Can Turtles & Tortoises Eat Watermelon?

Most turtles and tortoises can eat watermelon. Your pet turtle and tortoise may enjoy watermelon without worry, and there are even some health advantages to eating it. However, consistency and restraint are always ideal while feeding watermelon.

Seeing your pet turtle enjoy its food is one of the cutest things you can do. However, you should check whether the food is healthy for them to eat before giving it to them.

In this article, we will discuss the many factors to think about before giving watermelon to your turtles and tortoises. Okay, so let’s begin!

Can Turtles Eat Watermelon?

As a fact, turtles eat everything and everything. It’s quite OK to give watermelon to your turtles. All you have to do is give your pet healthy, well-rounded food.

A watermelon will not harm a turtle in any way. In addition to many other fruits, watermelons are safe for turtles to consume.

It provides them with a delightful, nourishing, and healthful snack. Watermelon may be eaten without harm by the majority of turtles, even red-eared sliders as well as terrestrial tortoises.

Do Turtles Benefit From Eating Watermelon?

Watermelon has several advantages for turtles. When given a choice between fruits and vegetables, turtles often go for fruits like watermelon.

• Incredibly high levels of hydration may be found in watermelon. Wet food is preferred since it is less of a challenge to ingest than dry pellets.
• The water content of watermelon is about 90 percent. The turtle stays hydrated thanks to this delicious fruit.
• Both vitamin A and vitamin C in watermelon are crucial to the well-being of turtles.
• Consuming watermelon aids turtles in many ways, including maintaining a healthy water balance, flushing out harmful pollutants, and keeping their skin supple.

Take a look at the amount of feeding a turtle if you want to know more about a turtle’s nutritional needs.

How To Feed Your Turtle Watermelon?

You should use precaution if you decide to feed your turtle watermelon. The stomach of your turtle needs time to adjust, so starting gently is recommended.

Keep in mind that you’ll have to throw away the seeds first. In addition, the green rind of a watermelon should be avoided while serving your turtle.

The difficult-to-bite green outermost part poses a choking risk for your turtle.

Don’t try to force your turtle into eating watermelon. After a few failed attempts to entice your turtle with watermelon, you may realize that it just does not appreciate the flavor and go on to try other fresh produce.

Precautions While Giving Watermelon To Your Turtle

Watermelon is safe for turtle consumption, but there are a few considerations to make before giving it to your reptile pets.

You may get a lot of your daily sugar intake from watermelons. Overfeeding might induce severe health problems in your turtles.

The percentage of fruit in a turtle’s plant-based diet should be between 10% and 20%. Lean proteins and greens are what you need to fill in the remainder.

Don’t keep giving your turtle chunks of watermelon. If a turtle just eats one kind of food, it may not get enough of certain vitamins and minerals.

Salmonella germs are often found on the skin of turtles. You should always rinse your hands thoroughly after caring for your turtle.

If you see any unusual behavior or physical changes in your turtle, you should instantly cease giving it watermelon.

Maintaining varied food for your turtle is always recommended. Avoid giving your turtle just one kind of food.

Can Baby Turtles Eat Watermelon?

To a large extent, a turtle’s diet is determined by factors such as its age, size, and nutrient criteria. Be aware that young turtles need a higher protein diet than adults.

Therefore, infant turtles need a diet richer in the animal matter than one rich in plant matter. Watermelon is a tasty treat, but they really need to be eating mostly protein.

Can Tortoises Eat Watermelon?

There is a wide range of species that can consume watermelon, but each type of tortoise has its own preferences.

The vast majority of tortoises eat mostly plants and vegetations.

The variety of species makes it difficult to narrow our attention to just one, so we’ll concentrate on a few.

Yellow-Footed Tortoise

Southern Columbian rainforests are the natural habitat of the yellow-footed tortoise. This species may be distinguished from others because of the striking yellow markings on its limbs, carapace, and head. 

Since it eats a wide variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables, this tortoise would therefore enjoy a slice of watermelon every once in a while.

Elongated Tortoises

They may be recognized by their dark yellow shells and the common name “yellow-headed tortoise,” both of which refer to their distinct appearance in the wild.

One may expect them to live for 40-50 years and carry as much as 7 pounds throughout their lifetime.  

As a result of their mild nature, they make lovely pets. Since they are omnivores, you may also feed them bits of watermelon.

Red-Footed Tortoise

The South African red-footed tortoise is a well-liked pet in the United States. Their lower limbs are decorated with a tricolor pattern of orange, yellow, and red.

They have fascinating characters and may live to be 50 or older.

Being omnivores, watermelon will be a wonderful occasional snack for your companion red-footed tort.

Mediterranean Tortoises

If you have a Mediterranean tortoise, it’s advisable to steer clear of sugary fruits like watermelon since their digestion mechanism wasn’t built to handle them.

Like Hermann’s tortoise, which lives in the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean tortoise predominantly consumes plant matter.

Watermelon, and other fruits, may cause stomach problems in animals of this type.

Do Tortoises Benefit From Eating Watermelon?

Some of the vitamins and minerals found in watermelon include A, B, and C. Since watermelon is composed of 92% water, feeding it to your tortoise is an excellent method to keep it hydrated.

Due to the significant water content, tortoises can maintain a healthy skin moisture level. Watermelon is a great source of lycopene and other antioxidants, and it’s also low in calories.

How To Feed Watermelon To Your Tortoise?

Making sure your tortoise can digest watermelon is important before giving it to it for the first time. It’s recommended to start with a little amount and watch for feces later.

Even though the majority of fruit-eating tortoises can consume watermelon, there can be those that don’t metabolize the fruit very well. Providing nothing goes wrong, you should be fine to go.

How Often Can You Feed Your Tortoise Watermelon?

The fruit-eating tortoise can have watermelon sometimes, but too much of a good thing might be bad.

Watermelon, along with other suitable fruits and vegetables, has been advised by several specialists as a special treat to be given around once a month.

Many people think it’s OK to feed their pets a tiny piece of watermelon maybe once a few weeks.

Due to its high sugar content, watermelon should be used in moderation and only as an occasional treat in your meals.

Before You Go

Keeping your turtle’s and tortoise’s diet simple is important. You may feed them a diet high in pellets, live prey, vegetable, and fruit.

Vegetables and fruits may provide variety, but before introducing anything new to their diet, it’s wise to check online to be sure it’s healthy. So here is our guide on safe fruits for turtles. Don’t forget to check it out!

Can Turtles Eat Fruit? [Safe Fruit List]