Feeding and Nutrition :: Feed 'em in or out of water?

[combatbaby]

So I'm a little confused with something on the site...it says it's cleaner/better to feed your turtle in a separate container, but that they can't swallow out of water and need to take their food underwater. So...a) how is it cleaner if they're just taking food in the water? And b) how would a setup like this work? There would have to be something above the tank...if you could link be to examples in a picture and what supplies you used I'd be very appreciative!

[Daniel3507]

they have to be fed in water. the site means just a seperate container with water. it can be cleaner because food chunks dont end up in the tank. most people i think just use any thing that has enough room for them to swim in a little. doesnt need to be fancy.

[megcornell]

The separate feeding container needs water in it to allow the RES to eat.
The benefit is that the mess from food scraps and from poop (they usually poop shortly after eating) is contained in a separate tank or bin where it isn't adding to the waste and decreasing the water quality of the main tank.
In a proper sized tank with good filtration a separate feeding container isn't needed. But, in a smaller tank, it can really benefit the turtle in terms of keeping the tank cleaner. It also keeps the tank maintenance that you have to do down.

[combatbaby]

Ah, okay...would a decently-sized tupperware container with some water be alright? ^_^;

Also, somewhat OT but if you feed an RES a mixture of pellets, greens, fish/worms etc., do you feed them, say, a few pellets AND some lettuce in one day, or alternate? i.e. pellets one day, worms the next, etc. Sorry if that sounds stupid.

[steve]

It's probably best to feed any messy food at once (pellets, worms, etc). If you have a hatchling or a new turtle, you might want to skip it for now so there is less handling, and less stress.

[Fuzzy Hamster]

There are probably as many different combinations of food that you can feed your RES as there are RESs in the world.

Have a look here for feeding lists from others on this site; http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11684

FYI, it is a sticky in the Feeding and Nutrition section of the forum.