Live turtle food for sale can be an ideal way to supplement your pet’s diet. Turtles have specific dietary needs, so it’s essential that you select a food that is beneficial to them.
Turtles typically require protein, calcium and vitamin C as part of a balanced diet. All three of these essential nutrients are necessary for your pet’s wellbeing – providing them with vitality and energy levels alike!
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Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh fruits such as bananas, mangoes and oranges are beneficial to turtles’ diets due to their high fiber and phosphorus content – these help support digestive health.
Vegetables such as lettuce, romaine, and radicchio are nutritious options for your pet turtle.
When selecting fruits for your turtle’s food, be sure they’re ripe and free from mold. Place them into a blender or use a knife to break them up into bite-sized pieces so your turtle can easily consume them.
Fruits provide your turtle with a good source of calcium. Crushed eggshells, oyster shells and cuttlebone can all provide additional calcium for your pet turtle.
Flowers
Flowers are an easy and natural way to provide turtles with essential nutrients and a nutritious diet. Roses, pansies, petunias, lilies, carnations, hibiscus, hyssop, borage, nasturtium and geraniums can all be safely fed as part of a turtle’s regular diet.
Plants can help keep your tank clean by providing oxygen and breaking down excess nitrate and ammonia waste in the water. Some common aquatic plants for turtles include duckweed, azolla (fairy moss), anacharis or waterweed, water hyacinth, frog-bit and water lettuce.
Meat
Turtles are omnivores and should be offered a variety of foods such as fresh vegetables, fruit, pellets and live prey. Your veterinarian may also suggest supplementing their diet with a reptile multivitamin depending on their age and health.
Turtle meat is an important source of protein and micronutrients. Nutritionist Jo Travers notes that it may provide vitamins B12, iron, potassium, selenium, thiamine, riboflavin and zinc.
Vegetables can be included in a box turtle’s diet, but should only make up a minor part of its food. Vegetables like spinach, beet greens and Swiss chard should be fed sparingly due to their high oxalates content which could prevent calcium absorption by the digestive tract of a turtle.
It is essential to feed your turtle a variety of foods and provide them with an additional source of calcium for healthy shell growth. Crushed eggshells, oyster shells, and cuttlebone can all be excellent sources of this vital mineral; add them to their diet on a regular basis (weekly or twice weekly).
Fish
Fish is an excellent source of protein for aquatic turtles. You can choose from live, fresh or frozen varieties to provide your pets with a nutritious snack.
In addition to fish, many turtle owners also offer live food in the form of insects. Cockroaches and grasshoppers, in particular, make excellent choices due to their high protein and vitamin content.
You may also find freeze dried insect treats, which are popular with pet turtles. These are usually sold at pet stores and safe to feed your turtle.
Avoid giving your turtle fish that contain a lot of fat, as these can disrupt their nutritional balance and lead to vitamin E deficiencies. Furthermore, some types of fish contain thiamine which could prevent vitamin B1 absorption – essential for aquatic turtles.
Seafood
During nesting season, green turtles return to Florida beaches and dig holes in the sand for their eggs. After hatching, they cover them up and head back out into the ocean.
Adult green turtles tend to be vegetarians, consuming mostly seagrasses and algae for sustenance. This diet gives their fat a greenish hue – hence why they’re commonly known as green turtles.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, you can also feed your turtle live fish for extra stimulation. Feeding this type of food once or twice a week will encourage it to hunt and catch its own food – an essential step in developing healthy behavior and a strong immune system.
However, it’s essential to remember that fish should only make up a minor part of your turtle’s diet. This is because fish may contain various parasites and bacteria which could potentially cause illness in your pet.
