Feeding and Nutrition :: Veggie / Greens question... regarding hatchlings.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so I read over the stuff here and know what sort of greens you can give like dendelion leaves etc. Well are there any greens that you shouldnt give a hatchling that are ok for adults. I wana try and go out tomorrow and pick up a few greens for my lil one but dont waan get something thats more suited for an adult.

[untsmurf]

I don't think there's anything that is only for adults. You'll just have to make sure they can fit it in their mouth (for carrots and veggies and stuff).

[MoreBloodWine]

Kool, from personal experience though what would you say would be the best green for a hatchling ?

[untsmurf]

Anacharis and red leaf lettuce is the most popular among turtles. Mikey took to carrots really easily. He always loved anacharis though.

[MoreBloodWine]

I'd rather not mess with Anacharis in a 10g tank so I guess I can go with red leaf lettuce and maybe baby carrots chopped up small. So would you say twice a week for veggies in addition to regular food is good or should I just do once a week with veggies ?

[untsmurf]

I think twice a week would be fine if you can get him to eat it. Why don't you want anacharis in a ten gallon?

[MoreBloodWine]

It's not that I wouldnt / dont really want it in a 10g tank I just wouldnt want it tanking up to much room. But I suppose one or two stacks of it would be ok. That aside, say I did go with anachais... thats like feeding it "veggies" all week since it would be in the tank for him/her to eat it when he/she feels like it.

[untsmurf]

Yeah, you can get one bunch. Each bunch has 4-6 strands in it. You can either toss all of them in there or you can put them in one by one and put the rest in some water on the side.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well thats what I was sayin, sort of, like if I toss say a bunch in there he/she would be able to eat the anacharis "veggies" whenever he/she wanted which defeats the purpose of doing it in moderation... ie. twice a week.

[untsmurf]

well, i don't think there are any bad side effects from eating one bunch of anacharis.

[MoreBloodWine]

But my concern assumes it gets replaced everytime its "gone". Thats why I made the initial comment about leaving it in there and maybe just doin the red lettuce thing.

[untsmurf]

well that's a control issue on your part. You don't have to provide more as soon as he eats it if you don't want to. You can wait a week or a few days. But, whatever is easiest for you is what you should do.

[MoreBloodWine]

But even then one bunch is like one a TON of shel size pieces of lettuce for him/her to eat whenever. Thats another thing hehe.

[untsmurf]

Well like I said, you can buy smaller bunches. I've seen bunches with only two or three strands in them. I don't believe that would be too much for your little guy to eat. I also don't think he would eat it all in one day. If you see him tearing it apart and powering through it you can take it out if you want. But anacharis isn't harmful in those amounts.

[spaceapple]

I was under the impression leafy greens could be fed pretty much anytime without any ill consequences. Was I mistaken?