Feeding and Nutrition :: is sweet potato fattening?

[aon]

i fed my turtle this purple sweet potato yesterday ( cooked ofcourse )





is that fattening? like meat? or is it nutrutious like vegetables?

well yeah my baby res ate it and im happy if it was nutritious like veggies cause he wouldnt eat other veggies OR pellets

[Nettle]

What country are you from? I've never seen any potato that looks like that.

[aon]

united states

those potatoes are good i ate them and gave my baby some

[BullDog]

I'm assuming that it is just like a regular sweet potato except purple?
If so, then no, it's not fattening (compared to protein foods), but it is high in sugar, and shouldn't be given in excess, like anything, really.
Of course, you don't want to cook it in oil or anything, but steamed or boiled is fine
My RES like the sweet potato too.

[aon]

to BullDog:

i just wet the potato and microwave it.

but my question is, is it healthy like the lettuce and veggies like that? can i give my res this instead of the veggie ( ofcourse i will still offer it lettuce )

[BullDog]

Yes, you can give it to them as a veggie. I give mine a bit of sweet potato once every week or so.
I usually peel of thin slices with a peeler, put it in a bit of water, and microwave it.
Ralph loves it because he has a sweet tooth

[marisa]

Sweet potatoes are high in beta carotene, which is converted to Vit A; as part of the diet they can help prevent a Vit A deficiency. My turtles get either sweet potato or yams once a week. I lightly steam a few slices to soften them and cut them into small pieces for eating.

The purple potato looks like some purple carrots I bought last year. They were developed by Texas A & M, if I remember correctly, and were supposed to have a higher level of nutrients than regular carrots. My turtles didn't care for them that much, and they were expensive relative to the price of regular carrots.

I've had purple sweet potato in the form of chips. The package I bought had 3 kinds---orange/red, white and purple sweet potatoes. They were called Red, White and Blues and were quite delicious (but expensive).

[aon]

thankyou for all the replies, they are very helpful.

im kinda slow but..since my turtle does not eat pellets is it ok if i feed him sweet potato regularly? ( since you said it has alot of sugar, im not sure if it was ok ), all he craves for are those baby shrimps that i got from petco ( which i wont feed to him often )

[TheComputerGremlin]

If he's not eating any pellets, you need to find a source of protein that he'll eat and probably try to find some of those turtle vitamins (since the pellets are loaded with vitamins too). He won't eat any pellets? Not even a different brand? My turtle wouldn't eat the HBH turtle bites at first, so I went and got the Reptomin pellets (way before finding this board, I might add), and then after a few months, I tried the HBH bites and he likes those more than the Reptomin now, so I feed him a combo of both. I don't think you should feed him sweet potato regularly, like more than once or twice a week, but start changing things up with other veggies. You could try some squash, that is similar to sweet potato. I can't imagine just eating sweet potato is good for any animal/human ...

[marisa]

Eating too much of anything, even if the food itself is healthy, isn't good and will lead to an unbalanced diet. If you mean regularly like a bit of sweet potato once a week, I think that would be OK. But it shouldn't become a staple or basis of the diet.

[feng]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I've read this thread and I've a question in mind.

Is it necessary for the sweet potatoes to be cook first? or I can actually cut them into strips, soak it in water before letting my terrapin consume them?

thanks.

[octpusgirl8]

You should lightly steam them or boil them before giving them to your turtle.

[feng]

Oh.. okie dokie. But he or maybe she still finishes it. hahah.

I will take note in future. Thanks