As a responsible map turtle owner, you have to be careful about your pet’s diet. What you are feeding it and what it should eat can make a huge difference. So, before planning the diet chart for your map turtle, you have to learn more about its food preferences.
Map turtles can eat fruits like bananas, apples, and berries. But feeding fruits daily is not recommended.
In this article, you will know why fruits are not good for map turtles’ health and which fruits they can eat. Also, you will get a proper diet guide for your pet map turtle.
Why Are Fruits Not Good For Map Turtles?
We all know that fruits have high nutritious values, and to stay healthy, we have to eat fruits every day. But the digestive system of a map turtle does not work like a human’s. Its stomach can not stand everything we eat.
Fruits have high sugar and citric acids in them. These contents can harm the map turtle’s health due to regular consumption. How? Take a look at the list below:
- The map turtle’s stomach can get bloated.
- The sugar and acid can cause stomach ache.
- Eating fruits regularly often leads to diarrhea.
Not only these, but the map turtle can suffer from other health conditions too. And that is why you should avoid feeding fruits to the species.
Which Fruits Can A Map Turtle Eat?
Map turtles are omnivorous, and they can eat almost everything. You can feed them more or less all types of fruits. For example:
- Banana
- Apple
- Berries
- Watermelon
- Oranges
- Fig
- Mango
- Cantaloupe
- Papaya
- Kiwi
- Tomato
- Grapes
How To Feed Fruits To The Map Turtles?
You can not provide the map turtles with the whole fruit. You have to process the fruit in such a way that the turtles can easily eat it. Here are some tips for doing that:
- No matter which type of fruits you are offering, clean it with water.
- Shred or chop the fruit into small pieces.
- Remove the seeds from the fruit.
How Much And How Often Should You Offer Fruits To The Map Turtle?
Map turtles are voracious species, and they will eat as much as you will give them. Moreover, they love eating sweet foods. So, if you add fruits to their daily meal, they will eat without creating any trouble. But after that, they will face the health issues I have mentioned above. You should maintain the rules on how much and how often to offer fruits to the pet.
Fruits can never be the main dish to the map turtle’s meal. You can add a small amount of chopped fruits with the pellet or vegetables. Two or three small pieces of grapes or berries are enough. If you do not want to feed fruits with the main diet, you can provide it as a snack for frequent treats.
There is no exact rule on how often you can offer fruits to the map turtle. But feeding it once a week will cause no harm. You can feed it twice a week if you want. But offering fruits too often can lead to diarrhea and other health conditions.
The Proper Diet For A Map Turtle
Though map turtles are omnivorous, they act like a carnivorous species throughout their life. The ideal diet for a map turtle will consist of 80% of protein with a small portion of vegetation. Here are the items you can feed a map turtle:
- Vegetables: Anacharis, turnip green, green leafy vegetables, kale, parsley, duckweed, romaine lettuce, water lilies, escarole, zucchini, etc.
- Protein: Snail, shrimp, krill, worms, beetles, crayfish, minnows, prawn, feeder fish, etc.
- Fruits: Banana, apple, strawberry, cranberry, grape, watermelon, kiwi, cantaloupe, orange, tomato, fig, etc.
With these items, you have to prepare an ideal meal chart for the map turtle. You should sprinkle each meal with vitamin and calcium supplements to ensure the map turtle’s good health. You can also offer commercial pellets. Click here to learn more about a map turtle’s proper diet.
If you want to know how much and how often to feed the map turtle, do not forget to read this article.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that fruits are full of nutrients. Eating green, yellow, or orange fruits can help your map turtles stay healthy and develop a defense against diseases. But feeding too many fruits or too often can backfire the whole thing. So, always maintain a routine and decent diet chart for the map turtle.
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