Feeding and Nutrition :: I will NOT eat my veggies!

[AllisonChains]

So, as stated in my initial post, we recently acquired Johnny, who is about a year old and 4" (if that helps). I'm not sure if he was ever offered veggies a the pet store, but we tried last night.

He looked at me like my kid did when I tried to get her to eat her veggies.

I offered him some romaine and carrots. He nudged them a bit, but was completely uninterested.

I know that I saw somewhere on here some tips to entice him to eat them, but for the life of me, I can't find it. I did remember one thing saying to put a little tuna fish juice on the food, but that didn't help... and is tuna fish good for them? I didn't give him any, but there was one piece of carrot that had a little on it and he devoured it as it fell off of the carrot.

I am going to start feeding him in the tub and I thought that maybe once he gets accustomed to that being the 'feeding area' he might be more interested, but last night was the first night we took him out of his tank to feed him.

[VanishingReality]

Don't just put the juice on them, let them sit for 12 hours then feed them.

Crush LOVES sweet potato, but it is a once a week veggie.

Just keep trying and eventually he will take to it, it took Crush almost three months but he munches on them now.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Try out the really dark leafy greens, like green leaf lettuce or dandelion greens. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding what he likes.

[SpotsMama]

Most young turtles are not as interested in veggies as the grown ones, but they will eat some things. My turtle would eat fresh basil long before he'd eat anything else. Also, most turtles, even young ones. like anacharis (an aquatic plant).

[imderanged]

My turtle likes his food held down for him (like with my hand or in a veggie clip when I get tired of standing there) So that it doesn't just float away from him when he bites at it. He eats it kind of like an alligator...he bite and rolls or pushes with his front feet. Sometimes I have to wiggle the food at first so he can "hunt" it.

[AllisonChains]

I soaked veggies this time and last night he ate some lettuce - not a lot, but some! He still just looks at me funny about the carrots or radishes and it seemed he did like it when I held it for him. Spoiled already!

He LOVES his cuttle bone, too.

Also, I read before that some of you offer tuna fish? I usually get the tuna in the pouch as it is chunkier and less messy.. is that OK for him to have and how often for that?

[TheComputerGremlin]

As long as it's packed in water and unseasoned, you can give it to them about once a month as a treat. I usually give a head sized piece. I try to hand it to him because otherwise it just falls to the bottom and sometimes he doesn't find it for awhile.

[stray_647]

It took my turtles 6 months before they would touch any plants. I think a lot of people here have had luck early on with anacharis. You could also try red leaf lettuce, my turtles love it especially the dark red part.