Turtles are beautiful and very interesting animals.
The long turtles in particular are often kept as pets and can even become really tame.
However, it is important to keep them as appropriate to the species as possible.
This not only means that the turtles need enough space and have daily exercise or that they can keep their natural hibernation.
You should also meet your turtles’ needs in terms of nutrition so they won’t go lacking for anything.
In this article, you will find out what is important in the diet of tortoises, what they have to eat and what they are allowed to and what not to do.
Mediterranean tortoises eat plants
Most tortoises are pure herbivores.
These include, for example, the Greek tortoises, which are most common in this country.
It is therefore important to find out in advance what the turtles really need.
An improper diet can quickly lead to various diseases , so that some specimens only live for a few years.
The right nutrition for these animals is therefore composed of different plants.
You can find out what these are below:
Wild herbs and grasses
Wild herbs and grasses should make up the main diet of tortoises because in their natural habitats they also feed on many different plants that also grow in my area.
You can, for example, pick these fresh from the meadows yourself in spring or summer in order to be able to offer your animals the most vitamin-rich feeding possible, which also corresponds exactly to their natural diet.
The most popular forage plants are:
- aloe
- Bear’s garlic
- Nettles
- daisy
- Common lady’s mantle
- Goose weed
- Raspberry leaves
- Real lungwort
- Common evening primrose
- yarrow
- Chickweed
- Pansy
- Ribwort plantain
- Dead nettle
- White clover
- Big burdock
- dandelion
- Plantain
When choosing forage plants, it is important to pay attention to a few criteria.
For example, the different plants should not grow directly on the side of the road where there are many cars.
These plants are too dirty.
In addition, the individual herbs should of course not be toxic either.
Furthermore, you should make sure that the meadows are not fertilized, because fertilizer is often very toxic for the animals and in the worst case can even lead to the death of the turtles.
Make sure you choose low-protein plants that are low in calories and low in carbohydrates on top of that.
It is also important that the plants contain plenty of fibre and provide animals with many different vitamins.
Calcium and minerals also play an extremely important role for turtles and are absorbed through the diet through plants.
If you look at the ratio of calcium and phosphorus, it should be 2: 1, whereby the calcium must predominate.
In addition, not only ensure a balanced and vitamin-rich diet but also make it beautifully varied.
Always the same plants can quickly become boring for the animals.
What mistakes do owners often make?
Many turtle owners give little or no thought to the nutrition of their darlings.
This leads to the wrong forage plants being selected again and again.
Many owners choose plants such as clover, dandelion or mallow above all.
Although these can be given, they are particularly high in calories, proteins and carbohydrates, so they should only make up a small part of the diet.
In addition, the diet is often too low in calcium.
In this case, it is important to add calcium to your diet.
Finally, some turtle owners mistakenly choose the young plants over and over again.
However, these usually contain too little fibre and too much protein.
Use herbal hay
Hay should definitely not be missing in the diet of turtles, so this is the perfect supplementary feed.
The special hay consists of grasses and herbs and is therefore a particularly important component when it comes to the species-appropriate nutrition of tortoises.
These dried plants are always available to the animals in their natural environment so that they can eat some of them every day.
This is a very crude fibre-rich product, which is what makes it so important for the animals’ digestion.
The hay’s job is to cleanse the turtle’s digestive tract. In addition, it is a natural remedy against parasites.
There is also of course the option of drying individual herbs and grasses yourself and then serving them as hay.
So you know exactly what it is and you don’t have to go to the pet shop.
All you have to do is pick the respective plants and spread them out in a warm and dry place.
The plants usually only dry out for a few days.
The storage can then be carried out in a pillowcase, for example, so that it always stays nice and dry and no mould can form.
How often, and in what quantities should tortoises be fed?
When it comes to the frequency and amount of feed, there are also numerous errors that can endanger the health of the animals.
In contrast to mammals, tortoises get by with about an eighth of the amount of food they eat, so overfeeding occurs again and again.
The consequences of overfeeding can be fatal. Affected turtles, for example, can grow far too quickly.
This in turn leads to permanent damage to the bones and organs.
The feeding should look like this
- Meadow hay should be available every day, which is served fresh.
- Fresh herbs should be served every 1-2 days. These are to be distributed over 2 servings.
How large the feed ration should depend on the size and number of animals.
However, one can orientate oneself on the fact that each turtle should only be given such an amount that can be completely eaten within approx. 10 minutes.
Of course, there are also animals here that, due to their character traits, eat much slower or even faster than others.
Animals that push or even attack others should then be fed separately.
What do turtles eat in transitional periods such as autumn and spring?
Nature doesn’t necessarily give us many options to feed the turtles in spring and autumn.
While the animals often hibernate in winter, you as the owner have to get creative during the transition times.
During this time you have the opportunity to use different types of salad. But here, too, you should ensure a good chance.
what types of salad are suitable for turtles?
- Arugula salad
- Pick salad
- Romaine lettuce
- Lamb’s lettuce
- Catalogna, also known as the giant dandelion
- endive salad
The nutritional supplement for tortoises
In animals that are kept as pets, it is important to have calcium in addition to a balanced diet.
This is mainly due to the fact that the turtles in the wild consume significantly more calcium than in captivity, which is mainly due to the soil, which is much more calcareous than in this country.
In addition, many snail shells and small limestone can be found in the habitats, which are also taken in by the animals.
So that there are no deficiency symptoms, it is important that you give your animals additional calcium.
This is particularly important for bone structure and armour construction.
Sepia shells, for example, which consist of 40 per cent calcium, are particularly suitable.
You can simply place these at the feeding point for the animals so that your turtles have constant access to them.
So it is important not to simply sprinkle the calcium over the food, because turtles only take in as much as they need themselves.
Spreading over the forage could cause an overdose. In the worst case, this can lead to the calcium being removed from the animals’ bones again.
In addition to the sepia shells, mashed eggshells are also suitable.
As soon as you decide on this variant, you should boil the eggshells for 10 minutes in advance.
The boiling means that the very stubborn protective layer on the eggshells is removed and these can be better absorbed.
Fresh water
Always offer your turtles enough fresh water.
In larger enclosures, you can also distribute several water bowls, which is especially useful when there are several animals.
Small bowls are well suited.
Also, keep in mind that some tortoises like to indulge in a bath every now and then.
The bowls should be easily accessible and large enough for this.
Foods that are unsuitable for turtles
Of course, turtles are not allowed to eat everything they would eat.
While many owners want to do something good for their darlings in between and give them tasty snacks, it is wrong in terms of health.
what not to feed your turtles!
Fruit:
Fruit is very much loved by turtles, but it is anything but healthy.
For example, fruit destroys the intestinal flora of animals.
This in turn leads to the fact that the utilization of the diet is destroyed and animals suffer more often from parasite infestation.
Dairy products:
Dairy products are also very unsuitable to be used as food for turtles.
These also destroy the natural intestinal flora of the animals, which in turn would lead to a reduction in parasite infestation and problems with the utilization of the diet.
Cereal products:
Cereal products are also among the nutritional components that attack the intestinal flora of the turtle and thus promote parasite infestation and curb food use.
Finished feed:
Ready-made food for turtles, such as pellets and food sticks, are also not suitable for feeding the animals.
Although they taste very tasty and are easy for owners to dose and particularly practical, they often contain far too much protein.
This fact would lead to the animals growing too quickly, which, as already mentioned, would lead to bone and organ problems.
Meat products:
Meat products also contain too much protein, so that here too the growth of the animals would be too fast and, sooner or later, permanent damage to the skeleton and organs would occur.
Vegetables:
Most vegetables are not healthy for the turtles.
It attacks the natural intestinal flora of the animals, which means that the affected turtles often have to struggle with parasite infestations and with the proper utilization of normal food.
Vitamin supplements:
There is now a large selection of different vitamin preparations from different manufacturers’ brands.
These are totally superfluous if the animals are properly fed and should therefore not be used. So they can be just as harmful as they are healthy.
It is important to only give such preparations when the animals show signs of deficiency.
In addition, you should then speak to a veterinarian about whether feeding with such preparations is really recommended.
Switching to the feed we have named would usually be sufficient and completely cover the animals’ natural nutritional needs.
An overdose of vitamins and minerals can lead to severe health consequences, so these should not be underestimated.
Conclusion
Turtles are beautiful and particularly exciting animals, but they also have many requirements when it comes to keeping them appropriately.
As soon as owners do not comply, it can quickly lead to illness or life-impairing changes.
Therefore, always pay attention to a balanced, varied and healthy diet.
Don’t experiment too much, instead make sure that your turtles get all the important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from the plants listed above.
If you really pay attention to everything, you will really enjoy your darlings and enable the turtles to enjoy a long and healthy life.
