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Herbivore Turtles Make Great Vegetarian Pets
First things first: Make sure you have a turtle species that is a natural herbivore! You cannot feed vegetarian foods to a carnivorous turtle and have it survive. There are carnivorous turtles, omnivorous turtles and herbivorous turtles. Herbivorous turtles include these species: Florida Red-belly; Gopherus agassizii - Desert Tortoise :Gopherus berlianderi - Texas Tortoise; Gopherus poliphemus - Gopher Tortoise; and Chelonia mydas - Green Turtle.
Feeding: Adults need to be fed only about once every 3 days. The easy rule of thumb for food quantity is "the size of their head". For juveniles, once a day feeding is suggested. Your turtle pet will soon recognize you and that you carry food. You will soon be trained to bring them their preferential treats, not all of which may be good for them -- just like children.
Turtles will eat, even overeat, if presented with plentiful food. The only pure requirement is a water source into which they can easily get in and out. It must be deep enough for them to completely submerge and with a sure method of exit onto dry land. Turtles use water to cool themselves down and to help them eat happily. You'll find lots of food hauled in the water by your pet. This is not something that you will be able to 'untrain' them from doing!
Habitat: However, they also need to get completely out of the water, bask in real daylight and sun (or the artificial sunlight full spectrum lamp equivalent) to dry out their shell completely. They love to tunnel under leaves and rocks, not so much because they are shy, but as a protection against predators as well as to cool down, like a human would do under a sun umbrella.
Diet: Animal Planet recommends the following for a herbivore turtle diet:
Mixed green leaf vegetable base (90+%)
· Dandelion
· Cabbage
· Clover leaves
· Kale
· Lettuce - preferably Romaine
· Parsley
· Carrot toppings
· Coarse mixed grasses
· Flower heads and other natural fodder plants
Fruits* and vegetables (<10%)
· Melon (red, orange, white)
· Tomato
· Mango
· Pineapple
· Cauliflower
· Apple
· Pear
· Red and green sweet peppers
· Cucumber
· Zucchini
*Fruit should be used sparingly -- the only real NO is citrus fruit.
In addition, a good vitamin and calcium supplement is absolutely necessary for a happy, healthy turtle.
Going on vacation and want to make sure your turtle has just the right amount of food? We suggest you look into an automatic fish feeder. You can program it to release pellets of a similar size as turtle food and it will ensure that there is not too much food being delivered. It is also recommended that you have someone come in and just make sure that your pet is doing well at least once during a longer term vacation. You wouldn't want it caught in some stranglehold or awkward constriction during your absence, now, would you?
Size of tank: 10 gallons in volume per inch of shell size is a handy rule of thumb. You should plan on having a real habitat, not just a puddle of water in a bed of stones for your pet.
One of the best sites for answering questions about turtles is at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com This site also has a listing for vets in each state who handle turtles ... well! Go here: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/vetlisting.htm
Feeding: Adults need to be fed only about once every 3 days. The easy rule of thumb for food quantity is "the size of their head". For juveniles, once a day feeding is suggested. Your turtle pet will soon recognize you and that you carry food. You will soon be trained to bring them their preferential treats, not all of which may be good for them -- just like children.
Turtles will eat, even overeat, if presented with plentiful food. The only pure requirement is a water source into which they can easily get in and out. It must be deep enough for them to completely submerge and with a sure method of exit onto dry land. Turtles use water to cool themselves down and to help them eat happily. You'll find lots of food hauled in the water by your pet. This is not something that you will be able to 'untrain' them from doing!
Habitat: However, they also need to get completely out of the water, bask in real daylight and sun (or the artificial sunlight full spectrum lamp equivalent) to dry out their shell completely. They love to tunnel under leaves and rocks, not so much because they are shy, but as a protection against predators as well as to cool down, like a human would do under a sun umbrella.
Diet: Animal Planet recommends the following for a herbivore turtle diet:
Mixed green leaf vegetable base (90+%)
· Dandelion
· Cabbage
· Clover leaves
· Kale
· Lettuce - preferably Romaine
· Parsley
· Carrot toppings
· Coarse mixed grasses
· Flower heads and other natural fodder plants
Fruits* and vegetables (<10%)
· Melon (red, orange, white)
· Tomato
· Mango
· Pineapple
· Cauliflower
· Apple
· Pear
· Red and green sweet peppers
· Cucumber
· Zucchini
*Fruit should be used sparingly -- the only real NO is citrus fruit.
In addition, a good vitamin and calcium supplement is absolutely necessary for a happy, healthy turtle.
Going on vacation and want to make sure your turtle has just the right amount of food? We suggest you look into an automatic fish feeder. You can program it to release pellets of a similar size as turtle food and it will ensure that there is not too much food being delivered. It is also recommended that you have someone come in and just make sure that your pet is doing well at least once during a longer term vacation. You wouldn't want it caught in some stranglehold or awkward constriction during your absence, now, would you?
Size of tank: 10 gallons in volume per inch of shell size is a handy rule of thumb. You should plan on having a real habitat, not just a puddle of water in a bed of stones for your pet.
One of the best sites for answering questions about turtles is at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com This site also has a listing for vets in each state who handle turtles ... well! Go here: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/vetlisting.htm
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2. Smoothie recipes
How? It's easy!
Privacy policy:
Your email address is safe;
we NEVER share our list.
