subject: Turtles As Pets: What Vitamins Should I Make Sure My Turtle Receives? [print this page] If you have any turtles as pets you will understand that one of the major parts of caring for them is to trying to ensure that they remain healthy. One of the best ways to do this is to provide them the right nutrition through the food you feed them.
All turtles are different and you will need to feed your turtle a specific diet depending on what species of turtle he/she is. Some turtles enjoy specific foods more than others but generally there are vitamins and minerals that all turtles need in their diet and these are vitamin D3,vitamin A and calcium. So why are they important and how can I introduce them into my turtle's diet?
Vitamin D3 partners well with calcium and is an aid which helps the absorption of calcium into your turtles body. Naturally in their habitats in the wild, turtles generate vitamin D3 through exposure to sunlight while going about their daily adventures. Most people who have turtles as pets keep them indoors so a good way to ensure your turtle receives this vital vitamin is to have a UVB lamp providing ultraviolet light into a section of their tank for at least 8-10 hrs a day. Ideally it is a lot easier and cheaper to allow your turtle 30 - 40 minutes of sunbathing where you would take the turtle outside into your yard and it can have exposure to natural sunlight every two to three times a week. Just having your turtle out for just those few minutes will be enough to help them to produce a sufficient amount of vitamin D3 in comparison to the 8-10 hours of artificial light needed.
One thing to keep in mind is that turtles are not used to extremely cold temperatures so if the weather is not particularly warm in your area it's always better to stick with UVB lighting.
Calcium is extremely important for good turtle shell development and healthy bones in turtles. Both aquatic and land turtles can have severe problems if there is a lack of calcium in their diet. The shells of aquatic turtles will become soft and rubbery and it's very possible that a young calcium deficient turtle will develop malformed limbs. Land turtles on the other hand can suffer from pyramiding which is a condition that causes the shell of a tortoise to become lumpy and form pyramid like deformations. The cause of pyramiding is through too much protein and not enough calcium in a tortoise's diet. Too much protein causes the turtle to grow at a much quicker rate than usual and this combined with a lack of calcium means the shell cannot expand quickly to keep up.
The best ways to provide calcium into your turtle's diet is to provide them with calcium supplements which can come in a few different forms. Calcium supplements for turtles usually come as powder but you can also use cuttlebones which is also used for birds and are a great way to induce calcium into your turtles diet to ensure they have good bone and shell health.
If you decide to use powdered calcium be sure to buy the non- phosphorus version so your turtle is only taking in calcium and not unbalancing the calcium to phosphorus ratio.
Vitamin A is important for your turtle's skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Vitamin A deficiency in a turtle's diet often results in turtles losing their appetites, swollen eyes and a runny nose. These symptoms all point at a condition known as hypovitaminosis A in turtles. A good way to provide your turtle with vitamin A is to feed them foods that are rich in this vitamin and this will be a good way for them to receive the sufficient amount needed.
These foods are:
*Dark leafy greens such as collard greens, mustard greens, Kale and parsley.
*yellow, orange flesh coloured vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes
*Cod liver oil: Just drizzle a bit over their food before you give it to.
