I've never met a basking turtle species that didn't like to nibble on water lettuce. Of course it might be hard to get a hold of it this time of year. I always buy some for my turtles during the spring and summer time at the local garden center.
RES Question
- Thread starter snappyguy
- Start date
Slightly off-topic, but you mentioned she likes crickets. You should be careful not to feed too many insects as they tend to have a bad (high) phosphorus to calcium ratio. Unless, of course, your RES will happily chow down cuttlebone, like my eastern painted will, in which case she's probably taking care of her own calcium needs.
I hadn't heard about the P/Ca ratio in crickets. Gerty sure loves her cuttle bones, but I'll make sure not to feed too many crickets. They get expensive anyway and I'd love to not feed many.
I'm not trying to put you off crickets---my understanding is that they are otherwise fairly nutritious, especially if gut-loaded. If your RES eats cuttlebone, she's probably getting plenty of calcium.
Speaking of cuttlebone, do you know of any source that sells them without the backing? It's a royal pain to chip off.
I've never found them without the back. Is it ok to use cuttle bones for birds, or are they treated with something not good for turtles? I use ZooMed turtle bones but it seems like they're marked up more because it's a "specialty" product.
My understanding is that they are exactly the same. Everything I've read says cuttlebone is cuttlebone and you shouldn't pay extra for a package that has a turtle on it.
You're welcome! I'm a novice turtle-keeper myself, but I am somewhat obsessive about researching things. I know facts and theories, but have very little personal experience to back it up, so please take all of it with a grain of salt.
My Eastern Painted came into my life as a quarter-sized hatching last March. I wasn't looking for a turtle, but I'm really glad I found one! They're so much more interesting and interactive than I previously thought. You can see my pride & joy here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179685
My Eastern Painted came into my life as a quarter-sized hatching last March. I wasn't looking for a turtle, but I'm really glad I found one! They're so much more interesting and interactive than I previously thought. You can see my pride & joy here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179685
