Feeding and Nutrition :: My RES wont eat vegetables

[KristiRES]

I am very worried because my RES will not eat vegetables
I try give it but he rejects it

plz plz help me

[steve]

How are you offering and what kind?

[KristiRES]

I tried feeding him lettuce today. He just rejects it and moves his head away. I tried to push him to eat the lettuce by approaching the lettuce closer to his mouthe but he still rejects it. My older brother has fish, he is crazy about them and told me to stop feeding krill for a while and feed only lettuce until the turtle realises it's food, that has always helped with his fish that reject the food, do you think it will work?

[steve]

Try using a veggie clip (fish section in a pet store). It's just a suction cup with plastic clip to hold the lettuce in place. You can also try some freshwater aquatic plants.

[Love of Animals]

What your brother said to do is what I call Tough Love. If they are healthy, you can skip the pellets and other food and just leave greens in their tank. Try this for a few days. After a few days give a couple of pellets then try again. You can try different greens. I use red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romain, dandelion leaves ( I pick from my own yard) and anacharis ( a pond plant ) You can usually get that at your local pet store that sells fish. Many people say their turtles go for the red leaf lettuce, mine included. I also don't think there is a turtle that can resist anacharis. How big are your turtles? Don't do Tough Love with a hatchling.

[Matryoshka]

I also tried offering them vegetables. They have learnt that green stuff = good. I usually take a bunch of tuna spread (nothing added) and spread it all around the piece of vegetable that it creates a thin layer. Once they start picking at the tuna they should be snapping at it , hopefully they eat some of the vegetable too. Dont put too much at one end - if your turtle is extremely smart it may just pick off the tuna that accumulates at one point and leave the vegetable alone.
One method I used previously was allow them to bite off the bottom part of a guppy, and once it was dead I would use a toothpick to spoon out the organs / whatever else was in there, then I would stuff it with vegetables and offer it to them again. Usually they just eat it and don't know there was vegetables in it.
Or you can just use a toothpick , roll up the piece of vegetable and pierce the toothpick through and wave it around to his face - it won't work if your turtle has tried vegetables before or is uninterested.

[KristiRES]

marti a try to do this thing whith krill but satycorn eat only the krill not the lettuce

[lashark11]

When I first got my turtles I was feeding them pellets everyday

When I switched to lettuce, they wouldn't go for it, I sprinkled krill on it and they went for it, until the krill was gone. Finally I just threw the lettuce in and figured they would eventually get hungry and their instincts would kick in and eat it and see how satisfying it will be for them. When you're hungry, you'd be surprised how "pickiness" pretty much just flies out the window..

I threw 2 huge pieces in their tank and walked away, by the end of the day, it was gone. Ever since they are really good about eating lettuce.

I think the way I introduced it really helped though just don't make it a habit of the lettuce having to be sprinkled with krill, it's a very high protien.

[PridgNYC]

I give mine 3-4 large leaves in a clip every day, and it is usually gone within 24 hours

[KristiRES]

I try to do it but she rejects it

[steve]

So she is eating, but only krill?

[KristiRES]

no she is not eating anything

[steve]

Have you tried anything from here: http://redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

[KristiRES]

yes the egg
but she give it a bite and se moves away

[steve]

How about the live fish?