Turtles can also enjoy a wide variety of fruits like bananas, peaches, kiwi, and tomatoes. They also love grapes because of their high sugar content. Most turtle species like red-eared sliders, box turtles, painted turtles, and yellow-bellied turtles will appreciate a grape meal in their diet.
Don’t worry about feeding grapes to your turtles. It is healthy and has essential vitamins and minerals to promote turtle growth and development. However, eating too many grapes may pose severe health issues such as constipation and diarrhea to your turtle. Therefore, feed grapes to your turtles in moderation or as a snack.
Wash the fruit with clean water, peel the skin, and chop it into smaller portions before feeding it to your baby turtles. You can even give them one grape at a time. In this article, you will learn the nutritional value of grapes to turtles, how often your turtles should eat grapes, and ways to feed them the fruit.
Can turtles eat grapes?
Of course, turtles can eat grapes but in small quantities. Do not replace their entire diet with grapes. The fruit has high sugar content and low mineral content, which is not good for turtle health. Therefore, feed grapes to your turtles once every 5 or 7 days.
Can baby turtles eat grapes?
Baby turtles can eat grapes just like adult turtles. The baby turtles have soft shells that are still developing. Therefore, feeding with grapes will provide them with calcium and phosphorus for strong shell growth. Give them grapes once a week but in moderation.
The digestive system of the baby turtle is also still developing. So, ensure that you peel and chop the grapes into smaller pieces than those of adult turtles, so they don’t choke.
Feeding baby turtles excess grapes can also lead to calcium-phosphorus imbalance, which can result in stunted growth and the formation of weak bones.
Nutritional values of grapes to turtles
Below are the nutritional value of grapes to your turtles.
| Nutrients in grapes | How it benefits turtles |
| Vitamin A | Enhance growth and development.Boosts immunity.Improve turtle eyesight. |
| Vitamin C | Helps turtles to cope in a stressful environment |
| Calcium | Strong bonesHard shell |
| Phosphorus | Shell formationStrengthen turtle bones |
| Protein | Rapid growth of baby turtlesImproves turtle metabolism |
| Energy | For reproduction and hemostasis. |
How Often Can Turtles Eat Grapes?
Feeding grapes to your turtles too often may pose severe health problems. For example, too many grapes can give the turtle constipation, diarrhea, and obesity. Turtles can also vomit grapes due to gastrointestinal complications.
Frequently feeding grapes to your turtles can cause soft shells and weak bones. To prevent these health issues, control the rate at which you feed grapes to your turtles.
Give your turtles a grape meal once every five or seven days. The fruit should form less than 10% of their general diet. Feed grapes to your turtles in moderation and as a snack.
Best way to feed grapes to turtles
The best way to feed grapes to your turtles is by peeling off the tough epicarp and dividing the right quantity into smaller portions.
The right amount of grapes to feed your turtles depends on how many turtles you have and how you feed them. However, your turtle will digest the fruit easily if you slice it into small “biteable” pieces.
You can also feed grapes to turtles by washing the fruits thoroughly and removing the seeds to promote easy digestion.
Peel the grapes or just wash and remove the seeds before feeding them to your turtles. Either way, the turtles will be free from stomach upset.
What other fruits can turtles eat?
Here are some alternative fruits to feed your turtles:
Strawberries
These fruits are generally safe and healthy for your turtles. Strawberries have vitamins A, C, and calcium that boost turtle health.
However, do not replace the entire diet of your turtle with strawberries. Like grapes, strawberries contain more than seven grams of sugar, which can cause your turtle to gain more weight.
Feed strawberries to your turtles in small quantities. Remember to wash the fruits and cut them into small portions before feeding them to baby turtles.
Mangoes
Turtles can also eat and digest mangoes quite easily.
Mangoes reduce the chances of fungal infections and keep the turtles hydrated. They have vitamin A which gives your turtle a strong immunity.
However, giving the turtle too many mangoes can cause diarrhea. Feed them mangoes sparingly or only as a treat. Always peel and remove the mango seed before feeding it to your turtle.
Cantaloupe
A cantaloupe is a type of melon that is yellow or orange on the outside. The fruit contains sugar that helps turtles get enough energy for reproduction and regular exercise.
However, only a turtle two years old and above should eat cantaloupe. Ensure the fruit is ripe, wash it, and cut it into small pieces before feeding your turtle.
Apples
Apple fruits can improve your turtle’s vision. Allow the turtle to eat apple skin since it contains fiber that prevents constipation.
Apples are also rich in minerals that promote strong bones and shell formation. However, do not give apples only to the turtles as it is quite acidic and can cause stomach upset.
Feed your turtle apples once every 2 weeks. But mix the fruit with vegetables to ensure that the turtle does not only eat the apples.
Reference
- American Tarantula & Animals. (2022). 13 Things Turtles Like To Eat Most (Diet, Care & Feeding Tips). American Tarantula & Animals.
