Feeding and Nutrition :: How to give veggies

[bigsmall]

Hi everyone! I'm new in this forum so I hope my question doesn't sound dumb or anything.

I've had my two turtles for years but never realized I had to give them veggies to eat. I've been reading a lot of resources lately and is considering giving them green and red leaf lettuce. However, how do I give it to them? Do I cut them into very small pieces? Do I have to cook them before I put them in the water? I really have no idea and none of the guides mention this.

Also, since they've never had veggies before, should I even give it to them? Or would it dramatically change their eating preferences?

Thanks!

[ljapa]

No need to cook it. Just wash the lettuce.

I just float mine, and my son's turtle tears it apart. Others get a veggie clip that clips it to the side of the tank, so it is easier to tear. Toby definitely prefers the red leaf to the green, but he gets both.

I was lucky that even as a young turtle, ours liked lettuce. There should be no problem in them eating lettuce now, but they may not realize it is food or may not think much of it compared to their existing diet. Others will have to chime in on recommendations on that.

What do they eat now, and how much?

[bigsmall]

If I don't have a veggie clip, can I rip them up into small pieces and drop them in the tank?

They eat Reptomin and occasionally some fruits. I'm not sure if it's because of the season changing, but they don't really eat during the winter. One of my turtles has been blinking his eyes for the past few days, like alternating blink, and I'm not sure if he's sick. His eyes aren't swollen or red but he just blinks. I did recently change him to a new habitat so that might be the case?

I'm hoping lettuce will give him Vitamin A, if something is wrong with his eyes.

[happycamper]

Do you have a heater in the tank? I love my veggie clip, super cheap solution too

[bigsmall]

How did you manage to give them lettuce? I bought them and dangled it in front of them and left some pieces in the tank but they aren't touching them at all.

[MEandYouPhoto]

The best way to give your turtle veggies is to disguise them like you would with a child.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17486

TURTLE JELLO SHOTS!

They work and give your little guy a lot of veggies on a regular basis and best part is they DEVOUR them!

[steve]

You can always drop it in, though the veggies clip works great when starting out. Also ease it into their diet, too much/too quickly might give them very loose stools. The jello shots also work great if you want to tweak the recipe.