How To Find The Best Turtle Food For Your Pet
If you own a turtle or are interested in owning a turtle, it's important to feed your turtle the best food you can provide. This requires understanding your turtle's species, using pellets if need be, and even experimenting with different types of food over time.
Choose Based On The Species
One of the most important parts of feeding your pet turtle is having an idea as to what kind of food their species needs to thrive. Some turtle species are entirely herbivorous, while others are omnivores or even carnivores. Additionally, different species will have a different range of foods that they can eat, and you will want to take advantage of this unique range, as your turtle will survive the best with a variety of foods. Plus, aquatic turtles typically eat aquatic food, while other turtles don't. If you don't pay attention to the kind of food your turtle's particular species can enjoy, you can risk making your turtle sick in the long or short run.
Pellets As An Option
If you aren't in a position to feed your turtle fresh vegetables and live food every day, then commercial turtle food pellets may be right for you. While they don't typically offer the variety that turtles like in their diet, the pellets are still made to give them all the nutrients that they need in a domestic environment. They can also be great as a back-up option when your turtle needs to be fed but you don't have any fresh vegetables or live food on hand. Additionally, these pellets can add nutrients to your turtle's diet that they may be missing along with typical turtle dietary supplements you may decide to buy.
Figure Out The Live Food
Finally, you will want to figure out the live food aspect of your turtle's diet. Most turtles are omnivores, and they generally need meat to survive. Live food offers protein, enrichment, and exercise for your turtles. As with turtle food that may be "alive" but isn't "live," such as fruits and vegetables, the kind of live food that you should feed your turtle depends on the type of turtle. For example, aquatic turtles can benefit from small fish and types of shrimp. Meanwhile, other turtles can also benefit from small crabs, fish, and shrimp, as well as mealworms and other invertebrates.
If you own or want to own turtles, you need to understand how to feed them properly. You can feed your turtles fruits and vegetables meant for their species and supplement them with pellets and live food. Speak with a professional for more information about turtle food.