From what the turtle eats, its health and longevity depend. In order to provide a pet with a high quality of life, it is necessary to choose a diet that is close to natural food.
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What do turtles eat in the wild?
In nature, turtles find a very diverse feed. They are almost omnivorous, this allows you to survive in difficult circumstances. In favorable conditions, land species prefer plant foods, and aquatic species prefer protein-rich live prey.
Interesting! Four species of turtles live in Russia; their populations are small and protected by the state. In the Amur basin, you can find the Trionix, on the southern outskirts of the country there are Caspian, marsh and Central Asian land.
Freshwater turtles settle in shallow rivers and lakes with low, swampy shores. In the water warmed up by the sun there are many small animals suitable for food. These are mainly small fishes, tadpoles and frogs. In the ground, you can get mollusks, crustaceans, water snails. If the hunt is not very successful, reptiles do not disdain algae, coastal plants, bugs or dead prey.
Terrestrial species live in sandy and clay deserts, in river valleys, sometimes found in agricultural land. Their main food is annual soft herbs that are eaten whole: stems, leaves, flowers and seeds. The menu includes young shoots of perennial plants, leaves of low-growing shrubs, rarely melons and fruit trees.Vegetable food is very juicy, but at any opportunity, turtles enjoy drinking, especially after hibernation.
Summer in the deserts is no less severe to its inhabitants than winter. With the onset of the July heat, juicy annuals die off. In order not to starve, animals are forced to go to summer hibernation, which in a dry year can smoothly transition into winter.
What do freshwater turtles eat at home
In terrariums, freshwater painted and red-eared turtles are most often found. Their homeland is Central America and Mexico, young animals are grown on farms or in nurseries.
The aquarist selects a diet that meets the energy needs, age and physical activity of each pet.
Nutrition for cubs should be 70% protein. The rest is soft plant food. Adults older than 3 years are gradually switching to low-calorie nutrition. Products containing protein occupy no more than 30-40% of the daily diet. They give plenty of food, how much the reptile will eat in 20-30 minutes. If the food remains, the next time the portion is reduced. Young turtles are fed daily, but only once a day, adults over 3 years old eat once every 2-3 days.
Tip. At the time of feeding, place the pet in a separate container with warm water (22-28 ° C). The turtle uses it as a toilet. In addition, the rest of the meal will not accumulate in the aquarium.
Sources of protein:
- river fish with bones and entrails;
- purified low-fat sea fish (hard bones are dangerous for the delicate esophagus of reptiles);
- seafood (crab sticks do not belong to them!);
- for large individuals - offal (beef liver or heart, chicken heart without fat);
- live food (aquarium fish, snails, gammarus, bloodworms, daphnia, beetles, zofobas, hairless caterpillars, earthworms, frogs, mice). This is a nutritious treat and object of hunting for bored pets.
Sources of fiber:
- aquarium plants (hornwort, kabomba, vallisneria, spirogyra, cladofora and common duckweed), except for poisonous limnophiles and elodea;
- meadow plants (dandelion, quinoa, woodwort, clover, daisies, alfalfa);
- from vegetables it is better to limit yourself to carrots and lettuce.
A natural source of calcium is shells of mollusks, snails and sepia. In addition, this solid food will allow the pet to grind the beak growing on the jaw.
Using home-made paste will ease the daily chores of preparing turtle food. Scroll raw fish and vegetables in a meat grinder and mix with gelatin diluted according to instructions. Add a few drops of Tetravita (a complex of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and F for veterinary use). Pour the mixture into portioned containers (ice cassettes or cupcakes) and refrigerate. Calculate the volume for a week, depending on the weight of the pet. The proportions of the ingredients are determined according to age.
How to feed land turtles
In the summer, feeding a land tortoise is no problem. You can put in the feeder (thoroughly rinsing in cold water):
- fresh herbs (dandelion, clover, chicory, woodwort, alfalfa, lettuce, chickpea, lawn grass, coltsfoot);
- berries (strawberries, blueberries);
- some summer fruits (an abundance of sweet foods can cause fermentation in the stomach).
Tip. Since part of the feed is crushed into the soil, it is better to put it in a heavy bowl, not higher than 1.5-2 cm.
In winter, the reptile is best put into hibernation. If there is no way to do it right, or the animal has not gained enough body weight over the summer, it is left in the terrarium.
The winter diet is supplemented with vitamins, minerals and protein, but this is not more than 5% of the daily diet. Natural Protein Supplements:
- offal (raw, finely chopped);
- boiled egg;
- bran.
The basis of the winter diet is plant foods:
- vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, cucumbers, zucchini, dark green leaves of white cabbage, lettuce, Beijing cabbage) - preference should be given to ground rather than greenhouse vegetables;
- fruit (non-acidic apples);
- dried alfalfa, nettle and any soft hay;
- edible domestic plants (tradescantia, zebrin, scindapsus, sheffler);
- green oats or wheat, which can be grown year-round on the windowsill;
- seedlings (you need to drive them out in the dark so that chlorophyll does not form): beans, millet, cabbage, corn, wheat, barley, sunflower.
Mineral dressing - bone meal (0.01 mg per 100 g live weight). Sepia or chalk stone will additionally provide care for the beak.
Food should be available all day, especially in summer. In winter, due to the lack of fresh grass in sufficient quantities, the diet of a land tortoise should be as diverse as possible. It is better to offer her different vegetables in small volumes, and not the same one all the time.
Important! Juicy foods contain a sufficient amount of liquid. However, bathing is required at least once a week. The reptile will simultaneously get drunk and empty the intestines. In winter, the turtle needs to be drunk daily, as part of the diet is dried herbs. The best option is if in the terrarium there is a bathing place 2-3 cm deep and 1.5 cm wide all year round so that the turtle itself can climb into it.
Industrial feed, vitamins and mineral supplements
Pet shops offer ready-made feeds, vitamin and mineral complexes developed by herpetologists to help owners of exotic pets.
For freshwater species, you can choose a menu based on age: Tetra ReptoMin Baby, Sera Raffy baby gran, Tetra ReptoMin for adults, Sera Raffy P in granules, JBL Rugil, JBL Energil for large individuals, Trionix.
Tasty forages for adaptation to a granular diet are sold: Tetra ReptoDelica Shrimps, Tetra ReptoDelica Grasshoppers from dried grasshoppers, Sera Raffy I with gammarus, canned crickets, frozen bloodworms, daphnia, coretra.
For land species, there are also granular feeds: Tetra Tortoise, Sera Reptil Professional Herbivor, Sera Raffy Vital, JBL Herbil, Tortilla. It is better to offer dry granules in a mixture with fresh green food.
Mineral complexes in the form of powders (Reptilife, Excalcium D3), as well as liquid vitamins (Sera Reptilin, Beaphar Turtle Vitamine, Theravit) are easily added to soft foods or green foods. These preparations will help to balance the menu for those aquarists who prefer to feed the turtles with natural products. The dosage is calculated according to the instructions, based on the weight of the reptile.
General advice on care and maintenance
At home, the animal receives food without effort and plenty. Very quickly, the pet becomes picky, even finicky. You can not limit the diet to one favorite type of goodies. Problems with development, weight and calcium metabolism accumulate quickly and can cause irreparable harm, especially to young animals.
To make nutrition balanced and varied, you need to:
- create conditions for an active exercise, that is, equip a warm spacious terrarium or aviary;
- allow the animal to feel a healthy feeling of hunger at the time of feeding;
- determine a sufficient but moderate portion size;
- chopping and stirring food to choose goodies was difficult.
The seasonal change of food rebuilds the body of the animal, preparing it for hibernation or reproduction. This must be taken into account in the menu of pets.
Practical tips for creating a healthy diet can be found in the book “Turtles. Maintenance, diseases and treatment ”, 2003 The author, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, leading herpetologist of the Moscow Zoo, D. B. Vasiliev, offers a comprehensive guide to the maintenance of land and freshwater turtles, accessible to an amateur, interesting to a professional. In particular, the book explains in detail why these animals should not be given a lot of cabbage, peas, beans, potatoes, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, asparagus, cereals, mushrooms, liver, oily fish and tropical fruits. Some of these products are present on the menu, but in scanty amounts and not every day. It is strictly forbidden to feed turtles with sausage, canned goods, cheeses, flour products, fatty meat, and feed for warm-blooded animals.
Important! Whatever the tortoise’s diet, calcium will not be fully absorbed without ultraviolet radiation. Metabolism threatens with deformation of the shell and other "delights" of rickets. Therefore, special UV lamps must be installed in terrariums.
