Every species around the world has come up with a set of food types that allow them to grow steadily and remain healthy for the rest of their lives. A properly balanced diet is one that provides the animals (as well as humans) with all the necessary nutrients and organic compounds, as well as vitamins and minerals for the proper development of the entire body. The same thing concerns turtles.
Initially, turtles are more into meat mainly due to their demand while growing up. And although turkey is not the first option in the menu of a wild turtle, we can be sure that if cooked properly, turtles will eat turkey and they will do it with relish. However, how often should you feed turkey to your turtle? Is it the only meat /do you know if turtles can eat hot dogs?/ appropriate for your reptile? If you wish to learn more about the dietary habits of turtles, I encourage you to carry on with the reading!
Herbivore, carnivore, or perhaps omnivore?
The first thing to determine is the true nature of turtles. You see, I spent quite a lot of time browsing through the Internet. Thanks to an abundance of scientific journals and articles on food turtles tend to eat, I managed to learn quite a lot regarding the best meals our reptiles should receive. What is more, thanks to experience as a pet owner and my personal knowledge about these animals, it was possible for me to create an in-depth explanation of what typical nutrition of turtles really looks like.
You see, turtles, similarly to many other reptiles, are omnivores. Nevertheless, this is not as easy as it may seem at the first glance. As they are born, turtles tend to look for meat nutrition more often. It is all due to the fact that they are growing and, as a result, they are in need of high amounts of quality proteins.
However, with time they become more and more accustomed to plants and fruits, and as a result their need for meat meals drops the moment they reach maturity. It means that meat is crucial, especially at the beginning. However, with time it is no longer as important as it was earlier on.
Turkey can be good, but only if it’s cooked
Usually, turtles tend to look for very small animals – mostly insects and bugs. Quite often they enjoy earthworms, beetles, and even turtles can eat snails or slugs. Besides that, they also enjoy smaller amphibians in the form of tadpoles and frogs ->https://wildestpets.com/do-turtles-eat-frogs/. It is obvious to say that these are things they will look for in the wild.
What does feeding look like in terms of pet turtles? In order to keep your turtle happy, we should make sure that not only his habitat (namely tank) is designed to be as natural as it can be. Providing our favorite pet with the same food it would hunt for in the wild is also a good idea, because this is simply a legitimate and verified method of granting our reptile everything it needs for a proper development.
Still, it doesn’t mean that from time to time it is not possible to introduce some variations to the turtle’s diet. You see, it is possible to provide these reptiles with raw or cooked lean ground beef. Besides that, it is also possible to think about cooked chicken. It is obvious to say that if chicken is good, so will be turkey. It is mainly due to the fact that there are many similarities as far as the macronutrients of these meat types are concerned.
Nonetheless, we have to remember that cooked meat is a much better option mainly because of the fact that we reduce the risk of carrying salmonella onto a turtle’s body. Obviously, to reduce the chance of liver problems, we should never give our turtle pig products and other fat meat meals.
What to look for while feeding your turtle with a turkey
- Cooked turkey only
As I already cleared this out, the first and most important thing as far as feeding turkey to your turtle is to make it cooked. Raw meat is dangerous and there is no need for risking your turtle’s life only because we do not want to heat the piece of meat.
- No skin!
Another thing to watch out for is to get rid of the skin. You see, people love skin that usually is an integral part of a meal where chicken or turkey quarters, or simply chicken or turkey legs are served. However, skin may not be the healthiest piece of meat out there. Yes, there are several health properties we cannot overlook. However, it is also fat and contains bad cholesterol. And as we know, fat meals are a big no no for your pet turtle.
- Refrain from seasoning
Another important thing to remember while feeding your turtle with a turkey is to serve meals without any additional seasoning. Things that humans may enjoy and treat as an additional method to boost up the taste of meals doesn’t necessarily mean it is good for the turtle’s health.
Diverse nutrition as a key to appropriate growth and healthy development
Feeding your turtle with turkey is not the worst idea. It is surely possible for your reptile to eat this type of meat simply because it contains a high amount of protein. What is more, it is low in fatty acids and fat in general. Therefore, we are not risking any liver problems.
Obviously, it is not a natural meal for your turkey, so the best recommendation I can provide you with is to refrain from giving your turkey larger quantities of food such as this. Clearly, we have to bear in mind proper preparation of food pieces. More importantly, we have to implement diverse meals just to make sure that we take care of our turtle holistically.
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