Feeding and Nutrition :: feeding him mcdonalds...

[Pluckt007]

yeah, yeah, i know everybody that saw title probibly pictured me shoving a big mac in my turtle's face. but no...so, im a story of college success, working at mcdonalds. so, i take what the box say's is green lettuce home from work. only about a handfull. yet, how much is too much leafs. he's about the size of 2'', and eats the leaves more than willigly. i gave him about a leaf the size of my palm, and it was eaten fast. i basically got a free unlimited supply of green leaf lettuce,(see corporations are good for something.), so i want to give him as much as possible. and o yea, does pyrmiding only come from excess protien? could i get him fat on mcdonalds just like me?

[megcornell]

Pyramiding is primarily due to too much protein.
Vegetables are a great addition to a turtle's diet- you should offer them daily and offer a variety. You can't really give too much, but if the turtle does eat more than his system can handle he'll get the runs.
I get my turtle mixed greens from the produce section at the market, it's a nice mix of red and green leaf lettuces with a few dandelion leaves in there I believe. The more variety you feed, the better-- look at the nutrition sticky on what to feed your turtle.
As for feeding mcdonald's lettuce, I suppose so long as it hasn't been near any other food it's ok, but it should be well washed before feeding- you should wash all veggies well before feeding them to your turtle.

[grey goose]

Iceberg lettuce won't hurt him, but it has almost no nutritional value.

[untsmurf]

I agree with grey goose, you really aren't giving him the vitamins he needs. Turts eat veggies for nutrients, and iceberg lettuce (what McD's has) doesn't have any nutritional value, it's basically like eating water.

[industrial_girl_2000]

McDonald's coats their lettuce in sulfates (I know because I have a friend who is allergic to sulfates & can't eat McD's salads since he gets a reaction to it).

Best to feed organic lettuce.