Turtle Food

What do Turtles Eat?

A pet turtle can be a very fun and unique pet to have in your household. A turtle is intriguing to watch as it swims around in whatever it calls home. It is important that you find out in the beginning what your pet turtle needs to eat. Many might assume that you can just feed your turtle some turtle food provided at the pet shop. While this may be true for some, there are certain foods that a turtle may need to stay away from. The type of diet your pet turtle will consume varies based on the type of turtle. Most turtles start consuming more meat than anything, but as they become older, they tend to become a bit of a plant eater.

Protein is important in a turtle diet. Tiny pieces of cooked fish, turkey, or chicken are great ideas to keep your pet turtle happy. Some pet turtles will consume boiled eggs, mealworms, earthworms, and even silkworms. It is advised that you do not serve your turtle meat that is uncooked, as it contains a high amount of fat, and can also be harmful to the turtle should they decide not to consume the meat until a later time.

 Vegetables can be served as turtle food. The most beneficial would be those that are considered leafy. Grape and fig leaves, red clover, carrot tops, dandelions, lettuce, turnip greens, water lettuce, and collard greens are also good to feed to your pet turtle. While leafy vegetables are believed to be the best, you can also serve vegetables such as corn, beets, peas, and carrots to change the variety in your turtle food. As strange as it may sound, there are turtles that like flowers as turtle food.  Roses, pansies, lilies, carnations are a perfect treat for your turtle.  For a sweet treat, give your turtle some fruit! Kiwi, apples, mangos, strawberries, bananas, grapes and tomatoes would be fine to give your pet.

As you can see, there is a wide variety of treats that can be offered as turtle food. Many of the items listed above can be found in your food pantry, which is an added bonus. With most pets, there are also things that your pet turtle should stay away from. Turtles cannot properly consume milk feeding milk or products that contain milk, as turtle food is a definite chance of making your pet turtle sick. Another type of food that should not be used as turtle food would be any canned or processed foods. The added salt and preservatives can complicate the turtle’s digestive system.

Taking proper care of your pet turtle and giving them the proper turtle food is important.  Often time’s people believe that they can care for a turtle the same way that they care for a dog or a cat, only to be mistaken in the end. Caring for a turtle can be a great experience for everyone in the family, or even as a class pet. You can learn a great deal about your hard-shelled friend.