Turtle’s Diet
Feeding your turtle friend the right kind of food is essential if you want your pet to be happy and strong. Many people presume that all pet turtles are the same and that you can therefore feed them all the same turtle food. The truth is that there are many kinds and breeds of turtle and terrapins, and they sometimes have quite varied dietary needs. For example, certain kinds of terrapin love gobbling down worms. This is not your average, run-of-the-mill terrapin food!
However, all turtles and terrapins do require an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals. As a rule of thumb, if you feed your turtles a variety of fresh, leafy greens and other vegetables, these should provide most of the nutrition they need, as these foods are naturally rich with the required nutrients. However, if their regular diet is deficient in certain minerals and vitamins, you will need to give them supplementary nutrition. You can normally purchase supplements at your local pet store. The packaging should indicate how often to provide these vitamin and mineral supplements, but as a rule, adding them to your turtle’s food once or twice a week should be sufficient.
In addition, you might want to set a calcium block in your pet’s habitat for it to nibble on, as calcium is not normally present in large doses in regular turtle food. One need is constant no matter what breed of turtle you own: they need a constant source of fresh drinking water—changed frequently. Make sure that it’s in a shallow bowl or other container that they can easily dip their mouths into and drink.
Different breeds have different needs, so it’s always good to ask at local pet store for any additional guidelines regarding nutritional needs that your pet turtle has. If they’re not certain, read Internet articles on the subject or chat online with others who own the same type of turtle. In fact, why wait till you own one to find out what special terrapin food it needs? It’s best to do all your research before you actually go out and buy a pet. That way you can check ahead of time whether your local shops or pet stores actually stock the supplies and food that your pet will need.
No matter what breed of pet turtle or terrapin you settle on, bear in mind that they will probably live thirty, fifty, even a hundred years! So before you actually bring a pet terrapin home, you need to make sure that you’re in this for the long haul. As the Beatles song says, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?”
