Living turtles have no teeth and are superbly replaced by hard, sharp horny sheaths called ramfotecs. With their help, animals cope with fairly solid types of food. When dismembering large pieces of food, the turtles help themselves with their forelimbs.

The main requirement for keeping land turtles is to maintain an optimal temperature regime that does not allow the animal to cool too much.

The peculiarity of the digestion of turtles is that their saliva does not contain digestive enzymes. Therefore, the food that is forcibly put into the mouth of the animal and even got into the esophagus is not digested, but rots, causing poisoning of the turtle. This means that, unlike other reptiles, turtles cannot be force-fed.

An hour and a half before feeding, an animal kept in an apartment on "free grazing" must be placed under a heater in order to "warm up" the turtle. It is better if the thermal baths last the entire daylight hours. As a last resort, your pets should be warmed up in the evening. Heating duration is two to three hours. Only in this case will she be able to eat with appetite and fully digest the food she has eaten. The main food for turtles in nature is various grasses, including dried ones (in our concept it is hay), leaves of shrubs, stems and fruits of cacti. Animals that live in farming zones diversify their table with various fruits. Some species do not refuse meat food, and also fell.

Young animals should receive food every day, after they reach the age of one year, the turtles are fed every two days.

Vegetables

With a few exceptions, land turtles are vegetarians, so feeding them is not a problem. They often prefer brightly colored fruits or flowers, especially red ones. Apples, pears, plums, tomatoes and beets are cut into small pieces, but overripe bananas can be given whole (small turtles - without a peel, large ones - with the skin). You can offer your turtle strawberries, raspberries, black currants, grapes, ripe cherries, peaches, apricots, sweet watermelon, oranges, tangerines. Drupes (cherries, peaches, apricots, etc.) should be pitted if there is a chance your pet will be able to swallow them. Some turtles eat onions.

It is important that the turtle's diet is varied. It happens that a turtle stubbornly refuses some product for weeks, and then suddenly, for no apparent reason, greedily pounces on it.

All turtles love salad, they gladly mash parsley, young beans and peas, fresh leaves of the pea plant (beets, parsley, spinach and other plants containing oxalates should be given in limited form). All hard vegetables (such as cabbage) should be cut into small pieces. Carrots and beets are peeled. In spring and summer, different flowers diversify the diet well, especially the flowers of red clover, dandelion and coltsfoot are fond of turtles.

Animal food

Some turtles are real gourmets and prefer slugs, earthworms and rather large insects. A friend of mine had a Central Asian tortoise, which had to share its rather large terrarium with agamas. Daily

she ate beetles and mealworms in fairly large quantities, which were actually intended for lizards.

Another, American, amateur in a terrarium with large Teiid lizards also had a land turtle (its species was not specified). The lizards were given raw eggs and horse meat, cut into finger-length pieces. As soon as these dishes were in the terrarium, the turtle "ran" to the trough and even pushed the lizards away in order to be the first to be ready for the dinner table, and there was a bowl of fresh salad, pears and tomatoes nearby.

In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to the excellent highly nutritious food - germinated wheat. It is eagerly eaten by all turtles, and there is no better food for feeding turtle juveniles, especially during the winter months.

Vitamin and mineral supplements

People often forget that turtles, especially young turtles as they continue to grow, need calcium to build their shells. Finely ground bone meal should be given daily with each meal. A pinch is enough for one individual. Bone meal is usually sold at pet stores. There are also special vitamin preparations for turtles on sale. (It is necessary to choose those that do not have phosphorus in their composition: such feeding for herbivores is harmful). They should be mixed into food. It's a good idea to put a piece of school chalk, old lime, or cuttlefish "bone" in your terrarium (pet stores sell it as bird food). The turtles will chew off pieces themselves as needed.

Canine and feline vitamin and mineral supplements are not suitable for turtles. Some of the vitamins they contain are bad for turtles.

Care must be taken when using fat-soluble vitamins. An overdose of these can adversely affect the animal. Water-soluble preparations can be diluted in drinking water or bath water. Turtles can absorb water with their skin, and vitamins will enter the animal's body along with the liquid.

Water

No living creature can do without water. But animals can get water in different ways. To replenish fluid reserves, turtles drink water from various bodies of water, including from drying puddles (this is not necessary in captivity), lick the dew (not all desert turtles are familiar with stagnant bodies of water) and eat wet food. Lying in the mud of half-dried puddles, the animals absorb moisture through their skin. Some species use an original way of collecting water. The turtle lifts the rear part of the shell, forcing rainwater to flow down a kind of "gutters" formed by large carapace shields and curved edge shields to the head, allowing the turtle to easily drink water. The drunk liquid is "stored" in the bladder and anal bladders.

Drinking water given to turtles in captivity should be clean, warm. It is poured into low, stable drinking bowls and saucers. It is also advisable to arrange "bath" days for the turtles at least once a week, placing them in a basin with warm (25-30 ° C) clean water. The procedure can last from 30 minutes to an hour or two.

It must be remembered that turtles love to defecate in water, so you have to change it in drinkers several times a day. Dirty water can cause disease in animals.

Therefore, if such a turtle is kept at home, then you need to be very careful about its diet. People who faced a pernicious problem began to maintain special nutrition journals for their pets:

• daily;
• weekly;
• monthly.

As a rule, the menu is prepared in advance, with planning for every day. This takes into account all the necessary vitamin supplements, in the form of calcium and various amino acids. If you bought a turtle, and you don’t know how to feed it, then first you should at least make a preliminary planning of its diet. In the process of feeding, it will become clear how to make adjustments to her nutrition. In order not to risk it, it is better to seek information from a specialist or "rummage" on the Internet, where there is a lot of useful information.

It is very important that nutrition is optimal and balanced. The turtle must not be overfed, but it must also not be allowed to starve. Her diet should include foods rich in essential vitamins and minerals to ensure the pet's normal development and growth.

If the turtle eats a lot of different foods, it can negatively affect the health and longevity of the pet. As a result of overeating, the turtle can develop liver and gastrointestinal diseases.

If the amount of food is insufficient, the turtle will not receive the required amount of nutrients, which can lead to defects in development.

Although land turtles eat mostly plant foods, care should be taken to ensure that the turtle also consumes animal food. This may not be more than 5% of the total diet, but this is quite enough for its normal development.

Those who do not know how to feed this animal can purchase special artificial supplements with vitamins, proteins and other microelements. How many of these supplements are required to the main diet is indicated on the package.

A complete list of permitted plants and vegetables can be found.

• Greens - 75%;
• Fruits, berries and vegetables - 15%;
• Complex dishes in the form of various cereals - 5%;
• Fortified supplements - 5%.

In the process of drawing up her diet, one must take into account the fact that certain substances, such as vitamin D 3, can adversely affect her health. You should carefully study the list of substances prohibited for land turtles.

It should be remembered that in animals that fall into captivity, there is a shift in its behavior. With a lack of nutrients, she will begin to eat everything, including the land in the terrarium. To prevent this from happening, you should take great responsibility to the organization of food for your pet. With proper and balanced nutrition, the turtle will delight others for many years.

Therefore, before starting to feed the animal, you should draw up an approximate diet:

1. As mentioned above, the basis of the diet is greens, in the form of lettuce and dandelion leaves, plantain and alfalfa, thistle and sorrel, lawn grass, as well as leaves and stalks of legumes (peas or beans). In addition to this greenery, turtles are happy to eat the inflorescences of various plants. The main component must always be in the feeder, and the reptile will decide how much to eat.
2. Vegetables are in second place.... Turtles love to feast on pumpkin seeds, fresh carrots, ripe zucchini, young beets and radishes. Once a month, the turtle can be given a taste of cucumber or horseradish.
3. The list of berries and fruits must include apples and pears... From time to time, you can include apricots, plums, raspberries, strawberries, and watermelon in the diet, but in small quantities.

Do I need to water the turtle

As a rule, land turtles get the main dose of moisture from vegetables, fruits and greens. Most experts say that it is enough to provide the turtle with a bath of water once a week and it will not suffer from a lack of moisture. The fact is that turtles are able to replenish the lack of water through their skin. If a turtle swims in a bowl of water for 10 minutes, then this is quite enough for it.

There are cases that after purchasing a turtle, this small animal still suffers from a lack of moisture. In such cases, provide the turtle with daily baths of water for some time. Water must be poured up to half of the body so that the head looks out of the water. For this purpose, at first, you can install a drinking bowl with clean water so that the turtle can drink at any time.

The diet of land turtles consists of plant foods. Being in natural conditions, the turtle consumes all the necessary nutrients to ensure its normal development. At the same time, the turtle always feels what kind of microelements it lacks at one stage or another of its life, and it copes with this task perfectly, looking for the food that it needs.

The turtle can be in a state of searching for scarce food for a long time without damage to its health. You can learn a lot about these amazing animals by reading the relevant information on the Internet.

What should not be fed to land turtles?

Unfortunately, the list of prohibited foods is extensive and should be consulted. This list includes cockroaches, crickets, eggshells, potatoes, garlic or onions, various meat products (including sausage and minced meat), bread, milk, various cereals (except rolled oats), citrus peels, cherries, seeds from any berries ... These foods can cause liver disease, which can significantly shorten the liver's lifespan. Therefore, when starting to draw up her diet, one should take into account the harmful effects of the above products on the turtle's liver and not include them in the diet.

A complete list of prohibited foods can be found.

Turtle feeding in winter and summer

Despite the fact that the animal is in captivity, it can feel the approach of cold weather, which contributes to a change in taste preferences. In the summer, the turtle eats more juicy foods, then with the arrival of the colder season, it prefers soaked hay and less juicy vegetables. In any case, you need to monitor the behavior of the turtle, as well as the fact that it consumes more from food.

In addition

Being in captivity, the turtle tries to follow natural instincts and can hibernate. Naturally, this can be facilitated by certain conditions of detention associated with a decrease in the ambient temperature within the zone of keeping the animal. It can be not only winter but also summer hibernation. In nature, turtles hibernate for two main reasons - a cold snap or lack of the required amount of food. To prevent this from happening, you should maintain the temperature at the proper level, as well as provide the pet with a variety of food. It should always be remembered that even a turtle must sleep under certain conditions, which is extremely difficult to provide for her at home.

In order not to risk the health of a small pet, you need to provide it with an appropriate regime, which is at the border of the maximum level. In such conditions, the turtle is unlikely to think about its hibernation, especially if it has all the necessary food.

It is very important that the heating resembles the warmth that the turtle felt when exposed to the rays of the sun. Indeed, in the sun the turtle not only warms up, but also receives a dose of UV radiation, which helps to better absorb calcium in the body. Without calcium, the turtle will not be able to develop fully and this should always be remembered. Therefore, the presence of a UV lamp is mandatory, as well as it must be turned on for several hours throughout the day.

From this it should be concluded that the future of a small pet depends entirely on who cares for him. You should not think that the animal will grow up by itself, without proper care. Unfortunately, this is not the case, considering what dangers lie in wait for the little turtle, if you do not pay due attention to its content.

The diet of very young red-eared turtles consists almost entirely of food of animal origin.For individuals that have reached a size of 10-12 cm, approximately 50% of the diet leaves and 50% is vegetable.

In adult red-eared turtles, the need for protein is much less - they switch to a predominantly vegetarian diet. In nature, as they grow older, red-eared animals move from deep-water areas rich in animal food closer to shallow water with aquatic vegetation. Here, adult reptiles can feast on plant food and catch unwary animals from time to time. Thus, in natural conditions, red-eared animals independently find the sources of vitamins and minerals they need at a given age. And when keeping this reptile at home, you should take care of its diet by organizing its food so that it is as natural as possible.

Vegetable food is certainly necessary for a turtle, especially an adult. But you need to know that not all vegetables, fruits and plants are suitable for feeding your pet. Some plant foods can be given as much as you want, while others can be given a little. But there are some plants that are strictly forbidden to give. So what kind of plant foods will benefit your pet?

Plant foods that can be fed to red-eared turtles in unlimited quantities:

• dandelion
• Clover
• watercress
• tops of carrots and beets
• lettuce
• plantain
• moan
• sedge
• thistle
• oats
• fescue
• creeping wheatgrass
• wheat
• barley.

It is not forbidden to feed the red-eared and the following indoor and garden plants:

• aloe
• geranium
• hibiscus
• violet
• chlorophytum
• coleus
• calendula
• Snapdragon
• mallow
• sage medicinal.

Plant foods that can be given to the red-eared turtle in limited quantities:

• apricot
• watermelon
• banana
• Cherry
• pear
• melon
• zucchini
• kiwi
• Strawberry
• raspberries
• mango
• carrot
• cucumber
• Bell pepper
• turnip
• asparagus
• pumpkin
• figs
• chicory salad.

Important: do not feed the red-eared woman with the same vegetables and fruits all the time. In order for your pet to receive all the vitamins it needs, diversify the diet as much as possible.

Plant foods that should not be fed to red-eared turtles

It is not recommended to feed your pet with plants that contain a lot of oxalants (spinach, cabbage, legumes, rhubarb). When these plants are fed in large quantities, the process of calcium absorption in the intestine is disrupted. Radish, radish, wild cruciferous - strumogenic plants. They can cause iodine deficiency and, as a result, the development of goiter. Tomatoes contain a lot of phosphorus, which interferes with the proper absorption of calcium. It is also better to exclude them from the diet of the red-eared turtle.

Plants that are strictly forbidden to give to red-eared turtles:

• oleander
• azalea
• monstera
• lily of the valley
• morning glory
• periwinkle
• crocus
• narcissus
• epipremnum
• spurge
• jasmine
• lobelia
• delphinium
• juniper
• ficus
• lupine
• mistletoe
• lily
• rhododendron
• cyclamen
• hydrangea
• nightshade
• chefler.

Some of the listed plants are so poisonous that just touching them can cause wounds and ulcers in the red-eared.

Also, do not give turtles citrus peels, fruit and berry seeds.

Aquaterrariums often try to decorate with algae, which adult turtles happily eat. In particular, red-eared animals love duckweed. You can place such aquatic plants as hornwort, ludwigia, ceratopteris, anacharis, spirogyra in the turtle's dwelling. But in no case should you plant ambulia, lagenander and elodea. They are poisonous.