Keeping Turtles As Pets: Three Important Vitamins Every Turtle Owner Should Know About

When keeping turtles as pets you'll know that a massive part of caring for your turtle is trying to keep them healthy and a good way to do that is through the food you feed them and providing them with a nutritious diet.

All turtles are different and you will need to feed your turtle a specific diet depending on what species of turtle he/she is. Even though some turtles will enjoy certain foods more than others there are vitamins and minerals that are essential for all turtles, three of the most important being vitamin D3, calcium and vitamin A. 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. In their natural habitats turtles produce vitamin D3 through exposure to sunlight. 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. Those few minutes will be more than enough time for them to generate enough vitamin D3 compared to the 8-10 hrs of artificial light.

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. Pyramiding is caused when there is too much protein and not enough calcium in the tortoise's diet. The protein causes rapid growth but the lack of calcium means the shell cannot expand in time 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. A lack of vitamin A in a turtle's diet can result in swollen eyes, a runny nose and a loss of appetite. These symptoms all point at a condition known as hypovitaminosis A in turtles. There are foods that are rich in vitamin A that you can provide to your turtle when meal time comes around which will serve as good sources for this much needed vitamin.

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.

As a final tip for feeding turtles and providing a healthy diet for your turtle remember to not concentrate too much on providing just one particular vitamin or mineral instead try to provide a balanced diet consisting of all these essential vitamins and a few treats here and there to keep your little buddy happy. For more information on supplements and feeding tips for your pet turtle check out http://www.squidoo.com/feedingturtles