Aquatic turtles are increasingly being kept in modern homes. The most common are the red-eared and marsh species. They are beautiful and pleasing to the eye with their leisurely movement in the aquarium. To provide the aquatic turtle with the necessary conditions for life, you need to know about the features of its feeding.
It is necessary
- - lean beef;
- - chicken meat;
- - a fish;
- - beef liver and heart;
- - shrimps;
- - insects;
- - snails and slugs;
- - floating plants;
- - vitamins and minerals.
Instructions
Step 1
Feed your aquatic reptiles with protein foods such as beef and chicken, fish, beef liver and heart. Offer your turtle chopped raw beef liver, heart, and fish once a week. Moreover, if the fish is seafood, it should be soaked, and small river fish is suitable immediately for consumption. Separate only the large fish bones, cut the meat into pieces and feed the turtle. A special place in the diet is occupied by crab meat and unpeeled shrimp - this is a delicacy for reptiles and is very useful for their shell.
Step 2
Treat turtles In addition to meat and fish, be sure to give an adult turtle cockroaches, beetles, mealworm larvae and water snails: a large pond snail and a horn coil. In the warm season, take the time to collect caterpillars, earthworms and slugs. Grow duckweed, hygrophilous and bacopa in a separate aquarium - adult turtles can eat plants. Treat your turtle to lettuce and dandelion leaves on the surface of the water.
Step 3
Create a ration for young turtles Small turtles need a carefully selected menu. A variety of food contributes to the correct development of the shell and the growth of babies. In the first 3 months of life, give meadow plankton - it contains many insects that got there during the mowing of the grass. A special dry mix containing fish flakes (10%), shrimp (50%) and amphipod (40%) will be an addition during this period. Do not forget to add vitamin D to your food - it is vital for turtles. In addition, for the growth of the shell, enrich the feed with calcium, trace elements and other vitamins. For babies whose length is 6 cm, 0.2 g of various components are needed daily. If the turtle is more than 6 cm in size, add 0.5 g of vitamins to its feed every day.
Step 4
Track the amount of food your turtle eats in 30 minutes - this is enough time for saturation. So that food does not remain, henceforth offer exactly the same amount. Feeding frequency depends on the age of the reptiles. Young individuals under 2 years of age and pregnant females should eat daily, and the diet should be varied, with the inclusion of large amounts of calcium in the food. For adult turtles over 2 years old, adequate feeding 2-3 times a week is sufficient.
Step 5
Choose a Feeding Method There are many ways to feed your turtle: by placing food in the water, feeding it with tweezers, or leaving the food on a raised platform near the water. The size of the cooked pieces is directly related to the size of the individual. To prevent the water from spoiling from food debris, feed the reptile with tweezers not only with chopped meat, but also with granulated dry food. If this does not work for you, offer food to the turtles on the shore. Leave food in the cage for no more than 2-3 hours to avoid trampling food.
