Fruits and vegetables comprise a significant part of a turtle’s diet but can turtles eat strawberries? Are they good for their health?When you newly adopt a turtle, you might not be sure about its type and species as the species of a turtle plays a pivotal role in determining its diet. It is always wise to either adopt turtles from a recognized pet shop or contact a vet when you purchase a turtle to know all about its diet and particularly what you can feed your turtle the most.Strawberries, like most other fruits and vegetables, are rich in nutrients but at the same time have a high sugar content which makes it tricky to know if you can include them in the regular turtle diet. When it comes to fruits like strawberries, bananas, and guavas, moderation seems to be the key as when your turtle is fed these fruits in moderation, they prove to be a boon rather than a curse. The same is the case with apples, and pears, as well as a few other fruits and veggies. Turtles are well known for being one of the longest-living members of the reptile family. Turtles can live for 30 to 40 years if they maintain a balanced and healthy diet. Scroll down to learn how you can include strawberries in a turtle’s diet and the manner to feed such food items to a turtle.Can turtles eat the tops of strawberries?Turtles love to eat fruits and vegetables along with regular turtle food, leafy greens, and aquatic plants. In fruits, turtles especially love tropical fruits such as banana, papaya, guava, and also strawberries. Turtles love eating strawberries and there are no considerable health issues if you occasionally feed strawberries to your pet turtle. But you may be wondering, can you feed it the top part of this fruit?Well, feeding strawberries to your turtle isn’t a hindrance of any sort as long as you feed it occasionally and not as a regular part of its diet but be careful about the top part of the strawberry fruit. Although turtles can eat the top part of strawberries too, it is advisable they only consume the young leaves present at the top of this fruit as the older ones tend to contain high cyanide gas which is relatively toxic for turtles when consumed in large quantities and could well make a healthy turtle sick. To reduce the risk of your turtle getting sick, it is advised to chop the tops off the strawberries before feeding them to your pet turtle.Are strawberries safe for turtles?Whether strawberries are safe for turtles or not largely depends upon how the pet turtle owners feed this fruit to their turtles. In general, strawberries are safe for turtles to eat and won’t cause any significant harm but at the same time, if turtles overeat this fruit or any other fruits and vegetables, it can lead to digestive issues.Strawberries have proven to be of best utility when they are included as an occasional item in a turtle’s balanced diet. These fruits prove to be a good source of vitamins which helps in the growth of these animals but at the same time, excess consumption can easily lead to a deficiency of nutrients in a turtle’s body. An interesting fact about all turtle species is, whether it is box turtles such as the American box turtle, the Chinese box turtle, or other types such as the aquatic turtles, all these turtle species are omnivores but prefer eating fruits and vegetables like romaine lettuce, grated carrot, other plant products only after they have grown and attained a certain age. When young, turtles prefer a significant part of their diet to comprise of animal-based food as it increases their protein intake which is essential for growth in the early stages. However, despite strawberries being a healthy treat food for these animals, you can’t be feeding them on a regular basis as items like apples, watermelon, berries can only be a part of a turtle’s diet and not their regular balanced diet.How to feed strawberries to tortoises?Tortoises just like turtles can eat strawberries but always in moderation. Just like a box turtle or a red-eared sliders turtle, if tortoise species like the Mediterranean tortoise or the desert tortoise eats a significant amount of strawberries, it will face health issues. Now that we know that this animal can eat strawberries, let us take a look at some of the pointers we should keep in mind before feeding such foods to a pet tortoise.Whenever you decide to feed any sort of berries like strawberries or raspberries to your pets, make sure that the fruit is organically grown and that they are washed thoroughly. Next up, there is no need to chop the strawberries as tortoises can comfortably eat strawberries as a whole. Additionally, do not feed only strawberries to your pet turtle or tortoise, always look to mix them with other fruits.How often can turtles eat strawberries?Turtles like to eat strawberries but it is your responsibility to not offer your pet turtles such foods on a regular basis. A turtle can experience harm upon regular consumption of strawberries for a prolonged period of time owing to the sugar content of strawberries. To maintain a healthy and balanced diet, strawberries should be offered to your pet turtles in moderation.On average, it is said that turtles should be offered strawberries a couple of times a week along with other foods especially fruits or items like leafy greens and aquatic plants which comprise the regular diet of a turtle.Strawberries Nutrition And Benefits For TurtlesPets like turtles and tortoises can be offered strawberries occasionally owing to the nutrients they offer. Strawberries should not be offered in the form of regular everyday food but the nutrients it has to offer are not exactly the same as the typical turtle pellets and the plant-based food the aquatic turtles often eat.Strawberries provide vitamin A and vitamin C to turtles along with calcium which is essential in keeping these pets healthy and avoiding any sort of vitamin deficiencies. Strawberries are a good addition to a turtle’s diet as long as they are fed in moderation.Effects Of Overfeeding Strawberries To TortoisesTurtles of all types, whether it is the aquatic turtles, the red-eared slider turtles, the green sea turtles, or any other kind enjoy eating strawberries and there are high chances that you might get tempted to provide an excess amount of strawberries to these animals but this can wreak havoc on their digestion system.Strawberries contain a lot of sugars in them and this excess sugar can harm the bacteria load in the turtle’s gut which can further lead to digestion-related issues. At the same time, overconsumption of strawberries over a long period of time leads to deficiency of certain kinds of vitamins and minerals in the body of a turtle, as well as a tortoise. Interestingly, not only strawberries but overeating of any kind of food item can negatively impact the health of a turtle. Some of the food items which you should not feed to your turtle at any cost include the likes of feeder fish, raw meats, and certain types of fruits as well. On the other hand, food items that can comprise the regular balanced diet of turtles include kale, waterweed, and romaine lettuce. These items are believed to be the perfect items for the staple diet of a turtle. For additional protein gain, you can feed turtle pellets to your pet turtle as it is a well known protein staple.
Fruits and vegetables comprise a significant part of a turtle’s diet but can turtles eat strawberries? Are they good for their health?
