Aquatic turtles require a diet consisting of animal, plant and berry foods in order to stay healthy and thrive in their aquatic habitats. A quality reptile food product provides your aquatic turtle with natural ingredients that mimic what it would find in nature.
Avoid feeding turtles any foods containing fillers such as wheat and corn. Furthermore, it’s also best not to give turtles anything made for humans such as fried meat or french fries.
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Meat
Turtles can be found everywhere from local ponds to deep sea waters. Although turtles are generally omnivorous by nature, meaning that they consume both meat and vegetables, prospective pet owners must remember that feeding turtles too frequently with meat could result in health problems for themselves or for the turtle itself.
Turtles depend heavily on vegetables for nutrition. Examples include lettuce, peas and cucumbers. Turtles also enjoy eating fruits such as strawberries, bananas, pears and apples; citrus fruit should be avoided due to potential toxicities.
Aquatic turtles typically consume cooked chicken, beef and pork as a food source; for an even more nutritious option try offering dried insects or feeder fish instead, as these types of food provide essential vitamins and minerals not found in standard human meat products.
Vegetables
As their names implies, aquatic turtles enjoy eating a wide range of vegetables. Grated carrots, zucchini and squash make delicious food choices; peas and other leafy green vegetables such as green beans are also good. Apple, corn kernels, blueberries and strawberries can all make tasty snacks; just make sure not to give too many.
Kale, collard greens and mustard greens can provide your pet with essential nutrition. However, be wary of chard as its high oxalic acid content can inhibit calcium absorption leading to kidney disease or goiter in turtles; too much bok choy or cabbage could have similar results on its health.
Make sure your turtle gets all of its vitamins by providing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables; but remember not to exceed 25% of their diet with commercial turtle pellets.
Fruits
Turtles enjoy eating fresh fruits and vegetables, but this shouldn’t be their main source of nourishment. Turtles require protein for proper body functioning – without enough, their shell may develop debilitating pyramiding issues and become debilitated.
An effective approach to feeding your rabbit or guinea pig would be providing them with a large handful of leafy greens and protein from sources like kale, collard greens or spinach as a starting point, along with additional foods like bell peppers, squash carrots or earthworms as additional choices.
When feeding proteins to turtles, it’s best to stick with what would naturally occur in their natural habitat. Avoid giving lunch meat and sausage because these contain too much salt and preservatives; small fish such as minnows and crickets is an ideal choice as is feeding your turtle anything that has been frozen before being given out again as this could contain mercury levels which could harm him/her – plus anything with oil on its surface should never be given as feeding material!
Fish
Though some turtle owners might assume differently, feeder fish should not form part of a semi-aquatic turtle’s regular diet. Feeder fish often carry dangerous bacteria, parasites and diseases which can infiltrate turtle intestines; additionally they often contain spiny bones that can lodge themselves into throat or intestinal tracts when accidentally consumed by your turtle. Plus, indoor aquariums or tanks often make it impossible for turtles to capture and consume wild fish species as easily.
If a turtle owner opts to offer fish occasionally, small pieces that can be easily consumed should be chosen and boiled first to kill any bacteria or parasites that might exist in it. Many turtle owners also prefer offering mixed vegetables along with the fish so as to prevent an exclusively fish diet leading to vitamin B1 deficiency; giving turtles treats of fish should only occur occasionally and on rare occasions.
