Blind turtles are also able to lead their life perfectly. All they need is a little bit of extra help from you. In this article, I’ll talk about how to feed a blind turtle.
How to feed a blind turtle:
Here are the steps you should follow when feeding a blind turtle:
- First, it is better if you can move the turtle to a separate container partially filled with water. It will help you to control the turtle more easily. As the turtle will have less space to move, it can easily find the food.
- Get a food that has a very strong odor. As the turtle is blind, it will have to depend on its nose to find the food. I’ll recommend feeding turtle pellets that are really smelly. You should also feed other foods such as dried worms, boiled chicken etc.
- It is really important that your blind turtle gets a lot of calcium. So, I recommend getting a powdered calcium supplement from any local pet store. Before feeding any food to your turtle, just roll them up on the calcium powder. It will give your turtle the necessary calcium it needs to have a stronger bone as well as shell density.
- Take a piece of the food. In the case of commercial pellets, take one piece of pellet. Now, stroke the turtle’s head with the pellet softy. It will let the turtle know that food is nearby. The turtle will also be able to sense the smell of the food. Now, put the pellet near the turtle’s mouth in the water. Soon, the turtle will be able to smell the food and eat it without any difficulty.
- Always remember that aquatic turtles can’t eat anything out of the water. So, you must place the food on the water. Otherwise, your turtle won’t be able to eat it.
- After it has eaten enough, put the turtle back into the main tank.
That’s how you can feed a blind turtle. I know the process can be boring, but it’s necessary to keep your turtle healthy. Also, after some practices, the turtle should automatically find the food on his own.
Why Turtle’s Get Blind?
There are basically three reasons why a turtle can get blind. Here they are:
- The first reason is swollen eyes. It is a turtle eye disease which generally occurs from the deficiency of vitamin A. it can also occur from bacterial attack. There is generally nothing you can do on your own to treat swollen eyes except getting the help of a professional vet. I have writer detailed article on turtle swollen eyes. Read them here.
- The second reason is turtle eye infection. Poor water quality is mainly responsible for this. Like the case of swollen eyes, there is nothing much you can do to cure turtle swollen eyes. You need to seek the help of a professional vet. The vet will examine the condition of the turtle thoroughly and may prescribe a systematic antibiotic. You can learn more about it here.
- The third reason is, mainly natural. Some turtles can be born with closed eyes. There is nothing you can do.
Turtle eye care:
Here are some authentic supplements for turtle eye care. You can apply these if you like, but it is better to consult with a vet beforehand:
Nature Zone Turtle Eye Vitamin:
It is a balanced formula to give necessary vitamins to turtles. it also consists of beta-carotene, anti-oxidants as well as minerals. It contains a large selection of nutrients that can prevent possible eye diseases. You just need to put 2-4 drops to your turtle’s mouth. You can also put the drops on the food.
Zoo Med Repti Turtle Eye Drops:
It helps to take care of your turtle’s eyes. You can also use this drop if your turtle is suffering from swollen eyes or any kind of eye infection. It helps to remove debris and dirt from your turtle eyes and keep them clearer.
Zoo Med Reptile Calcium:
As I have said earlier, calcium is very important for turtles, especially blind turtles. Zoomed reptile calcium will take care of your turtle’s calcium requirements. It contains a rich source of calcium carbonate. This supplement doesn’t contain any impurities that can harm the turtle. Most importantly, it will provide vitamin D3 to tour turtle which is essential for almost every reptile.
Check out the supplement here.
API Turtle Water Conditioner
It’s not a supplement for your turtle, it’s more of a conditioner that helps to keep the tank water safe for your turtles. in most cases, bacteria are responsible for causing eye diseases to turtles. To keep bacteria at bay and keep the tank water safe, API turtle water conditioner can help you.
API turtle water conditioner helps to make supply water safe for turtles. It also removes harmful chemical elements from the tank water such as chloramine and chlorine.
Blind turtles should be taken care of properly. They need a little bit of extra help from the owners to lead a happy life. We can surely do that for our beloved turtles, right?
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