Feeding and Nutrition :: Method of Feeding

[hdaisog]

I am working on creating a "hood" for my tank similar to one that was posted in the forum awhile ago. The hood creates a seperate dry living space above the tank with a basking area and a large dry area. I am wondering if anyone has ever tried feeding their turtle while they aren't in the water. Right now my turtles eat food that floats, but to help keep the water clean I would like to put the food in each of their living spaces. Do you think they will eat food that isn't floating? If so, should I put the food in a shallow plate or the floor of the hood?

[BullDog]

RES need water to swallow food, since they don't produce saliva. I think Grey Goose had a container filled with water set up in his above tank area and put food in it. Some owners have a separate feeding tank that they put their turts into at feeding time, and leave them in about 15 mins so they can do their business, so that's another option for keeping the tank clean.
However, if you have a good filter (rated at least 3x your tank size), then I find there's rarely any leftover food bits floating around.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I remember reading somewhere that if you put the food on "land", the turtle will just drag it into the water to eat it anyways. I agree, if you have a good filter, you don't see any bits floating around.

[FLhaven4strays]

I remember reading somewhere that if you put the food on "land", the turtle will just drag it into the water to eat it anyways.

That's correct. All of mine do that when I leave out treats or pellets to entice them - look just like a dog w/ a bone carrying it back to the water. Then they go back looking for more...

[mikee]

I feed my turtles by hand and I can entice them out of the water on to the basking area with the food. They will take it out of my hand but jump back into the water to swallow.