Feeding Your Pet Turtle

Both you and your turtle will find feeding times enjoyable since chewing food is fun for them. Turtles are great pets for animal lovers – regardless of their age.This is why you have to do everything you can to provide them with the best possible care. This fundamentally involves knowing the type or species of your pet turtle, so that you can provide them with the diet most suited to them. Identifying the best food and when to give it is quite essential to make sure that your turtle's health is preserved and protected.

Knowing the details of how to feed your pet is not as difficult as it seems and mostly denotes some observation of your turtle's initial eating habits and preferences. Once you've mastered this well, your pet turtle can be pleased with a long life, disease-free health, and a satisfied lifestyle. Most turtles eat both meat and vegetables, thus classifying them as omnivores, so a balanced diet with an equal combination of both would be a recommended diet for pet.

Some types of turtles such as tortoises are vegetable lovers and enjoy gnawing at grass and plants. However, some of them are scavengers feeding on insects and even other sea creatures.

Both aquatic and terrestrial turtles have similar feeding habits, although aquatic turtles often prefer meat whereas terrestrial turtles have an affinity for vegetables. Older turtles eat less meat, so special care must be taken to keep them away from too much protein. As far as vegetation is considered, turtles feed on berries, alfalfa, cabbage and lettuce.

As you can see, a good understanding of the species of your turtle will enable you to learn what you must feed your pet turtle with. You can include commercial turtle food in their diet, though not extensively, since turtles willingly relish vegetables and meat. However, its food it needs to be finely chopped and well apportioned.

Feeding your pet turtle at a time when they are willing to take food can be gagged within the first few days of their arrival. Knowing this will enable you to avoid foods they don't want to eat. Uneaten food leads to contamination of the tanks, making the environment filthy and smelly. A clear knowledge of when and what to feed your turtle can almost completely avoid that kind of contamination. In addition, they must be regularly provided with fresh drinking water served in a separate container.

While there are guidelines on how to feed your pet turtle with a well balanced and healthy diet, variations are always welcome. This will help you learn more about your pet’s eating habits. They may eat only vegetables and can be entirely content with it. As a pet owner, you may never really know unless you try and expose them to other food varieties - though you should keep in mind the right proportions and precautions. If your turtle displays signs of lethargy and is having cloudy skin patches or milky eyes, these are signs of poor nutrition and disease.

Turtles are a wonderful and fascinating type of pets whose presence in the house can be a memorable experience. Hence, to avoid any infections and dangers to their health, you want to give them the best possible care and love them unconditionally.

Different Types of Turtles

Turtle identification is useful because you will not only know what sort of turtle you have, but you will also know how to take care of it properly. There are different types of turtles, and if you own one, it is important that you know what it is because not all turtles have the same requirements.

Box Turtles
Box turtles are known for their dome shells that are hinged at the bottom. This allows the turtle to close its shell to escape predators. They are omnivores that have sharp eyes and a keen sense of smell. The young are carnivorous, and as they grow old, become herbivorous. They are also known to eat road-kill.

One of the box turtle's defense mechanisms is to snap its jaw shut. This can produce a sound as loud as 75 decibels, which scares predators away. This sound can also be used as a mating call.

Box turtles can live up to twenty years, with some reaching the age of 40 or 50.

Sea Turtles
Sea turtles are found worldwide, except in the Arctic Ocean. There are seven species of sea turtles. These include the flatback, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley.

Sea turtle identification can be achieved if you see that the turtle has a dorsoventrally flattened body, two hind legs, and highly evolved paddle-like front arms. Leatherback turtles are the only turtles without a hard shell. Instead, they carry a mosaic of bony plates under their leathery skin.

Sea turtles are speculated to live up to 80 years.

Snapping Turtles
These are formally referred to as Common Snapping Turtles to distinguish them from the Alligator Snapping Turtle. They are also known as “snappers”.

Snapping turtles are known for their beak-like jaws and mobile head and beak, which is serpent-like. They are found in shallow lakes, ponds, or streams. They eat both plants and meat.

Common snappers are known to live for up to 39 years in captivity, while those in the wild are estimated to live for up to 30 years.

Soft-shell Turtles
Soft-shell turtles really have soft shells. Mostly, their shells are thickened skin. Because of this, they are more sensitive to bites, bumps, and rocks than other turtles with hard shells.

Softshell turtles spend most of their time under water, buried under sandy rivers or lakes with just their long probiscus sticking out of the surface. These kinds of turtles breathe through their skin, so they are also vulnerable to water impurities.

Tortoises
Tortoises, or land turtles, are reclusive creatures that are difficult to breed in captivity. They have specific air moisture, diet, light, roaming space, and temperature requirements. They are also impossible to train.

Most tortoises are herbivores, but they will also eat various insects. Additionally, tortoises are sexually dimorphic, which means they have differences between sexes. To determine this, you will have to look at the tail. The females have smaller tails that are dropped down while the males have longer tails that are pulled up to the side of the rear shell.

Turtle Diseases

Raising your turtle means making sure you protect them against many diseases. Turtles can get sick and catch diseases easily so it's important to stay vigilant. You don't want your pet dying. Here are some diseases to watch out for and protect your turtle from:

Algae Growth– Turtles that spend a large portion of the day in the water will naturally form algae on their shell. Small amounts of algae will not hurt your turtle but if it keeps on growing, it will become necessary to remove the algae from your turtle's shell. To remove it, run the affected areas under warm water for a few minutes and then wipe it away. Make sure you check your turtle's tank for humidity to stop the algae from returning.

Blood Poisoning– Blood poisoning occurs most often after your turtle has cut itself and the wound has become infected. From there the bacteria can easily travel throughout the rest of the turtle’s body. You should take the turtle to the vet's office to get the proper medicine and get advice on how to dress the wound and ensure this does not happen again in the future.

Drowning– Young turtles are at the greatest risk of drowning because they are not as strong as older turtles but also because they can more easily become trapped. Make sure you design a good tank with the right amount of water and ensure there is nothing the turtle can become trapped under. If you put too much water in, you increase the chance your pet turtle might drown.

Eye Problems– Turtles can have a lot of problems with eyes. They can get a lot of parasites and as turtles get older, they can form cataracts. Some of these problems are unfixable. However, if you notice any changes in the appearance of your turtles eyes, take them to a vet right away. Don't wait because it may get worse if you wait.

Appetite Loss– There are a lot of reasons why a turtle might not eat. If the temperature is not right the turtle will have a hard time eating. Sometimes they don't for a day or two after they are moved or put into a new environment. If your turtle doesn't eat for more than a few days, it could be the sign of a larger problem.

Mouth Rot– Mouth rot occurs in turtles that have a large amount of bacteria built up in their mouth. This generally will cause a great deal of irritation on the lining of the turtles' mouth, making it red and sore. A lack of proper nutrition is usually the primary cause of mouth rot in turtles. A veterinarian will be needed to provide you with some sort of antibiotic or other ointment to apply to the turtles mouth.

Respiratory Infections- Unfortunately respiratory infections are very common in pet turtles. A variety of factors can cause respiratory infections, many of which are unavoidable. To do what you can to avoid this condition, ensure that the temperature and humidity levels are in line with what is suggested for your turtle. Signs of respiratory infections include stressed breathing, runny nose, swollen ears. If you do believe that your turtle has a respiratory infection check the temperature and humidity of your turtles’ habitat.

Shell Rot– Shell rot primarily occurs to due bacteria or fungi infections. The bacteria can rot the shell can come from a variety of sources such as dirty water or feeding the turtle food which has unwanted bacteria in it. The other major causes of shell rot or lack of proper nutrition and a lack of necessary vitamins. When a turtles shell begins to deteriorate it will need to be kept out of the water for as much time as possible. If a turtle has shell rot, it will take a lot of time for it to be fixed and require daily cleaning and care by you. You can fix shell rot but it is a very hard thing to fix.
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Soft Shell– Turtles require a lot of vitamin D to keep their shell hard. If you provide them with a proper UVB bulb that will allow them to get enough vitamin D3. If possible it is best to take your turtle outside during the warmer months to provide it with direct sunlight. Another option is to provide your turtle with adequate D3 vitamins.

Turtles face a wide range of health problems but if you take good care of your turtle, you will find it will remain healthy for a long period of time. However, chances are that it will get sick at some point and it's important to make sure you understand the potential diseases a turtle might get and receive and how to cure them. Nobody wants their pet turtle to die on them.

Turtle Tanks

Turtle tanks are the most important thing you will need to care for your turtle. These tanks need be strong so they can withstand water pressure. Without the proper living habitat, your turtle may get sick or weak fro being unable to move around or swim properly. Ensuring the right tank for your turtle is as important as ensuring he is eating the right food. Here are some tips on what kind of turtle tank you should have for your turtle:

Length: 3-4x the turtle’s length
Width: 2x the turtle’s length
Height: 12 inches above the highest level that the turtle can reach inside the tank so the turtle can't escape

If you put more than turtle in a tank, increase these dimensions by 50% per turtle. This will ensure that each turtle has enough personal space to move around and live in. If the tank is too small, the turtles might fight each other.

For the water area in the tank:
Length: 3-4x's the turtle’s length
Width: 2x's the turtle’s length
Height: 2x the turtle’s length

If you plan on adding decorations, large stones, or anything else to the water, make sure you increase the size of the water area to accommodate this. Every time you put something in your turtle tank, you are taking away space that the turtle can use for itself so you always want to think about that and make sure the turtle as plenty of space.

Here are three usual tips too:

Tip #1
Remember no turtles are the same. Every turtle species needs different housing, feeding and water needs. Clearly find out what species your pet turtle is before you get a tank so you get the best tank for that species.

Tip #2
Avoid putting sharp, small, or pointy objects in tank. Your turtle could hurt themselves or eat it and die. And you don't want that!

Tip #3
Aquatic turtles need to be kept in aquariums with deep water, a basking area. Turtles that are land turtles still need some water but should not be kept in aquariums. They only need a little water so a small little wading pool is fine.

Using these tips, you will make sure that turtle or turtles has enough space to move around and live in in their tank as well as making sure you get the best type of tank for your turtle. Land and water turtles both have different needs when it comes to their habitat.

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