Feeding Terrapins

For feeding terrapins you are recommended to do a great deal of research work. You must provide your pet terrapin with the food that would be ideal for the animal. There are many commercial food items that are specially made for pet terrapins. But you must not buy the food products that are manufactured as a feed for turtles in the pet stores. The food for turtles contains a lot amount of wheat starch which would not be ideal for your terrapins as being a carnivore animal. Before buying a terrapin you should be well aware with the diet that would be right for the good health of your pet.

Feeding terrapins is a very important aspect of pet care as intake of nutritious food influences the health of a being to a great extent. You may visit a nearby veterinary doctor to get some idea regarding the kind of food that would be ideal for your pet. You may also search in the internet regarding the type of food terrapins eat in wild.

Terrapins are commonly referred as pond turtles. They feed themselves while they are swimming in water. Even in captivity they feed themselves in water. If they happen to find something to eat on land they would take that object in water and feed on it. Terrapins mainly feed on flesh of animals that are of the suitable size for them to devour. They feed on small fish, worms, tadpoles, insects and such.

In captivity they can eat up food items like herring liver, raw beef and fish. If they are healthy and fit they would enjoy eating a lot. From the pet store you can get commercialized food for feeding terrapins. But you must be careful about the size of the food that you would be giving a baby terrapin. The food pieces must not be bigger than a match stick head as otherwise the babies can get choke to death.

You should make sure that your pet terrapin is getting enough amounts of all the vitamins, nutrients and minerals in right quantity. You may drop cod liver oil on the food that you will serve to your pet to add nutrition to the diet. Your carnivore terrapin would also not object in eating up some green vegetation like green pond weeds or lettuce twice or thrice a week. You may even drop a piece of cuttle-fish when they are in water at least two times a week. Cuttlefish flesh is rich in calcium which would result the growth of the shell and the bones of the pet.

Tips on Feeding Terrapins

The following are some tips on feeding terrapins

• For feeding big sized terrapins you would have to arrange for good quantity of food items like fresh fish, tadpoles, fresh water shrimps and snails, trout pellets, hard boiled egg, cubes of cheese, duck weed and such. You can also give commercialized dry cat food packs. Soak the cat food in dry water for at least 5 minutes before offering to the terrapins. If not given adequate food an adult terrapin can sometimes even swallow small sized gravel as well.
• Terrapins are to be given food on a regular basis. If given in large quantities introduce new fresh food after a gap of every 2 days.
• Terrapins generally do not eat in the dark and also in cold. So, always make sure of keeping your pet terrapin in warm water while feeding it. Change the water with fresh clear water after the terrapin has completed its eating in order to remove the left over food.
• The food pieces must not be bigger than that of 0.5 to 1 centimeter. Even cut the pieces of the skin into very tiny pieces so that your pet can swallow them easily.
• To avoid disappearance of the minerals in water put the mineral powders inside the food you are offering your pet.