What Do Land Turtles Eat?

If gopher tortoises are living in the wild, their metabolism has to go through a lot of changes. Among all these are the seasons throughout the year, the availability of natural foods, and the temperature and in turn the lighting that plays a very important role in the way the turtles eat and what they eat.

Each of these changes in nature are no longer part of the turtle’s routine when it is in captivity, therefore it can become somewhat confused or even quite demanding with what it consumes .

When a tortoise is in the wild, it usually uses its shell as a shelter and waits for the best conditions to feed if food is not available. Which is a situation that does not happen if they are in captivity? The turtles in these circumstances if they do not receive regular feeding, they will begin to deteriorate, with the passing of days they will feel very weak and then they will die.

It is important that we know what species our pet turtle belongs to and how old it is. In general, the original habitat in which the turtles live is what will tell us what is the appropriate type of food with which we should feed the turtles.

The tortoises may eat some meat, but this only happens when the tortoises are young.  However, as time passes and with the years that it is turning, the turtles end up being omnivorous. Therefore their diet is based on fruits, vegetables and plants as well as some meat.

Land turtles are initially vegetarian, compared to water turtles which prefer meat much more. However, no matter what class they are, they will always like some variety.

Regardless of how adapted and appreciated pet turtles are, none of the foods alone will provide them with all the nutrients that are necessary for us to guarantee their well-being.

Therefore, those tortoises that feed especially on plants, in the same way we have to make sure to give them a small amount of meat, which on the other hand the diet of water turtles is mostly carnivorous, for this we have to supplement your diet with another group of foods, among them we can mention fruits and vegetables.

It can be a bit complicated to offer them a diet that meets each of the nutritional needs of a turtle and at the same time it is also difficult to find one that can really be fed with a small amount. It is for this reason that many specialists agree that vitamin supplements offer many benefits for most captive tortoises, especially if they are kept outdoors.

What do you need:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Fish
• Insects and also some worms
• Mollusks
• Meat
• Specially prepared food for turtles
• Dog and cat food

Instructions

Steps to follow to feed our land turtle

1. As we have already mentioned, turtles are omnivorous animals, therefore their diet consists of both fruits and vegetables, as well as the meat of some animals, therefore in order for us to keep them healthy it is very important that their diet has a lot of variety and have a high content of nutrients, in this way we can prevent them from suffering from skin and shell diseases, as well as from other health problems.
2. Although many owners of tortoises have in mind that lettuce is the main food for this type of pet, the truth is that there are a large number of other vegetables that can offer greater amounts of vitamins, like an excellent contribution and nutrients. For this reason, it is recommended that we include in the diet of our tortoise other alternatives such as some grated carrot, chopped tomato, some corn grains, some chopped zucchini, spinach, broccoli or even cauliflower, fresh at all times and at the same time raw.
3. Fruits are part of the foods that are most appreciated by tortoises, for this reason it are advisable to add them to their diet. Chopped red apples, watermelon, apricot, or even a small amount of pineapple that isn’t too sour are all great options.
4. Tortoises, being omnivorous animals, require a small amount of animal protein, for this we can offer them snails, some larvae and certain small insects, which become delicious alternatives for our pet tortoise, and it is something that we can give them from time to time.
5. Food is not only important, in the same way we must remember to put clean water at all times. It is recommended that we change it every day and we have to leave it in a container to protect it from sunlight and other pets that we have in our home.
6. In the same way it is important that each of the foods are washed correctly, we must serve them in a container and chopped in an appropriate size, this is a way with which we can prevent our turtle from eating a lot of soil or at the same time that it invests too long when trying to eat their food.
7. Before putting each of the foods to our land turtle, it would be best to consult a veterinarian or a specialist, since depending on the kind of turtle that our pet is, there may be certain foods that are not entirely good for she. In addition to that we can also consult the indicated portion according to the age it has and the species that it is.
8. It is very important to be able to offer our turtle meals at approximately the same time and in the same place. Turtles are animals that learn quite quickly and form a group to wait hungry for their daily food.
9. Turtles have a fairly slow metabolism. For this reason, it is recommended that the food is distributed correctly in different portions throughout the day. The food, like the water with which we feed it, must be at room temperature, neither too cold nor too hot.
10. It is recommended that we change our turtle’s diet frequently, because if we feed it the same for more than three days it could get tired, but some others can develop a certain addiction that will be very difficult to get out of. To avoid this situation, we must mix our turtle’s food so that it can eat different things every day.

Tips

• The fruits and vegetables with which we feed our pet turtle must be completely free of chemical products, since pesticides and herbicides can cause serious damage to their health.
• Avoid feeding our pet turtle dairy products and other foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and any other food that is only for human consumption.
• It is advisable to offer foods that have a high content of calcium and phosphorus, since these are important elements that are found in the shell of the turtle, therefore in this way we will have a very healthy and strong turtle.
• In any pet store we can find food prepared especially for tortoises. In this way we can have the opportunity to complement your diet in a very simple way.
• We can offer you some dog food and also cat food, since these are preparations that have an excellent content of each of the substances that our turtle needs to be able to grow healthily. They especially love cat biscuits.
• The frequency with which we should feed our land turtle varies if we take into accounts the period and especially according to the age of the animal. If it is in the growth phase, it is necessary that you have to eat every day, on the other hand, in the case of adult turtles, it is advisable to leave them fasting for a day at least once a week.
• It is important to keep in mind that when a turtle arrives at a new home, it can stop eating for at least the first two or three days, therefore it will reject the food that we offer it. If the food is the same as what they were fed in the store, that’s completely normal, but if it’s the opposite, it’s best to offer completely different foods.