Feeding and Nutrition :: He wont eat his veggies

[irisheyes24]

I have been trying to get Shelly to eat veggies for a while now....with not much luck.

He loves his pellets and eats those like crazy but I want to make sure he has a good diet. I've had him for 1 year without problems but I know veggies would be good for him.

He has had lettuce in his tank for a few days now and I don't think he has even nibbled at it. Same with a bit of carrot I put in there earlier. No luck.


Any suggestion on how to get him to eat his veggies!

[TheComputerGremlin]

I usually feed my veggies to Mikey before his dinner pellets (he's still little, so he gets pellets every day), but he usually gets hungry about then, so he eats all of his veggies, minus the carrots, he nibbles on those throughout the evening. The best advice most people will give you is to stop feeding them pellets until they eat the veggies out of desperation. You could also try different lettuces, I originally was trying to give Mikey romaine hearts, but he never ate them, but when I gave him the outer, darker leaves (the ones that my cat loves to eat, actually), he dove right in. You can try red leaf or green leaf lettuce too, Mikey likes that also.

[erinemcgreevy]

Definitely get the old lettuce out! My turtle isn't crazy about day old veggies so every day I scoop out the old and give him new lettuce. Don't give up on him try some steamed/baked sweet potato or even a blueberry, Murphy LOVES his berries. Be patient he will eat his veggies eventually.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Have you tried putting in some pond plants like anacharis? Turtles LOVE this for some reason.

[Tenodera]

How big/old is she? If she's not a tiny hatchling, you can try the "tough love" method with her.

Don't feed her pellets for several days and she may get hungry enough to bite the veggies and realize them as a food source.

Don't worry about starving your turtle. They are reptiles and don't need a constant energy source to keep them warm and going. Turtles can go for weeks and weeks without eating.

But remember not to go overboard with the "tough love" method, turtles have a limit, too!

[gameragirl]

I've heard you can try coating the lettuce with a little tuna oil (from a can of tuna) and that might spark the turt to try the lettuce, then after awhile don't coat it anymore.

[mikee]

Irish-24-- They will eat if you hold off the other food. They will get hungry if you wait them out. He will change his mind in a few days.

[irisheyes24]

Thanks for all the responses.

In response to industrial_girl_2000, I have no tried that. I actually tried to find a place that sold that for him...but I can't seem to find a store in my area that has it yet. I will keep a look out.

In response to Tenodera, I have no idea how old he is (i got him when he was a bit older) but he is 5 inches big. So no, he isn't a baby and I'm trying the tough love thing.

I'll keep you updated.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I think you can get anacharis online. Here's a link to a recent topic I remember reading: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13614&highlight=anacharis