also a Spring Mix that has more baby lettuces and a lot of variety.

As far as the calcium, it is possible for them to take in too much so you may want to cut back a little. I only give each of my RES some cuttlebone chunks that are about half the size of my thumbnail once a week. I don't know if that is optimum amount or not but I'm fairly comfortable that it is not too little nor too much.

[octpusgirl8]

Usually the lettuce is red leaf, if i have some bagged salad for myself i give him some of that too to give him some variety. He's only been into the cuttle bone for about a week now, i hadn't offered it for a month or so because he had never wanted it before, but when i tried again recently he was all over it. I guess i'll keep it to once a week unless i hear otherwise

[DavidY]

I think others have said they offer cuttle bone twice a week too so it's up to you. If he hasn't had any before (or for a while) then I doubt you need to worry about him getting too much for now. Most likely he'll eat what he needs but if he were always gobbling down cuttle bone everytime you offered it and you were offering it like every day, then I'd think you might want to watch out that he doesn't eat too much.

[octpusgirl8]

I'm not sure whether he's eating so much of it because he needs it, or because he's such a hungry turtle and it's the only edible thing in his tank...i'll just see how it goes. I'm just glad he's finally eating all the things he's supposed to!

[Tenodera]

Has anyone ever tried just tossing the cuttlebone in the tank for their turtle to munch on whenever they like and replace it only when it's all eaten?

I do. lol

[marisa]

I keep several pieces of cuttlebone in the tank and replace them as they disappear. My turtles will sometimes eat it more avidly than others, and when they do, I think it's because they need it in their systems. When they're not as interested in it, I think it's because they've got enough calcium in them.

[DavidY]

Do the cuttlebones get soggy? I remember reading that someone's turtle wouldn't eat them anymore after they got waterlogged.

[N4784N R4613]

Not really soggy, like mushy. They just sink.

[DavidY]

Do your turtles still eat it if it gets like that?

[N4784N R4613]

Sometimes, well no, not really.

[Tenodera]

They don't get mushy, they just sink. Its like a sponge except without the squishyness. I think it's a waste to replace it everytime it sinks since they sink after a week or so. My cuttlebone always gets nibbled down to nothing eventually, regardless of floating or sunk.

and are you sure your turtles won't eat it when its sunk? Maybe leave a sunk one in and you'll see nibble marks on it after a while.

[steve]

Sounds real good, but I might scale down the pellets a little bit.

[octpusgirl8]

Really? It equals out to 1/2 head every day, he gets a whole head the day before i leave and then i'm gone for 2 days and then he gets a whole head when i come back. Should i just give him 1/2 head those days too?

[marisa]

When they get waterlogged, the surface of the cuttlebone will be a bit softer. If they stay at the bottom for a while, they can get a little slimy as well. Some people say their turtles will eat it when it's on the bottom, mine for the most part, won't.

You can dry it out and it will float, but not for long before it gets water logged again.