What to feed a turtle (Types of food). Feeding aquatic turtles Turtle food

The health and immunity of animals largely depends on the diet. The more diverse it is, the more various useful substances obtained. However, even a varied natural diet does not allow providing animals with a complete set of vitamins. Luckily for aquatic turtle owners, dozens of different dry foods have been developed for every taste and color!

In our store you can buy dry food for turtles of leading brands specializing in reptiles and aquariums BioDesign, Tetra, JBL.

What is good dry food for turtles?

• Contains a large amount of easily digestible protein for proper muscle growth of the turtle;
• Contains the optimal amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary to strengthen the shell and immunity;
• Easy to feed;
• Dry food can replace up to 60-70% of the turtle's diet;
• The food contains natural ingredients - gammarus, daphnia, shrimp, etc.
• A separate series of food for newborns and growing turtles with a high content of vitamins and nutrients.

aquatic turtles- beautiful creatures! They are interesting to watch, they grow quickly and lead an active lifestyle. However, it all depends on proper maintenance and feeding. Feed your turtle food only from trusted manufacturers and it will delight you for many years!

To properly feed turtles, you need to study what they eat in nature. Even the diets of different land turtles vary greatly depending on their habitats. So, for example, steppe turtles eat more succulents and steppe plants in nature, but radiant and star-shaped turtles eat vegetables, fruits, and flowers more often. Aquatic turtles do not often eat fish, more often they are content with insects, snails, tadpoles.

The specified menu may be adjusted depending on the recommendations of experienced turtle keepers. On Sunday (Sun) it is better to do a fasting day and not feed the turtles at all.

Important:

1. Do not overfeed, especially young animals
2. Feed no more than once a day in the morning or afternoon (not in the evening)
3. After half an hour for water or after an hour for land, remove the food
4. If she does not want to eat, but at the same time she is healthy - do not force, but do not indulge only with what she loves

Summer diet for the Central Asian steppe tortoise

* it is better to collect greens not in the city, away from the roads
** constant presence in the terrarium of sepia (cuttlefish bone)

Winter diet for the Central Asian steppe tortoise

* constant presence in the terrarium of soft hay and sepia (cuttlefish bone)

Summer diet for freshwater (red-eared, marsh) turtles

*** if it is difficult for a turtle to eat snails, fish with bones and sepia, she does not eat, then you can feed her food from tweezers and sprinkle with vitamins and calcium
**** The number next to the day of the week indicates the number of the week (first or second).

Winter diet for freshwater (red-eared, marsh) turtles

* gammarus is not dry, but live or frozen for fish
** it is desirable to have snails, small viviparous fish (neons, guppies), aquatic plants, sepia (cuttlefish bone) in the aquarium all the time
*** The number next to the day of the week indicates the week number (first or second).

For other less popular species, see "Species Description" for natural and domestic diets.

Feeding aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles

Creating a balanced diet for captive aquatic and semi-aquatic tortoises is easier than for terrestrial tortoises. Predators have a much higher metabolic rate, which is necessary for the rapid breakdown of proteins and the removal of toxic products of this breakdown. Their digestive tract is much shorter.

Too much protein can be extremely harmful, but for aquatic species, there is also the problem of not enough protein. Typically, a protein-deficient state is found in carnivorous or semi-carnivorous tortoises that have been kept on a strict plant-based diet (often due to the ignorance of their owners) and have haphazardly survived. This may also be the case in cases of severe underfeeding, starvation, or in cases of general inept approach to animal feeding. Severe cases will require referral to a specialist, as treatment includes infusion therapy with solutions containing a combination of electrolytes, amino acids, glucose, and B vitamins in an easily assimilated form.

Aquatic species of turtles usually feed in water, so food remains often cause significant damage to its quality. For this reason, it is best to avoid excessively fatty foods, as well as overfeeding. Any excess feed will clog the filters. Most adult turtles need to be fed 2-3 times a week.

Diet for aquatic turtles.
Although all-aquatic turtles are primarily carnivorous, this does not mean that their diet must consist entirely of meat. They absolutely need a varied and balanced diet. It should also be noted that many species become less carnivorous with age. The ratio of meat and vegetable components in the diet of aquatic turtles will vary depending on the species. The recommendations below are only a general idea of ​​the diet and are not absolute.

meat component(approximately 65% ​​- 90 96, depending on the species): live fish, earthworms, mice, snails and mollusks, frogs, etc.

vegetable component(approximately 35% or less depending on the species): various types of lettuce, carrots, clover, a small amount of vegetables and fruits, seaweed can also be used, etc.

Food - both meat and vegetable - these turtles are usually placed in water, vegetables and fruits, if desired, can be cut into pieces.

Diet for semi-aquatic turtle species.
Box turtles and most other semi-aquatic species should have both a meat and vegetable component in their diet. In addition, they may need vitamin and mineral supplements. The ratio of meat and vegetable components is affected not only by age (teenagers tend to be entirely carnivorous), but also by the type of turtle. Most box turtles are omnivores and may feed more frequently.

The diet for semi-aquatic species is as follows:
vegetable component(50)%: berries, lettuce, carrots, dandelion greens, cauliflower, fruits, a small amount of cabbage leaf, flowering plants, etc.
meat component(50) %: live crickets pre-sprinkled with vitamin-calcium mixtures, earth snails and slugs, newborn mice, earthworms, etc.

Semi-aquatic turtles can feed both in water and on land - it depends on the type of animal, so we will give specific recommendations in the chapter on describing the types of semi-aquatic and aquatic turtles.

All proposed diets are only the basis for experimentation. Different types of animals have their own food preferences. Ideally, the diet should constantly change, be very diverse, as this will bring it closest to the natural, characteristic of aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles in nature.

Feeding pregnant females and young.
It is often assumed that the turtle's calcium requirement is relatively stable, but this is actually not the case. It varies considerably with sex and age and is much higher, for example, in females during pregnancy and in both sexes during any periods of rapid growth - compared with adults and old animals. Therefore, during pregnancy and for young people, the amount of calcium in the diet must be increased. Carnivorous turtles usually get their calcium from the bones by eating whole fish or other animals. Young and pregnant animals should be fed daily, and their diet should be even more varied than adult and non-pregnant turtles.

Factory feed and vitamin and mineral supplements.
Dry foods are very convenient for feeding turtles, so owners are often extremely interested in using them. However, not every type of food is suitable for regular consumption by your pets. Of course, in every annotation for such food you can find references to a "fully balanced diet", but this is far from always the case. Granulated food for aquatic turtles most often contains fishmeal, vegetable components, and dried crustaceans. They often lack the necessary macro- and microelements and even vitamins.

The ratio of calcium and phosphorus also usually requires correction. Such foods will not be able to provide young turtles with normal growth, and even adult animals may feel discomfort when they are used for a long time. In addition, many animals refuse to eat them - even in the presence of special flavors. However, there are a fair number of animals raised almost entirely on dry food and doing well. Therefore, when choosing a quality feed, such experiments can be carried out.

The most recognized brands among professionals are commercial feed brands such as "Repto Min" (Tetra), "Nutrafin" (Hagen) and "Turtle Food Flakes" (Wardley).

Mistakes in feeding aquatic species.
The main mistake made when feeding carnivorous species is the lack of food diversity. Owners are most comfortable feeding the turtles with meat and fish from the store, and most often they do just that. Usually no one thinks about the fact that these products lack vitamins, calcium and other macro- and microelements necessary to maintain the health of adult animals, not to mention the growing young.
Due to the fact that turtles are extremely hardy animals, they can survive for several years on such a diet without showing clinical symptoms of any disease, or, more often, the owners simply do not notice these symptoms. Unfortunately, when such symptoms finally become noticeable, it is often too late.

Carnivorous aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles need to regularly eat whole small animals, along with bones and internal organs, which contain the necessary vitamins and calcium, to fully maintain life. In the case of proper feeding, additional vitamin and mineral supplements are not required for aquatic turtles.

Summarizing the above, we note the main points:

■ you can not feed aquatic turtles with meat and fish without bones and entrails;
■ do not feed aquatic turtles any one type of food;
■ even if diagnosed with hypovitaminosis, turtles should not be given vitamins orally without consulting a doctor, especially vitamins A, E and D3.

Video: feeding red-eared turtles.

Under natural conditions, red-eared turtles feed on both plant and animal food. When keeping these animals at home, it is important to properly organize their diet so that it matches the natural calorie content and the content of essential nutrients as much as possible.

Red-eared turtles living at home need a balanced diet that includes all the substances they need.

In nature, the animal can independently find sources of vitamins and minerals for itself, but at home, you should take care of this.

Red-eared turtles are fed mainly animal food.

Small young turtles can be given bloodworms, tubifex, dried daphnia, earthworms, concentrates intended for aquarium fish, dried or live gammarus (aquatic crustaceans).

Only with a properly composed diet, the turtle will grow well.

Large adult red-eared turtles, in addition to the above foods, can be given raw or boiled chicken, beef. Many experts recommend giving turtles raw lean fish instead of meat, which should preferably be kept in boiling water for 1 minute before giving it to your pet, as it contains the enzyme thiaminase. Small fish can be given along with the bones, after crushing it.

It is imperative to include insects in the diet of water turtles: mealy beetle larvae, various beetles, etc. Pets will also enjoy shrimp, squid meat or raw liver with pleasure.

These products, by the way, contain many vitamins and minerals necessary for turtles.

Some experts advise preparing a mixture of various foods based on agar-agar or gelatin with the addition of raw chicken eggs, vitamins and bone meal. It can be stored in the refrigerator and given to animals as needed.

With age, red-eared turtles begin to eat not only animal, but also plant foods, mainly algae. To make the terrarium look neat, it is best to grow plants for feeding turtles in a separate aquarium.

Almost all algae can be given to turtles, with the exception of elodea and limnophiles, as they are poisonous.

Plant foods must be present in the diet of adult turtles.

If it is not possible to feed animals with algae, you can give them dandelion or lettuce leaves, slices of fresh cucumber, white cabbage: red-eared turtles eat them with pleasure. If there is a pond near your home, duckweed and other aquatic plants can be collected from its surface and given to turtles from time to time.

It is convenient to use ready-made food for feeding red-eared turtles, which can now be easily bought at any pet store.

However, when buying them, it is important to pay attention to the composition and content of nutrients and vitamins. So, cheap ready-made feeds consist mainly of gammamarus, bloodworms or tubifex.

Experts note that they are not balanced enough, therefore, in addition to them, it is recommended to include the fresh foods mentioned above in the diet of turtles. If possible, expensive imported combined feeds should be purchased. Dry food intended for dogs and cats should not be given to turtles because they contain nutrients that do not meet the needs of reptiles.

Any feed must be fresh and of high quality. In no case should turtles be fed spoiled food, and frozen food must first be heated to room temperature.

It is recommended to add bone meal to the food for red-eared turtles once a week, which is an indispensable source of calcium necessary for the skeleton and shell. Crushed eggshells or calcium gluconate are also suitable. It is also extremely helpful to give your turtle 1-2 drops of vitamin D oil from time to time.

Any food for turtles is poured directly into the water. Despite the fact that water turtles eat quickly, pieces of meat or fish left in the water begin to rot and become unusable. Therefore, you need to give animals food exactly as much as they can eat in 15–20 minutes, otherwise you will have to change the water in the aquarium after each feeding.

If there is time and desire, at the time of feeding the turtles can be taken out of the permanent terrarium and planted in another container, where to pour the food. However, not every pet will like this treatment.

Turtles need to be fed during the day, as they are most active during daylight hours, despite the fact that for a long time they were considered nocturnal animals.

It is recommended to feed the animals after they have warmed up sufficiently, as turtles that are in a cool place for a long time do not have an appetite. If it is not possible to feed the turtle during the day, it is best to give her food in the evening, a few hours before bedtime.

Turtles are animals that can go without food for a very long time, several days or even weeks, but you can not starve them.

Determining if a turtle wants to eat is pretty easy. Red-eared turtles, when hungry, restlessly inspect the bottom of the aquarium or terrarium in search of food, moving randomly in the water.

If the animal refuses food for a long time, it must be taken to the veterinarian, as this may be a sign of illness.

Often a newly bought turtle will not eat because it cannot get used to the new surroundings and unfamiliar conditions. In this case, the animal must be given peace and not touched for some time and not made noise in the room where it is located.

Often the lack of appetite in a turtle is due to the fact that it cannot get used to a new diet. You need to find out what the turtle ate before it appeared with you, and gradually accustom it to new food. If you have other turtles, it is best to put the new animal in with them right away, then it will begin to eat with them.

In nature, red-eared turtles feed on plants and small animals.

Turtles do not eat very carefully and scatter and trample a significant part of the food into the ground, so food remains should not be left in a pen or terrarium for a long time. Feed can spoil, creating favorable conditions for the development of bacteria that cause diseases.

When feeding, you need to remember that after finishing eating, after a while the turtle may return to the feeder, so you should not immediately remove the food.

Red-eared turtles need to be fed sparingly because overeating them can only hurt them. If the turtle is satiated, it is not necessary to give it additional food.

Under natural conditions, turtles take care of themselves by choosing the right food. If necessary, they eat protein foods, as well as minerals that are necessary for the formation of the shell. If the turtle becomes a pet, then it falls entirely on the maintenance of people, and the owner is engaged in its nutrition.

Three groups of turtles

According to the type of food, turtles are divided into three groups: carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. Each of them corresponds to a certain ratio of animal and vegetable food. Feeding inappropriate food for each group of turtles is fraught with diseases of the internal organs, digestive complications, and metabolic problems. It is also necessary to include calcium and vitamins in the diet weekly. What kind of food should be given to each group?

Predatory

The food of predatory turtles should consist of 80% animal food and 20% vegetable food. This group includes almost all aquatic species and all young aquatic species, such as young red-eared, caiman, trionyx, marsh, musky, etc.

Their main food is:

• lean fish, live or thawed, with entrails and small bones. For young turtles, the fish should be finely chopped (backbone, excluding ribs) with bones, for adults - whole or in large pieces. Large bones can be crushed or finely chopped.
• beef or chicken liver is given once a week;
• seafood such as green (not pink) shrimp, sea cocktail;
• mammals (small): naked mice, rat pups, runners.

All seafood, as well as turtle fish, can only be eaten raw, do not give thermally processed food;

Complementary feed, to be given once a week, serves:

• Dry food for freshwater turtles, e.g. in the form of sticks, tablets, flakes, granules, capsules, Tetra, Sulfur, etc.
• Insects: moth, fodder cockroaches, grasshoppers, bloodworms, crickets, earthworms, gammarus and so on;
• Mollusks, amphibians, invertebrates: slugs, frogs, small shelled snails, tadpoles and similar marsh.

It is forbidden to give predatory turtles:

• meat (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, sausages, sausage, any kind of minced meat, etc.), as well as fatty fish, milk, cheese, bread, fruit, dog or cat food, etc.

The diet of this group of turtles should consist of from 50 percent animal food and 50 - vegetable. Omnivorous turtles include semi-aquatic and adult aquatic, some types of land turtles: prickly, kuor, adult red-eared, Spengler, red-footed (coal), etc.

Their menu consists of half animal food, see the list above, and half plant food, the list is below. Aquatic turtles are spoiled with fish and seafood (as animal food), and mice are given to land animals.

• Plant food for aquatic species are plants that grow in water conditions,
• Land plants are given plants that live on earth, fruits and vegetables are added to them.

Herbivores

The menu of this group of turtles is based on plant food, which makes up 95% of the total diet, animal food consists of 5%.

Herbivores include: all land turtles, including radiant, flat, Central Asian, Greek, spider and others.

The main food of this group is:

• greens, it makes up 80% of the entire menu (semi-dry or fresh salads, edible leaves, flowers, succulents, herbs.
• vegetables - 15% of the diet (pumpkin, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots ...)
• fruits that are not very sweet (apples, pears, etc.) are 5% on the menu.

Complementary feed laid once a week, it includes:

• non-poisonous mushrooms, such as russula, boletus, champignons, etc.
• dry balanced food for land turtles of the trade marks "Sera", "Tetra", "Zumed".
• other: soybean meal, dry yeast, raw young sunflower seeds, bran, dry seaweed…

It is forbidden to give meat, this category includes: any minced meat, sausages, sausage, chicken, beef, pork, etc.). Also fish, milk, cheese, cat or dog food, bread…

Common Mistakes When Feeding Turtles

Now let us dwell in more detail on the nutrition at home of the land tortoise.

These animals are among the most unpretentious. Turtles eat little, do not require special care - they are not difficult to keep at home. All land turtles are herbivorous reptiles. As mentioned above, their diet is 95% plant foods and 5% animal. Feeding inappropriate food for this group, such as meat, is fraught with diseases.

What does the turtle love?

Turtles' favorite food is lettuce and dandelion - it can even be dried for the winter. And also she is not indifferent to vegetables and fruits. The main food consists of almost all plants, vegetables, fruits, and berries that are not poisonous to turtles. Can be fed with field herbs and houseplants such as: aloe, pea stems and leaves, tradescantia, alfalfa, timothy grass, lawn grass, plantain, goutweed, rhubarb, sprouted oats, barley, thistle, sorrel, coltsfoot.

The vegetable menu consists of peppers, beans, pumpkins, carrots, zucchini, radishes, beets, artichokes, this list will be supplemented by cucumber and horseradish, which should not be given in large quantities.

Allowed tortoises feed a variety of fruits and berries: apples, apricots, plums, peaches, mangoes, bananas, oranges, tangerines, watermelon, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries. Additional foods are: mushrooms, dry commercial feed, dry sea cabbage, young sunflower seeds, soybean meal, bran.

Not to be given to turtles

It is undesirable to feed onions, garlic, spinach, spicy herbs, grasshoppers, crickets, domestic cockroaches, poisonous insects, cherries, eggshells (causes salmonellosis), feed one kind of vegetable or fruit.

Prohibited foods include:

From malnutrition, the animal begins irreversible changes in the liver, which can greatly shorten its life.

Does the turtle drink?

Turtle "drinks" water through the skin. In order to water the animal, it must be bathed periodically, at least once a week. The optimum water temperature fluctuates around 32 degrees, pour it to the middle of the shell. If you just bought a reptile from a pet store, then most likely the turtle has been bathed for a long time and did it very rarely, so its body is probably dehydrated. Therefore, she needs to replenish the water balance, within a week after the purchase, arrange water procedures for her every day, give her the opportunity to splash!