Commercial pellets are fairly nutritious, convenient, and beneficial since they contain a good mix of vitamins and minerals. However, as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life. Offering a wide variety of foods is better than just dropping in a commercial turtle pellet for your little guy. A variety of fresh food offers a wider range of nutrients in different forms. Feeding a variety of items is also more stimulating to the turtle and a good form of enrichment.
Live prey items are especially desirable because they give turtles an opportunity to exercise by hunting just as they would in the wild. Generally try limiting pellets to about 25 percent of the diet, making up the rest with items from the following options:.
A vet may recommend that a good reptile multivitamin with calcium and vitamin D3 be mixed with the turtle's food a couple of times a week. Also, an excellent way to provide additional calcium is to put a cuttlebone in the turtle tank.
These are often available in the bird section of your local pet store and can be affixed to the tank with suction cup clips or just floated in the water. Feeding Aquatic Turtles. VCA Hospitals. Kidney Disease in Reptiles. When you decide to go for lettuce, you should choose the kind that is more nutritious like the red leaf or the romaine. Iceberg lettuce is the least nutritious and may have some adverse effects when consumed in large amounts by the turtle. With this in mind, it is up to you to decide what you want your turtle to eat.
Diet is very wide. It is difficult to master everything right and all that is wrong in a diet. With that said, there are a variety of nutritious vegetables that a turtle can eat.
It is up to you to decide which one you want your turtle to eat. With chicory and dandelion, ensure you get them from the market or ensure they may not be exposed to herbicides and pesticides.
The list of vegetables is very long. You should take note of the few that are harmful and be open to all the other. Make sure the vegetables are fresh when feeding your turtles and let them enjoy their meal.
Well, yes, water turtles can have lettuce. Leafy greens are good for turtles. You should, however, keep in mind that iceberg lettuce should not be an option when choosing leafy greens. Try other greens like the green leaf, red leaf, and romaine lettuce. Although these are good for turtles, they cannot guarantee the health of your turtle. With diet, variety is king. You get more nutrients when you try out more kinds of foods.
For the turtles, you can try other kinds of vegetables such as turnip greens, parsley, kales, collard greens, spinach once in a while and many more. You can also try different categories of foods such as protein-rich foods.
Turtles will also enjoy mealworms , crickets, fish, pork, and chicken. Apart from lettuce, you can alternate these foods to ensure your turtle is healthy and happy. Related Topics. Article Sources. The Spruce Pets uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Acceptable vegetables include collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, alfalfa hay or chow, bok choy, kale, parsley, spinach in small amounts , bell peppers, green beans, green peas, corn, okra, cactus, various squashes, sweet potatoes, cabbage or broccoli also in small amounts , and flowers such as carnations, hibiscus, and roses avoid azaleas as they are toxic.
Vegetables can be offered cooked or raw thoroughly wash raw vegetables ; experiment with your turtle to see if he prefers his vegetables raw or cooked. Flowers can be home grown or purchased from floral shops. Often, floral shops throw out older, wilting flowers.
While these may be unacceptable for sale to the public, reptile owners can often get them for free. It is wise to be sure that no chemicals have been applied to the flowers or water. Fruit can include apples, pears, bananas, grapes, peaches, kiwis, and melons. Fruits that are particularly healthy include figs which contain calcium , papaya, raspberries and strawberries.
What are some acceptable animal-based protein foods I can offer my turtle? If you and your veterinarian decide that animal-based protein sources are acceptable, some appropriate foods include crickets, sardines drained , tofu, hard-boiled eggs, moths, and mealworms.
Dog and cat food contains too much Vitamin D and fat and should not be fed.
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