General Care Discussion :: My 6-inch still refuses veggies

[Boston_Zhao]

She is a meat eater, still refuses veggies. If I leave veggies only in the tank she'd rather starve and messes with the veggies, then the bits of torn veggie clog the filter intake. Now I basically only give her pellets and feeder fish, she seems to be very happy and eats like a pig, I think she is a little over weight, but very active and alert.....

[megcornell]

What vegetables have you tried? Some turtles are pretty picky, it may just be a matter of finding the veggies that your turtle likes.
It's important to have a balanced diet, and at 6 inches pellets should only be fed every other day so you'll need to start supplementing the diet with vegetables.
I say try a variety of vegetables and try some tough love. Especially if your turtle is a little pudgy, you can be sure she won't starve to death in a few days . Just make sure you're always offering fresh veggies.. no turtle wants to eat soggy lettuce that's been sitting in warm water all day.

[marisa]

Try to get the scent of something she likes on the veggies. I'd stick some red-leaf lettuce in some tuna water in the fridge overnight and see if she shows any interest in that.

[donchewliano]

We are having the same problem. We've tried Collards, Kale, Anacris and Mustard Greens. Hurley wont eat them. The person we adopted him from didn't feed him greens (and he is 3) just pellets. Tomorrow we are going to try Dandelion Greens. If it doesn't work, I'll try the soaking in Tuna Water and see if that works out.

He also has no interest in the Cuttlebone.

[grey goose]

Gomie can be very fussy and stubborn when it comes to veggies. Beaker eats anything in the tank. When they are raised on only pellets, they may not recognize veggies as food. Be patient and keep trying. Adult turtles will start to gravitate to a vegetable diet as they get older.
When I first got them I gave them cuttlebone in small pieces and they wouldn't touch it. So I clipped a large piece of it on the side of the tank and they became fascinated with it and kept gnawing at it until it was all gone.

[donchewliano]

Gomie can be very fussy and stubborn when it comes to veggies. Beaker eats anything in the tank. When they are raised on only pellets, they may not recognize veggies as food. Be patient and keep trying. Adult turtles will start to gravitate to a vegetable diet as they get older.
When I first got them I gave them cuttlebone in small pieces and they wouldn't touch it. So I clipped a large piece of it on the side of the tank and they became fascinated with it and kept gnawing at it until it was all gone.

Man, just yesterday I cut up the cuttlebone into small pieces. Is there an easy to remove the backing without destroying the edible parts?

[megcornell]

I use a butter knife to peel the backing off. You inevitably lose some of the good cuttlebone, but it's the best way to peel it.

Also, on the veggies try an aquatic plant like anacharis... most turtles have a sweet spot for it.

[donchewliano]

I use a butter knife to peel the backing off. You inevitably lose some of the good cuttlebone, but it's the best way to peel it.

Also, on the veggies try an aquatic plant like anacharis... most turtles have a sweet spot for it.

He didn't like the anachris. he would spit it out.
I used a steak knife and sawed away the backing. I was hoping maybe someone had some neat trick that made it easier.

[2babyres]

go to petsmart and buy turtlebone, I think zoomed makes it same stuff without the backing. Comes 2 in a box.

[Boston_Zhao]

I am not gonna make a list here, but I tried almost anything green from grocery....
She gets mad at me for not giving her fish flavor and tears up the veggies and the bits of veggie clog the filter, very annoying!

[megcornell]

Even some carrots in tuna juice?

I still say she's a good candidate for offering only veggies to. Don't offer a ton of them so when she shreds them the first few days there won't be as much of a mess, but only offer veggies. She'll realize that it's food and eat it sooner or later.

[evlock]

Man, just yesterday I cut up the cuttlebone into small pieces. Is there an easy to remove the backing without destroying the edible parts?

I found, that by soaking it in some water for a while, it peels off more easily. Then just let it dry out again for feeding.

[SpotsMama]

Spot would eat fresh basil - with some enthusiasm - long before he'd touch anything else. He's five years old now and it's only this last year that he has eaten his veggies with real enthusiasm.

Other huge favorites are steamed sweet potato and red grapes.

[Boston_Zhao]

Yes, including carrots....but didn't use tuna juice.
Won't tuna juice spoil the water?

[megcornell]

I'd let the carrots soak in the tuna juice for a little while and then pat some of the juice off. Turtles have amazing senses of smell so your turtle will still notice the tuna smell. I don't think there will (or should be) enough juice on the carrots to spoil the water.