Feeding and Nutrition :: Getting my Little Guy to eat Veggies/Fruits

[KatieSmeltzer]

I found that Filbert loves green leaf lettuce and a hunk of tomato. But I've tried carrots, apples, grapes, and strawberries also. My biggest problem is... how to I prepare/serve it to him since he's only 1.5"???

I just throw the lettuce in there and he munches on it. When I fed him a tomato, I cut it down to a little bigger than his head. And he seemed to bite at it to eat it.

I tried the same with the strawberry, apple, and carrots, but he showed no interest. So with the carrots, I cut them down to the size of his pellets, to see if he would eat them if they were smaller. (And of course my boyfriend made fun of me for taking the time and effort to cut little itty bitty carrot sticks!) The grape I peeled and cut into quarters and offered him one.

Does it seem like he's not interested? Or should I try another approach in offering it to him?



Oh, and I'm going to try to catch some minnows and toss one in there... just to see what happens!

[TheComputerGremlin]

Let's see, lettuce, I recommend a shell-sized piece each day. Too much lettuce can cause runny poo.

Tomatoes, you want to remove the seeds, and cut it into slivers. However, tomatoes are a once or twice per month food, so don't give too often. Lettuce is the only veggie that can be given daily.

Strawberries, I just cut into slices. Apple and carrots, sometimes they like peels of them, so take a peeler and make thin strips. It makes it kind of resemble worms, I guess. Try peeled ones of those. Again, strawberries and apples are a once or twice per month food, and that's for all of them, so you can either feed tomatoes or strawberries or apples once or twice, not each of them once or twice. They are high in sugar, which is not good for the turtles. Carrots can be given about once per week, they are good for the eyes, but still higher in sugar.

There are other veggies options you can try. For instance, my turtle doesn't care for tomatoes or mangoes, but loves carrots, blueberries, strawberries, sweet potato, and apples.

As for minnows, if you know the water source well and it's safe for humans, it is probably okay, but it would be best to get the minnows from the pet store where they are captive-bred. If any pesticides are present in the minnows from the wild, they can do a lot of harm to the turtle. And remember that just because a human can eat something cooked doesn't mean a turtle can eat something raw.

[marisa]

At the size you say he is, he's more apt to not be interested in the veggies you're offering than want to eat them (but it's good to offer). I'd start with leafy greens and aquatic plants to get him going, and work from there on getting him to eat some of the other ones.

[theartbook35]

Remember too, Katie, that everything listed on the food lists in this forum, are what a turtle can eat, and they do not have to eat every single thing on that list. A regular diet should contain pellets, one of the vegetables listed, one of the proteins listed, and one of the fruits listed. The rest of the things there are for variety, in case your turtle(s) become bored with the same thing over and over again.