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Post by ewanmcn on Feb 12, 2011 1:58:53 GMT
I was reading online that slider turtles like eating water lettuce, water hyacinth, pond weed, and duckweed. Are these weeds native in the UK as well as America and can I go to my nearest pond and scoop some out to feed my turtles?
Also, I got some water lettuce on ebay...does anyone know how to cultivate it properly?
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Post by wayne020668 on Feb 12, 2011 10:29:41 GMT
HI YES THESE PLANTS ARE NATIVE TO THE U.K AND IN THE WILD PONDS AND FRESH WATER STREAMS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.... YOU CAN ALSO GROW A VAST SELECTION OF WATER LETTUCE ALTHOUGH YOU WOULD NEED TO READ UP ON WHICH TYPE YOU WOULD LIKE TO GROW AT HOME... AS MANY HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS BUT THE SIMPLE ONES CAN BE GROWN IN A TROPICAL TANK IF YOU HAVE ONE SPARE... THE WEEDS CAN BE COLLECTED FROM A GOOD SOURCE I.E GOOD CLEAN PONDS AND STREAMS BUT YOU WILL NEED TO WASH THESE THROUGHLY TO ENSURE YOU GET ALL THE SNAILS / LEECHES ETC OUT OF IT.. WE USE THIS FOOD SOURCE IN THE SUMMER HERE OFTEN IN THE SUMMER AND ALWAYS SOAK IT IN A WEAK SOLUTION OF METHYLENE BLUE TO HELP GET RID OF ANY BAD BACTERIA THAT MIGHT BE LURKING IN THE WEED...
REGARDS WAYNE...
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Post by turtlegirl on Feb 12, 2011 14:42:30 GMT
If you can get to Bermondsey I can give you some free duckweed to start you off. Very easy to grow,I just keep it outside in a bucket and it multiplies like crazy esp in summer, even survived freezing. My turtles love it! It grows wild in UK streams but I also havee a larger variety which is for tropical tanks
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Post by morganthomaswintle on Aug 27, 2011 0:07:14 GMT
Hi my name is Karen & I have only had Turtles since the 5th of August so I'm basically learning as I go along, I got some Duckweed today and after washing it I noticed there was still tiny little wiggly worm like thing in there so I went out & bought some Methylene Blue to soak it in, I was wondering how long should I soak it for & when should I give it to my Turtles? Also do you know what these could be and would they harm my Turtles?
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Post by wayne020668 on Aug 27, 2011 21:18:28 GMT
hi Karen, no these wont harm your turtles but you are wise to soak it first...  many of the turtles food can be got from simply harvesting foods from the wild but you should treat all foods from the wild with methylene blue and a good snail away to remove most bugs and parasites. we do this here all the time from shrimp dipping to plant harvesting it not only saves on food costs but offers them everything they would get in the world and lets face it these foods are readily available now so why not.. the worms are quite common this time of year and although unsightly pose no harm as long as you keep them in check, keep treating your tank at regular intervals with the methylene blue and regular cleaning these will go once summer is over... even the cleanest of tank set ups will get this even us so please don't think its something your doing.. wrong its not...  regards Wayne.. |
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many of the turtles food can be got from simply harvesting foods from the wild but you should treat all foods from the wild with methylene blue and a good snail away to remove most bugs and parasites. we do this here all the time from shrimp dipping to plant harvesting it not only saves on food costs but offers them everything they would get in the world and lets face it these foods are readily available now so why not.. 