Lovers of animals: what to feed the turtle at home?

If you are going to have a turtle at home, you probably wondered not only about where and how to keep it, but also what to feed the turtle at home. Still - it's not a cat or a dog that can eat from the master's table, or fish, for which a special food is already sold! In this article, we will tell you about the proper nutrition of your pet.

Before you start talking about what to feed the turtle at home, you need to decide which variety of these lovely creatures you will have - land or freshwater. They are completely different in terms of content!

Tortoises

So, before buying a pet, you need to purchase and equip its habitat - it must be a terrarium with heating, a swimming pool, a feeder and shelter. If the turtle is small - up to 12 centimeters in length, the usual aquarium for 100 liters will do. The bottom is covered with river gravel or pebbles up to 6 cm high. You can not leave the bottom naked or fall asleep with clean sand or sawdust!

Heating can be a normal incandescent bulb of 100 watts, and the pool - a small plastic trough or a bowl. An excellent house will come out of one half of a flower pot.

Turtles should bask in the light twice a day for 2-3 hours, and 2-3 times a week to swim in warm water at least 30 degrees, up to 4 hours (young individuals), or sprayed from the spray daily (adults).

Now let's talk about what to feed the turtle at home. First of all, they can not be given in any case. This milk, cereals, peel of citrus fruits, black bread and dry food for other animals, and other food from the "master's table" is also not suitable.

Then what to feed the home turtle? In the summer - chopped herbs (clover, dandelions, plantain, etc.) with vegetables, fruits and berries. The proportion should be respected - 70 percent of greenery and vegetables in the diet, 25 percent of fruits and 5-various supplements (raw liver, minced meat, ground eggshell, boiled egg, etc.). They are introduced once a week. It's good to give cereals that are germinated in the dark.

How many times to feed the turtle? Adult individuals can be fed several times a week - 2-3 times, and until the turtle is not a year old, it should be eaten daily.

Freshwater Turtles

They are contained in the water area, where the land should occupy at least 25 percent of the area. For an adult turtle, an aquarium with a volume of 100-150 liters is suitable. Unchlorinated water is changed 1-2 times a week. Heating is located under the overland section. Freshwater bugs are often overgrown with algae - do not clean the shell with coarse brushes!

What to feed the turtle at home in this case? The first condition is diversity. Do not throw food into the water, feed it on the beach. Such turtles like small fry with bones and aquarium snails. Give them pieces of thawed seafish.

As an additive you can use squid and raw liver. If you feed the turtle exclusively with meat, it can develop rickets. Add to her diet various supplements - mineral and protein, as well as vegetable food.