Feeding and Nutrition :: Dandelion Leaves

[Akikta]

Ok, so the site says I can feed my turtles dandelion leaves, I was wondering if I could just go outside, pick some dandelion leaves/grow some dandelions and wash them then feed them to my turtles. Or if Dandelion leaves aren't the same ones that I'm thinking of. I've run into situations where on plant has the same name as another.

[steve]

Yes, those are the ones. Just make sure it's from a clean source and thoroughly washed.

[Akikta]

I will, and yes, they'll be from a clean source.

[Into_the_Mystic]

I gave some to mine yesterday and he gobbled up the flower pretty quick.. Pretty much left the rest just floating around. He hasn't touched his lettuce in a month or so, so I was happy to see him eating something besides his pellets. I just picked them from my patio, that is in need of some springtime weeding

[devilduck]

I grow them in the summer in pots. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts.

[Kansasslider]

Hell Devil Duck you are nuts. They grow wild in my yard. And they really like red leaf and carrots. not dandion lions .sorry phone! Good enough.

[tjurhs]

my RES absolutely LOVES dandelion leaves. I pick the soft ones for him, not the hard more mature leaves, and defiently not the spiky ones. MAKE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the leaves you are choosing have NOT been sprayed with chmicals, so the Duck's method of growing them in a pot is a great idea.

I pick a bunch of leaves from perferably different dandelion plants, and then "clump" them together with a small rubberband at the base. I also include in the "clumping" a two inch bolt (that has been thourghly cleaned). the bolt holds the leaves at the bottom of the tank. btw, I use the rubber-band bolt clumping technic on all the plant life that I feed him.

[Kansasslider]

I must just have strange turtles.PS. Sorry about the cursing that was supposed to say heck! I don't spray them because it would take hours

[penelope]

Ummm - I actually go to the store and buy them $2 for a large bunch.Then I get them year round

Yeah they love the flowers, but in turtle diet word, the dandelion flower actually counts as a fruit (go figure).

I am a huge dandelion advocate - It is a great calcium source. ounce for ounce, carrots have 3mg Calcium, Loose Leaf Lettuce has 4.75mg Calcium, and Dandelions have 67 mg Calcium.

Penelope used to hate them. Then I made a game of it - and now that is the staple of her diet, which is why I am lame and just go to the grocery store.

[Kansasslider]

:roll:
Ummm - I actually go to the store and buy them $2 for a large bunch.Then I get them year round

Yeah they love the flowers, but in turtle diet word, the dandelion flower actually counts as a fruit (go figure).

I am a huge dandelion advocate - It is a great calcium source. ounce for ounce, carrots have 3mg Calcium, Loose Leaf Lettuce has 4.75mg Calcium, and Dandelions have 67 mg Calcium.

Penelope used to hate them. Then I made a game of it - and now that is the staple of her diet, which is why I am lame and just go to the grocery store.

The calcium facts are good to know. I will try to feed them again. Thanks for the good info.

[Into_the_Mystic]

Texas doesn't sell dandelion weeds.. lol!.. you just walk 5 feet in any direction and pick them

[tjurhs]

fed my RES dandelions for diner tonight, but forgot to give her the fruit

[Kansasslider]

Tried them again. I guess my res doesn't care for them.

[steve]

I think the later they are picked, the harder and bitter they become.

[tjurhs]

I think the later they are picked, the harder and bitter they become.

that's very true. I look for young ones, before the leaves get "heavy" and definitely not when they have the tiny spikes