When you are looking for appropriate food for your pet river tortoise, you should know what to feed them. Fruits are a favorite treat for this type of tortoise. They enjoy consuming strawberries, grapes, bananas, apples, melons and tomatoes. Keep in mind that fruits are high in sugar, so you must limit their consumption to 10 percent of their dietary intake. Otherwise, they could suffer from nutritional deficiencies and constipation.
Contents
Fish
If you want to feed your river tortoise fish, make sure you buy a high-quality commercial product. Ideally, your turtle should consume 80-90% vegetables and 10-20% fruit. As a rule of thumb, you should feed your turtle primarily green leafy vegetables. Avoid fibre-rich vegetables like spinach. Kale, parsley, green beans, and small amounts of other vegetables are also a good choice. You can also add a few flowers to their diet. And as a rule of thumb, you should include fruits like apples, grapes, bananas, and melon.
Vegetables
Fresh vegetable and fruit scraps are a great way to give your turtle a balanced diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables should make up a minimum of 20 percent of your tortoise’s diet. It’s best to feed your pet a quarter-cup of fresh food each day and increase the amount if you notice that your tortoise is not eating the amount in the given time. These plants provide a great source of calcium and vitamins, so make sure to include cuttlebones in its diet.
Greens
Ideally, your river turtle should eat 80% vegetables and 20% meat each day. However, this should change with age. The younger the slider, the more protein he or she needs to survive. In the case of babies, you can give them small amounts of pellets or fedder fish instead. Fruits like bananas and melons are also good choices for your turtle. Make sure to feed them only a few pieces of fruit a day, as they are high in sugar.
Commercial pelleted food
If you are trying to make sure your new pet has the best diet possible, consider a commercial pelleted food. Turtles like a variety of foods, and they should be fed vegetables, grasses, fruit, and fish on a regular basis. Commercial pelleted food can be the primary diet, but fresh sources of nutrients should also be offered at least twice a week. Fresh water should also be provided in the enclosure, and any uneaten food should be removed to avoid contamination.
Plants
When it comes to choosing what plants to feed your pet, you should consider the species. Younger turtles will eat more meat, while older ones will eat a higher proportion of fruit and vegetables. Vegetables are the main source of food for your tortoise, so opt for leafy green things like kale, spinach, and parsley. Added to their diet, flowers can also be included for variety. Ideally, they should eat fruits and vegetables from a variety of plants, such as grapes, apples, bananas, and melons.
Soil
In some areas, gopher tortoises migrate to burnt areas. They move to turkey oak and longleaf pine within one year following a fire. These large movements of gopher tortoises are believed to be linked to the presence of certain vegetation types. Fire has also been known to reduce the diversity of forage available to these tortoises. This fact has been cited by Diemer in her personal communication.
Predation of eggs and hatchlings
Although the eggs and hatchlings of a river tortoise are not particularly vulnerable to predators, they do have a poor defense mechanism. Mother turtles rarely look after their eggs, and if they do, the hatchlings and eggs are easy prey. Humans often collect these species for their pet trade, as well as for food and traditional medicine. Adult tortoises, however, are less susceptible to predators. Predators of tortoise hatchlings include alligators, snakes, and birds of prey.
Proper diet for a river tortoise
A good way to provide the best diet for your turtle is to mix up the type of food they eat. A young turtle will usually prefer a diet dominated by meat while older tortoises may enjoy more fruit and vegetables. The ideal ratio for a tortoise’s diet is 80 percent veggies and 10 percent fruit. The main part of the diet should consist of green leafy items like kale, spinach, and parsley. Other good choices include small amounts of fruit like apples, bananas, grapes, and melon.
