Other Turtle Discussion :: out of tank feeding

[DonnaG]

I have a RES who is about a year old. He/she appeared on my patio in late April last year and was about the size of a silver dollar, so I'm figuring he/she wasn't very old at that time. I'd never had a turtle and certainly didn't know anything about them, but I took him in. It's been long enough now that I figure he's definitely gonna live and I've gotten attached. To a TURTLE!!!

Now that we're older and eating all our veggies, we are making a huge mess. I have to totally clean the tank weekly. After reading posts on this site I am sure I need to upgrade his tank. He's in a 20-gal with a small-ish filter and one algae-eater. I did do a good job with the lighting and basking area, though. So glad I found this awesome site!!

Anyway, I KNOW this has been asked and answered somewhere here but I can't find it, sorry.
Q: Can I feed him out of his tank to help avoid all the messiness? If yes, how do you go about that - put him in smaller container and put his food in front of him once a day?

Yeah, I know - but at least I didn't ask about putting four 9-inch turtles in one 5-gallon tank...

Thanks
--d

[steve]

Yes, you can feed him in a separate container. Veggies might make a mess but they usually don't foul up the water. Pellets and treats would make more of a mess. It's possible your filtration can't handle the waste load of your turtle.

[penelope]

Feeding out of the of the tank offers time to bond as well
I am 100% proponent!
I give Penelope greens to munch on in her tank and then use a fish net to scoop what she doesn't eat.
I usually know she has had her fill when the leaves start clinging to the filter intake
If I don't scoop out the excess, I typically find it clogged in the filter.