Feeding and Nutrition :: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

Turtle diets and eating habits discussed here.

Post Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:14 pm   Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

His normal diet is pellets and raw chicken but for the 2 years I've had him after I adopted him from his previous owners he doesn't like any veggies. I'll see him take a bite out of them here and there but never like when I drop in pellets. Same with my other red eared slider. I Offer carrots, romaine lettuce and kale. I've heared to just offer them nothing but lettuce for a few weeks until they start eating. Yes or no? Thank you!
samoose
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:39 pm   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

I say No! Its ok if your turtles are fed only pellets and they refuse veggies. In the wild they might eat plants but I figure they eat more proteins
They will eat an easy meal of dead fish vs leaves out of the water. Just my opinion. I watch a lot of turtles in the wild. And have never seen one come out of the water to eat greens. But who really knows?
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Kansasslider
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:54 pm   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

And never seen them eat fruit. Its just not available!
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Kansasslider
 
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Location: Manhattan,Kansas.
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:14 pm   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

No raw chicken or meats please. His staple should be a good pellet brand or two. Try some aquatic plants. They can live in the tank and help clean the water if your turtle shows no interest in them. Also try a veggie clip.. they work much better than people expect. Lower the pellet amount and see if there is eventual interest.
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 12:56 pm   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

My vet specially recommended that I feed him more meats and less pellets. And also i don't know if this is anything I can fix but ever since I've owned my RES both of them have almost completely lost the colour of their ears. One of them have forever just been a really brownish red. And the other has gone from me adopting him with bright red ears to them turning black. Tank is 90 gallon each. Uva I've bulbs. Pellets dusted with calcium raw chicken. Water temp 77
samoose
 
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Post Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 11:34 am   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

It's OK to disagree with vets (respectfully). Skin turning grayer on males is commonly called melanism.
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steve
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Post Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:52 pm   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

Is there anyway to cure it.
samoose
 
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Post Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:34 pm   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

As far as I know, it's an irreversible sign of aging. It's not harmful, just natural.

If you really want to get some vegetable matter into them, you can always "start slow" with veggie pellets like algae wafers or Hikari Cichlid Excel.
Jeremiah
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:14 am   Re: Turtle won't eat Fruits or Vegitables

Ok thanks
samoose
 
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