Feeding and Nutrition :: Hmm, questions about veggies and pellets.

[Gosu]

Hi, I have two RES, once I feed them pellets, they enjoy them , but the little one eats half more than the other RES.

The bigger RES likes to eats Green Leaf Lettuce. The smaller RES and the bigger one loves to eat the organic mini carrots.

I want to know how many pellets I really should feed , and should I feed more veggies to them or pellets more.

Also, I'm curious if any of you guys have some ideas to make both of them eat lettuce more, because on the site, it says, carrots aren't that good for them? Hmm?

Thanks, I'm still not so good turtle owner, but I'm always researching.

[marisa]

Where on the site does it say carrots are not good for them???? If you give too much of anything or give it too often, it's not good for them. And to me, carrots have more nutrition than lettuce. They contain beta carotene, which is good; and although some will warn you about the high sugar content, a few carrot peels weekly as part of the overall diet is not a problem.

How big/old are your RES? If they're over a year, you can feed them pellets on alternate days, plant matter can be offered daily. As for number of pellets, it will depend on their size. If you've done any research at all (like reading some of the info on the site), you'll know that the standard guide is to give each an amount that would fit into the size of the head (don't include the neck).

[TheComputerGremlin]

Read, read, read! Read everything on the main site (www.redearslider.com) and the forum stickies. They are so useful in giving you all of the key information you need.

As for what marisa said, carrots are high in sugar, but I give like carrot peels once or twice a week, not a ton of them, just a few peels. That way, I feel there is a constant influx of the good vitamins/minerals without sugar overload. I wouldn't recommend giving a whole mini carrot as my turtle at least seems to struggle eating anything but peels, and a whole mini carrot is really way too much at once.

The smaller one will start to like lettuce the older it gets. You can also try varying the lettuces to see if maybe there is another one it likes more. If you can get different varieties, try green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, and dandelion greens. I find that my turtle prefers the darker leaves as opposed to like the hearts of the plants.