Can turtles eat watermelon? Here is how red eared sliders and other species react to this fruit!
Giving your beloved reptile a treat is surely a good idea. It is not only a very adorable sighting, but in many cases, it helps in providing them with a wide range of vitamins and minerals that are essential for their wellbeing. Since we always have to remember about ensuring the most appropriate diet for your red-eared, box, or any other aquatic turtles, giving them sweet fruits that contain a lot of water may seem like a good idea =>do turtles drink water?. Peach or watermelon are the best examples. But is it safe to feed your pet turtle with such food?
Well, it depends. Turtles can definitely eat watermelon and they will be delighted to have such a watery fruit at their disposal. However, as it is in the case of many other things, your turtle’s diet cannot be flooded with a high amount of fruits like watermelon (did you know that your turtle cannot eat avocado?). Even if an adult or a baby turtle can eat that food, it doesn’t mean that you have to risk the turtle’s digestive system by changing its entire dietary plan.
So, what is the best way to feed a turtle watermelon? How to make sure that you feed your pet turtle in an appropriate way? Many people don’t know that this reptile has to have the appropriate amount of vitamins and minerals, and even the right calcium to phosphorus ratio just to keep all its body parts and organs in a perfect shape. In today’s article I am going to talk about watermelon and what quantities are safe for turtles. Besides that, I am going to present you with some data regarding nutritional values of that food. Obviously, my main goal is to ensure that you don’t ruin the dietary plan of your turtle or tortoise just to give your turtle watermelon.
Is watermelon healthy for turtles? See why turtles eat watermelon
There have been some debates that in the wilderness, a turtle isn’t into these fruits because simply they are not accessible to them due to many reasons. As a result, we should not give them too much of that just to make sure nothing bad happens to them. Still, let me ensure that it’s perfectly safe to offer your pet this type of food – as long as you do that in moderation.
The first thing that makes turtles love watermelon is the fact that 92% of their composition is simply water. As a result of such high water content, you can keep your pet hydrated without any troubles. Besides that, these types of fruit (watery ones), are usually low in calories, and it applies to watermelon just as well. In other words, there is no need to ensure you that giving watermelon to your turtle will not cause obesity or any other troubles.
Another thing to remember is that there are some vitamins and minerals in this fruit just as well!=> check other fruits Do turtles eat pumpkin? or can turtles easily eat grapes!. You see, watermelon contains a lot of Vitamin A, which is the reason why your reptile will not have problems with many illnesses. What is more, Vitamin A helps keep your turtle safe from such issues as swollen eyelids, mouth infection, lethargy, or even respiratory illness. Let’s not forget about the watermelon rind, which is also quite a nutritious element of the fruit.
Giving watermelon rind to a turtle will raise the amount of fiber in your turtle’s belly, which will surely improve digestion. It is quite an important thing to do, especially if your turtle diet is meat oriented and there haven’t been many veggie or fruit additions that turtles need -> check out wildestpets.com/can-turtles-eat-corn/.
Obviously, don’t feed your turtle watermelon at larger amounts, because even if it is a safe and delicious treat, feeding watermelon to red-eared slider turtles or any other species will most definitely cause serious troubles as far as their health condition is concerned. Therefore, make sure that a fruit you pick helps turtles in becoming healthier and not the other way around.
See also >> Can turtles eat blueberries? <<
This is what you need to do to feed your pet turtle with watermelon safely
First thing to remember is that in order to avoid any troubles, you should remove seeds from the fruit. You see, turtles are omnivorous and they are quite a specific type of animal. Quite often they will put anything they can into their mouths. Because turtles will eat almost anything, we can’t rely on them spitting out things they should not eat. As a responsible pet owner, you need to remove the seeds before feeding watermelon to your turtles.
Luckily, there is no need to remove watermelon rind, because they are not harmful to turtles. In fact, these are the healthiest parts of the fruit because the ring itself has a lot of fiber and other nutritional values that slider turtles, box turtles, and many other species need. Another thing to remember is that this type of food should serve only as a snack for turtles, and not a supplement or, even worse, dietary replacement.
Which fruits are good and which ones are not for these reptiles?
Obviously, tortoises and turtles can eat watermelon as much as they can eat other fruits that do not have too many dangerous ingredients included. Quite often fruits are high in sugar, so we can’t treat them as a supplement or a dietary replacement. However, there are plenty of additives that can serve as a great snack like, for example, peach, apples, pears, bananas (even with skin), grapes, and even raisins.
Calcium, phosphorus, and what else to make food safe for turtles? Here is a list of things to consider while preparing an ideal turtle diet
A proper, healthy diet is the basics if you want to keep your turtle safe and free from infections, diseases, and other health issues. Even though watermelon is safe, we cannot simply restrict ourselves to one type of food. A very important part of a turtle’s dietary plan is a varied diet, a diverse one that provides all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
That is why we should look at pellets. There are quite a lot of nutrients that they need. Interestingly, a commercialized pellet food is capable of becoming a quarter of the turtle’s entire diet. Besides that, we have to remember about fish and insects. The so-called feeder fish (a very large group of small fish species that are great for turtles) is a must. However, turtles also eat the insects, so the combination of these two is of utmost importance.
Let’s also not forget about the fact that veggies are believed to be a huge part of the turtle’s diet as well. Vegetables in the form of carrots, squash, zucchini (can your turtles eat green beans?) , and other similarities will surely guarantee a balanced diet that you should give your pet.
Final thoughts on giving watermelon to your turtle
A lot of experts recommend food that is rich in vitamins and that guarantees the right amount of minerals, including an appropriate calcium to phosphorus ratio that is responsible for keeping your turtle healthy all the time. The idea to feed your pet with watermelon is definitely a good one. Obviously, we can’t forget about the fact that too much sugar is not recommended and watermelon is full of it. High in sugar does not mean that you can never feed your pet with watermelon.
Simply provide it with moderate amounts and make sure that you remove seeds before feeding, because if a turtle eats watermelon seeds, you might cause quite a lot of troubles to its digestive system. It may also lead to choking, so make sure you never feed your reptile with seeds.
Now you know if a pet turtle can eat watermelon!
Like most fruits, watermelon has both advantages and disadvantages. Although it has high sugar content, at the same time it has a lot of protein – mainly because of its rind. Therefore, if we are to give watermelon to a turtle, we should do that with the rind. Besides that, the right diet should consist of pellets, meat and insects, and vegetables.
Submit your review | |
