Feeding and Nutrition :: Veggie blend Mish-Mash

[CApears4u2]

I wanted to post what I'm just starting to try to feed my young RES (8-10 months) for anyone to comment on or whatever.

Even though he/she is used to eating the turtle sticks, my RES has not taken a liking to veggies so I remembered an earlier suggestion to add tuna juice to make it more 'palatable'.

So today, I went a bit further and grated different veggies together i.e. red pepper, carrot, zucchini, then added some tuna juice, THEN added some powdered cuttlebone. It's still a pretty wet mix so I put it on his basking rock that is partially in the water so the powder and stuff stays with the food but does not float away.

He's TOTALLY shy and I have not seen him eat but I will know if it disappears from the rock. I made extra and am thinking about letting the mixture dry some so I can add it to the water. But if he likes eating off the 'rock', then maybe he'll get used to that. I think the veggies should stay fresh anyway.

We'll see!

YY

[x3shift]

oh thats exactly like my turtles! they wont eat any veggie like object. does your mashy concoction work?

[steve]

Try some aquatic plants... if he doesn't eat them, then they won't go to waste.

[CApears4u2]

The aquatic plants are a great idea. But if he loves them, won't that "spoil" him for veggies? I guess if he doesn't like veggies to begin with, it doesn't matter.

Yea so far my mish-mash seems to work. Later I check the area where I put his food and see that most of it is gone. I also vary the vegetables. I add his turtle sticks and since they need a bit more protein, I've even added some canned cricket (Have to chop'em, yuk) at times but not too often. Or I'll put in Zoo-med's freeze-dried krill or shrimp.

But the main ingredient is veggies which I grate with a small-hole cheese grater since my turt is only about 1.5".

[steve]

It's hard to judge their appetites. Some are very aggressive while others are passive. If he's taking the mish-mash, I think that it is a very good start.