Can You Feed Cabbage to Your Pet Turtle

Can You Feed Cabbage to Your Pet Turtle

Today, some people are keeping the turtle as a pet at home.

If you have a pet turtle, then you must have got confused in the beginning.

The first question is what food you will give to your turtle.

The problem is very natural as the turtle is not an ordinary animal for making a pet.

Can turtle eat cabbage?

Yes. The turtles can eat cabbage and several other plants and their leaves.


Photo Credits

The turtle lives in water and usually eats aqua plants.

In addition to the water plants, the turtle can eat leaves and parts of other plants also.

Same way, the leaves of cabbage are tasty for the turtle.

These leaves are healthy and nutritious food for them.

The cabbage can provide various vitamins like vitamin B6, A, C, E, K, and iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.

Hence, we can see the cabbage is full of nutrients and complete food of its own.

The cabbage is also beneficial in various ailments like headaches, obesity, constipation, arthritis, heart ailments, and eye problems.


Photo Credits

The cabbage provides a considerably low amount of carbohydrates and fats, and hence it is suitable for everyone.

Best Diets for Turtles

The food of turtles depends on their species and region of living.


Photo Credits

One species may like one meal, and the other may reject it.

Turtle is a unique carnivorous aqua animal.

It is carnivorous when young and gradually moves to omnivorous or herbivorous.

The turtles of different species have a distinct preference for foods.

For example, cabbage and other vegetable are the favorite foods for turtles of red-eared slider species.

Can Cabbage Harm Your Turtle?

The cabbage also contains goitrogen, and this substance is known for disturbing the production of thyroid hormones.

Hence excessive intake of cabbage can cause hypothyroidism.

A significant quantity of cabbage is required to reach that level, which is almost impossible for a turtle to consume.

In case this happens to your turtle, then it will reduce her ability to counter cold conditions.

There will be swelling on the neck due to goiter.

In such a condition, you can reduce the intake of cabbage of your turtle.

During this time, you can feed other items like swiss chard, beet green, and spinach.

But you don’t have to stop the cabbage entirely.

How Much of Cabbage is ok for a turtle?

There is no doubt that cabbage is very nutritious and a cheap vegetable.

But it would help if you did not feed too much cabbage to your turtle.

This vegetable is quite healthy and nutritious for humans.

It does not mean that we can supply the cabbage to all the pets.

Animals have a different digestive system from humans.

If you want to bring home a turtle, you need to have a basic idea of their foods.

Ready-Made Food for Turtles:

A variety of ready-made foods are available with different contents.

But the overall content of about 30-50% are proteins in all the brands.

This diet is suitable for all the carnivorous turtles.

Besides, you can include a small number of leafy vegetables to make the food a balanced diet.

To purchase any food from the market for turtles, you must know about the turtle species.

The species of the turtle will infer the contents of food and its type.

Food Preference of Turtles:

Turtles like to eat their natural diet as the first preference.


Photo Credits

They also want to live in their natural habitat.

Some notable species of turtles and their foods:

1. The diet of River Cooters turtles is plants and leaves.

2. Malayan Box Turtle eat mostly plants a bit of animal.

3. The American Box turtles eat only meat.

4. Chinese three stripped box turtle eat only meat.

The dietary preference is very high in a turtle.

The material, which is the favorite of one species, may not be acceptable to the other species.

So, it depends on the turtles that they enjoy eating.

Turtles can vary, but you should ensure that each of these foods should contain phosphorus and calcium.

These two materials are essential for any species.

Safe Quantity of Cabbage for Your Turtle

There is no doubt that cabbage is the first food component for some species of turtles.

But if you feed an excess of cabbage, the goitrogen can cause severe issues for the turtles.

But if you restrict the cabbage completely, the main body organ like the kidney and lever will suffer due to vitamin deficiency.

So, it is essential to keep the consumption of cabbage moderate.

It is necessary to provide all the nutrients to the turtles for their proper growth.

One alternate of cabbage is the cuttlebone.

It provides the necessary Iodine and calcium to the turtles.

How to Feed Cabbage to Turtles?

We see the turtles eating everything from all around, clean or not cleaned, but it does mean that you can offer them veggies at home directly.

You need to wash it properly for any pesticides or insecticides content.

Cut it into small pieces, mixed with other vegetables, and offer them at intervals.

It is not required to cook the vegetables; raw vegetables are far more nutritious for turtles.

Is your Turtle Sick?

If the turtle is sick or having any health issue, it can show the following symptoms:

1. Dullness and lethargy in movement.

2. Color of eyes turning to milky white.

3. Skin shows the presence of white patches.

If these symptoms are visible, then there is a possibility that the turtle’s nutrition is not sufficient.


Photo Credits

It would help if you made the necessary changes in the diets immediately.

The portion of vegetables should be more than that of fruits.

Conclusion

Keeping a turtle at home is not as simple as keeping a dog.

You need to have a good knowledge of food and dietary preferences.

Their diet varies based on their species.

But, as an average, you can feed some quantity of vegetables like cabbage to any turtle.

The health of the turtle will depend on his diet.

Featured Image Credits

Leave a Comment