Before you know what red-eared turtles are, what to feed and how to keep them, you should know that the homeland of the Chrysemys family of turtles (Turtles decorated) is located far from Russia, in North and South America, where beauties in shells are most common in the north- eastern Mexico and the eastern United States. Small ponds, shallow marshes and floodplains are their home. Turtles live in water and swim very quickly, not inferior to fish in speed of movement.
Turtles swim quickly, run and bite
On land, they also know how to move pretty quickly, running away from pursuit, and defend themselves due to the fact that they have strong jaws, though without teeth. Many people want beautiful red-eared turtles to live with them . We learn later what to feed, and first you need to remember that fearing for their lives, they bite quite strongly. They can not only bite, but also scratch with long claws located on their hind legs. Therefore, they need to be taken out carefully, being careful of the hind legs, do not squeeze the carapace and keep it away from the face and exposed skin.
How to better contain
Now about how to contain red-eared turtles. A bit of general information. If you get a tortoise of this species, know that they can live from 30 to 40 years, and have a fairly high intellect, are endowed with the ability to pick up soil vibrations in the range from 1000 to 3000 hertz and have sharp vision.
Usually their maintenance does not cause big problems, since they are very unpretentious. Before you learn how to feed the red-eared turtle, you need to know that for most of the year she can live outdoors, on the street. The only thing that can have a detrimental effect on their health (up to death) is a low water temperature and high soil moisture.
Also, turtles do not tolerate glass aquariums, constantly trying to go beyond the walls. The best solution would be to arrange a house in perforated boxes so that fresh air is always available to them. Land with sand should not be wet, turtles get sick from this.
Diet of turtles eared
Beautiful eared turtles. How to feed these animals? The answer to this question is not complicated. Most importantly, their diet should include key components: cabbage, carrot tops, meat, greens. As a vitamin supplement involved in the formation of the shell, give shrimp and river fish. You can do this once a week.
The list can include a lot of what the red-eared turtles eat. What to feed is not a problem: dandelion (leaves), spinach, lettuce, bananas, apples and pears, various insects and caterpillars in the summer - all this goes to the food of eared beauties. Adult turtles can eat three times a week, not more often, eating everything to the end.
How to feed young red-eared turtles?
There is a question about feeding offspring, which produce red-eared turtles. How to feed them? If there is no nutritional problem for adults, then for babies this question is very important, since even small mistakes in feeding can be fatal for them.
Young individuals require a much more carefully selected and varied menu. They are given very finely chopped beef heart, liver, midges, insect larvae, earthworms, freshwater snails and turtle food sold in specialized stores. Just like any growing body, vitamin D and ultraviolet are needed to absorb it. Therefore, arrange sunbathing and give a variety of food.
The so-called “jelly for turtles” is prepared for eared beauties, which is stored in a cold place and given to animals as a treat. You can cook it in large quantities, if there are a lot of pets. Gelatin is poured into cold water in advance for swelling at the rate of: 80 grams per liter of water. The remaining ingredients: skim milk, carrots, squids, river fish, liver beef and multivitamins to mix. You can use a mixer for more thorough mixing. Pour everything into a cooked and chilled gelatin solution.