Feeding and Nutrition :: Too much food?

[cfrenia]

I'm not sure if I'm feeding my turtle too much...he is 3 and a half inches big...I feed him 8 pellets in the morning (HBH food...a mix of red & green pellets) If he begs alot more, I'll give him 2 reptomin baby sticks.
I also give him a piece of red leaf lettuce about the size of his body at night.
Occasionally I give him a turtle treat.
I know the whole "how much can fit in his head thing", 8 seems okay but I don't know. He begs like crazy, I feel like he's starving!
Any advice would be appreciated.

[erinemcgreevy]

He's not starving! He just figured out how to get what he wants from you. Try feeding him half his food in the morning and half later in the day. When my guy begs I give him something healthy like a piece of lettuce. Murphy would eat all day long if he could; he's my little piggy.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Turtles are natural beggars. They will literally eat till they throw up and then eat some more (they don't know when to stop).

If it makes you feel better, you can divide his daily food portion up into, say 5 portions, and whenever you walk by the tank, give him one of the portions so he gets fed throughout the day rather than all at once.

The other thing you can do is to put some green-leaf or romaine lettuce (or collard leaf) in the tank. Let him fill up on salad. Or there are pond plants like anacharis that the babies love to play in & munch on. The plants are very healthy for turtles & provide nutrients without piling on the carbs.

[cfrenia]

Thanks for the replies!

Before anyone replied I started splitting up his food. He gets 4 pellets in the morning, 3 in the afternoon and a piece of red leaf lettuce in late afternoon. I give him 1 treat every other day or so.