Feeding and Nutrition :: My turtles like veggies

[cleopold]

For the first time I fed my babies veggies. I put red leaf and romaine in the tank. My more aggressive turtle, Spazz immediately went for the red leaf lettuce with almost as much gusto as she goes for pellets. Honu is a little more reserved, but soon was munching on the red leaf lettuce as well. They both ignored the romaine.

I am wondering. They obviously like the red leaf lettuce, so I continue to feed them that. Should I bother trying to feed them romaine? Or maybe they will develop a taste for it. I guess I should experiement with a variety of veggies so they have a balanced diet.

Also, can I overfeed a baby turt on lettuce and other veggies? How much is too much?

Btw they were really cute when eating the lettuce. Spazz held a piece in her claw, chomped away, and then discarded the remains.

[Tenodera]

I think I heard somewhere that red-leaf is healthier than romaine....

I'm not sure if you CAN overfeed them on lettuce, they usually stop eating when the skin between their head and front legs bulges out...lol

I usually give my Serra a piece of lettuce the size of her shell

[megcornell]

Too many greens really aren't harmful but can cause diarrhea which makes an unpleasant mess in the tank. I feed my turtle quite a bit of veggies and haven't experienced it so I'm not sure how much is too much.
Not all turtles like all veggies, so if you can't get yours to eat Romaine, just try a few more types so they still have a range of veggies to eat.

[reptilegrrl]

I've never heard of greens causing a turtle diarrhea. Wild turtles eat almost nothing but greens.

Skip the Romaine and use green leaf or red leaf lettuce. Romaine is much higher in phosphorus than green or red leaf. Phosphorus will remove calcium from their bodies.

[marisa]

Yes, experimenting with a variety of veggies that are healthy for them is good. Try also dandelion greens---very nutritious for your turtles. If your turtles' diet is balanced and healthy, an occasional piece of romaine won't hurt.

[reptilegrrl]

Oh my turtles love dandelion greens. They are just fantastic nutrition as well. Around here you can only buy them at specialty stores, though. I think in small towns they might not be available.