When an exotic resident such as the red-eared turtle appears in your house, many questions arise. You want to learn all about red-eared turtles. What should be the conditions for comfortable maintenance? What temperature should be maintained in the aquarium? When does mating occur? All questions are important and should be carefully studied. But the main one is still the question of how to feed the red-eared turtle. Let's figure it out.
Most
feeds for turtles (bloodworms, meat, squid) solve the problem of providing their body with protein. However, they do not saturate them with calcium.
How to feed the red-eared turtle to make up for this element? The best sources of calcium for turtles are small,
low-fat fish with bones, as well as land or
aquarium snails. You can also feed your turtle a thawed perch fish by cutting it into pieces. Large fish should be cleaned of costal bones. After that, it can be cut along with the vertebral bones and feed the turtle. Fatty fish, such as sprat, capelin, salmon, need to be held for 1-2 minutes in water with a temperature of 80C. Do not forget that meat is not the best food for turtles of all available. As a feed additive for young turtles, live food will be very useful - bloodworms, carriages, earthworms, and tubule. A great addition to the diet will be shrimp, squid, raw liver. If you give the turtle a liver once a week, you can do without adding vitamins to your food.
How to feed the red-eared turtle so that it does not lack vegetable food? For these purposes, she can be given young cabbage, lettuce, pond algae.
To feed a freshwater turtle, you can independently prepare a gelatin-based mixture. To do this, you will need 70 g of carrots, 50 g of apple and cabbage, 2 raw eggs, 145 g of fish fillet, 100 g of squid (fillet), 150 ml of milk, 20 drops of Tetravit, 10 tablets of calcium glycerophosphate, 30 g of gelatin and 150 ml of water. Pour gelatin with warm water. After it swells, completely dissolve it with a water bath. Pass solid feed through a meat grinder, add a gelatin solution and eggs whipped with milk. Enter crushed glycerophosphate and vitamins into the mixture when it cools down to a temperature of 30C. Mix well and refrigerate. Before feeding, cut the mixture into slices and warm to room temperature. This portion of the mixture is enough for ten feedings of an adult turtle. You can also add medicine to it if the turtle becomes ill.
After you have decided on the menu, you are probably wondering how to feed the red-eared turtles? To get started, place food near the water's edge. After the turtle gets used to it, you can feed it on the islet by applying food in a saucer with water.
Now you know how to feed the red-eared turtle. Do not forget to give her food on time, otherwise she can eat aquarium fish, if any. Young turtles under the age of 2 years need to be fed daily, but adults need food no more than 2-3 times a week.