Feeding and Nutrition :: Vitamins? Best brand?

[cprcheetah]

My Zeke has been acting weird...not eating, and when he comes up for air is really raspy, today I noticed he had swollen eyes a bit, so off he went to the vet....He has a Vitamin A deficiency. So was given a shot, and I am off to find some vitamins for Zeke. Anyone know the best brand?

[slidin_sliders]

green leafy vegetables
carrot
squash
cod liver oil
Tetra ReptoMin

those are all pretty good choices

[cprcheetah]

He's not eating super good right now, so the vet gave him a shot, and we are going to try and get him to eat. Usually he downs his greens and he hasn't hardly touched them for a day or two. So we gotta get him eating better...may try tuna juice a little later.

[CountryGirl68]

Check the container of turtle foods to see if they are enriched with vitamins. Nature Zone Turtle Vita Vega Min is a solution you can add to the food and contains calcium and vitamin A. (Reminds me of the I Love Lucy episode )

FYI - Animal Planet.com says "Vitamin A is present in high quantities in green leafy vegetables (especially dandelion greens), yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots and yellow squash, whole fish, and liver. Turtles fed iceberg lettuce, an all meat diet, or a poor quality commercial diet are prone to develop a vitamin A deficiency since these foods have very low levels of this vitamin ... Turtles with a vitamin A deficiency are often deficient in other nutrients as well, such as vitamin E and zinc, so these nutritional imbalances need to be corrected as well. Care must be taken to not oversupplement, since vitamin A toxicities can occur."

[marisa]

Someone else had a recent question about vitamins. Poly-Vi-Sol liquid vitamins for infants and children have been used and recommended for ill turtles needing vitamin supplementation by keepers on other sites. (You squirt some in a feeding container of water and the turtle will get some of the nourishment when he drinks it.) Others have used liquid vitamins for birds.

You could ask your vet what s/he would recommend. As noted above, foods like dandelions, pumpkin, squash, carrots, red bell peppers, cantelope all contain beta carotene, which your turtle can safely convert to Vit A safely without fear of getting too much. (Were you the person who I cautioned about having your turtles get too much Vit A from shots a few days ago? If so, please read/reread my response to your post.)

[cprcheetah]

No, I was not the one cautioned. My vet recommended either Reptile Vitamins or the Baby Vitamins. At this time since he's not eating good for the past few days, he didn't think he could get his Vitamins from his food, so that's why he got a shot. He is not going to repeat the shot unless Zeke doesn't start eating. He is now in his new, MUCH more water capacity tank, has about 26 gallons of water to swim in now. He is eating some Reptomin that my hubby soaked in Tuna juice. My hubby spent the day fixing up his filter and also making 'pontoons' for his Turtle dock as the one he has is a bit too small for his weight so now it floats better when he's on it! He's such a great guy. Even if he teases me about Zeke being 'dinner'...(which he truly is just joking and tormenting me to get a rise) he sure takes care of him. Zeke is 'testing' out EVERYTHING in his new tank. I am watching him with his plastic plants though....so I think Zeke will be a good candidate for water plants.