A turtle’s diet should contain both animal- and plant-based food sources. Examples of plant foods that should be included are greens such as kale, collards, spinach and parsley.
Animal-based proteins can be provided through commercial turtle food like Tetra Reptomin floating Turtle sticks or Fluker’s Buffet Blend (freeze-dried worms, pellets and shrimp) available from most pet stores.
Contents
Meat
Turtle meat has made a comeback due to conservation efforts and public demand, becoming a staple ingredient for global and colonial American cuisine alike. When purchasing turtle meat from any source, ensure it comes from a reputable source in order to prevent potential health concerns.
Turtles require a diet rich in proteins as they grow and need strong shells. But too much protein may lead to pyramiding – the formation of triangular growths on its scutes which hinder breathing properly and movement around effectively.
Meat should form only a small portion of a turtle’s overall diet; vegetables should account for most of it. Acceptable veggies include collard greens, bok choy, mustard greens, alfalfa hay, watercress, parsley, romaine lettuce, kale turnip greens and Swiss chard as they all provide essential minerals such as calcium. Okra and kohlrabi should only be fed occasionally due to oxalates which bind calcium and other trace minerals thus preventing absorption through their intestinal tracts.
Vegetables
A healthy turtle diet must include vegetables as part of its variety. Leafy greens like kale, mustard greens and dandelion greens provide plenty of nutrition for turtles. Other nutritious choices for feeding turtles include cooked carrots (cooked), kohlrabi, head lettuce cabbage chard and spinach. It is wise to avoid feeding turtles iceberg lettuce since this contains mostly water without providing nutritional value.
Some owners tend to feed hatchling turtles mostly vegetables, yet they need meat-based foods as well. Doing this may lead to malnutrition of hatchlings.
As with other animals, turtles must not overdo it when it comes to fruit intake. Treats like apples, strawberries, melon, cantaloupe, bananas and berries can safely be given as occasional treats; citrus fruits should be avoided since they contain toxic elements; dairy products cannot be digested easily due to lacking enzymes; salty foods can cause digestive upset as well.
Insects
Turtles are opportunistic feeders in nature, devouring whatever food sources they can find. In aquatic environments, this could include fish, crayfish, worms, snails, flies and mosquito larvae as well as protein rich insects such as mosquito larvae. Turtles also enjoy snacking on plant materials like algae mats, Elodea plants or floating plants with tubers such as lilies.
Some keepers choose to supplement a commercial turtle pellet diet with foods such as chunks of steamed fish or chicken, earthworms, and crickets for variety and to prevent boredom in captive turtles. Unfortunately, too much protein could lead to toxicity or obesity, so these treats should only be provided occasionally.
Avoid feeding turtles fruits such as grapes, watermelons, grapefruit, watermelons, grapefruit, grapefruit juice, grapefruit juice concentrate, grapefruits, watermelons, grapefruit juice concentrate, kiwis strawberries oranges bananas which contain high levels of sugar, which could contribute to obesity or cause other internal complications – they can even pose as potential choking hazards! Be sure to thoroughly wash all produce before offering it to them; additionally avoid giving foods that contain goitrogens and oxalates such as kale spinach radish radish avocado beans etc as these contain goitrogens and oxalates such as kale spinach radish avocado beans etc as these will increase risks.
Fish
Turtles need a diet rich in both meat and vegetables to stay healthy and long-lived. Turtles that depend solely on animal protein for sustenance are at greater risk of disease and nutritional deficiencies, making their lives shorter than expected.
Juvenile turtles tend to be omnivorous while adult ones become increasingly carnivorous. Their diet should include both animals and vegetables depending on the species and age of the turtle; a balance is always necessary to maintain optimal health.
Owners have suggested that offering their turtles feeder fish could be beneficial, adding variety and stimulating them to eat more often. It’s important to only offer safe fish that is appropriate in terms of size and safety for them; uncooked ones contain an enzyme known as thiaminase which blocks its absorption resulting in muscular-skeletal disorders, appetite decrease, or even death.
