Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I've been feeding my turtle Reptomin for the past 5 months and when I got him, he was already 1.5 inches. Now he's reaching 2 inches and there's a slit in his shell near his tail. I feed him around 5 foodsticks once a day and I think he's showing signs of protein overdose.

I'm thinking of switching to greens, is that a good idea? When I tried feeding him greens once, he refused to eat them! So I switched back to Reptomin. Do u think I should persistently only put greens in his tank so he has no choice but to eat them when he's starved?

Are carrots and tomatoes a good combination of a healthier diet? I'm thinking of these 2 cos it's easier to just slice and dice them. And for confirmation, I feed them raw...right?

Thanx so much!

Greens should be offered everyday, whether he eats them or not. If you cut back to feeding reptomin every other day he will munch on the greens when he is hungry. Tomatoes and carrots are not the best thing for them, although just about anything can be offered from time to time. I like mustard, dandelion and collard greens, and sometimes romaine lettuce.
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Hey thanx so much for replying!

Anyway I'm wondering, we are suppose to feed the amount of food equivalent to the size of his head right? Then does all the occasional munching of aquatic plants count?

Not really, they can't eat too many greens. The amount the size of their head refers to protein.
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Oh.. I see! Hey, thanx man that was really helpful.
Unfortunately my turtle doesn't like those aquatic plants very much. He plucks them off, decides they aren't very tasty, and spits them out. Sigh. I guess he became picky after survival solely on Reptomin.

If you cut the Reptomin back to every other day and just leave some Romaine lettuce (whole leaf) floating in the tank he will eat it eventually. My RES hatchlings eat it like crazy.

Oh...ok! Thanx!

5 foodsticks every 2 days is not too much right? I'm really worried about over feeding him.