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hello!
ok, so im not normal like most people but im not hospital insane type deal or anything. i just want my turtle shell to be colorfull. like a clown. i want it's shell to be like the rainbow. full of vibrant colurs.
what are my options?
cant/shouldnt be done?
spray paint 'em?
add food color to their food? (like how they do to pink flemincos)
any suggestions?

I have read from a few different posts that carrots have a tendancey to add some brightness.

I could be wrong but I think it was janaero . . .that said they took their turtle to the vet and they said it was the brightest they had ever seen. Also I know spinach does that too. So you could try that and it is health!

Its not healthy to over feed them certain foods to change their color and it is certainly not healthy for them to be dyed or painted. IMO, they are what they are and you should accept them as that, if you want a colorful pet you should have bought a parrot. Its a turtle, not a clown, they should be loved as is.

tini wrote:Also I know spinach does that too. So you could try that and it is health!

You shouldn't feed your turtles spinach. Why?

"Oxalic acid blocks the absorption of calcium. These foods cause the turtle to become calcium deficient even if a good source of calcium is provided which can result in soft shell or MBD (metabolic bone disease) which is fatal. "

You should not paint or dye your turtle. You would be injuring your pet to suit your wants and that would be cruel. Either go buy a colorful pet that is made that way by nature or accept the turtle for what it is.

yep, that was me. They get carrots once a week or so and the vet said he'd never seen such bright plastrons on a res (they both have it). That wasn't my intent, it just happened.

jenaero wrote:yep, that was me. They get carrots once a week or so and the vet said he'd never seen such bright plastrons on a res (they both have it). That wasn't my intent, it just happened.

hopefully that will help! I guess I was wrong on the spinach, either way some of the veggies on the "sticky" list will ad some color too.

I think it's the veggies that produce beta carotene that help brighten the turtles colors..

Veggies that contain high amounts of beta carotene (carrots, pumpkin, squash, for example) can enhance the coloring of your turtle. It can cause changes in people too--a friend of mine's daughter really liked eating carrots when she was young. To the point where her palms turned an orangy color (which went away when she cut down on the carrots).

so how often should i feed them carrots? once a week? a month?
store bought? home grown?

I feed carrots weekly. They can be homegrown if you have them, but be sure there are not pesticides used on them that might harm your turtle. Also for variety if you have pumpkin or squash, you can substitute them for carrots sometimes. Turtles need variety in their diet so the will not get accustomed to eating just one type of food and become picky.

Thinly-sliced carrot peels/shavings are good to give. I try to make them long like worms so that they move with the water current and can easily be ripped apart.

cool. thanks.

If you're still dead set on doing this, make sure your turtle gets a balanced diet.

This is what happened to me. I don't recommand doing this. I bought a brand new bag of Blue gravel (when my turtle was too small to eat it), I thought is was washed all the way through. Nope!!!! over the next couple of days my trutle's shell turned blue!!! I took a toothbrush and got it all off and cleaned the tank. I don't recommand doing this, but she was colorful for a couple of days.

i like the color of the turtle thats on the homepage of this site. i'd be more than happy with that much color.