How often do you need to feed a land tortoise at home, how many times a day should a pet eat

At home, you need to feed the land tortoise from 1-2 times a day to 2-3 times a week. The frequency of feeding and portion sizes depend on the age of the animal: young turtles consume a lot of food every day, and adults can do without it for several days in a row.

Feeding frequency

Basically, land turtles, unlike freshwater ones, eat plant foods (vegetables, fruits, dandelions, clover, weeds). Also, some vitamin supplements should be introduced into the diet. As a result, an example menu should look like this:

• 75% fresh herbs, including vegetables;
• 15% fruits, berries, vegetables;
• 5% additives (porridges);
• 5% supplement (vitamins).

The frequency depends on the age of the animal and the season:

1. In summer, all turtles eat more often than in winter: during the warm period, daily or on a “day after day” basis, and in winter, only 2-3 times a week or less.
2. Juveniles (up to and including 3 years of age) eat 1 serving each day.
3. Adult pets eat 1 serving 2-3 days a week, i.e. about “a day every other day” or a little less often.
4. When the turtle has reached 12 cm in length, it should be fed 2 times a week or less. Such an individual is already moving quite slowly, so overfeeding will definitely lead to obesity.

You should not feed your tortoise too often, as this leads to overfeeding. In addition, food residues pollute the soil and the walls of the aquarium. As a result, the animal may contaminate the skin, mouth or eyes with the products of rotting feed.

Serving Sizes

The turtle should eat a lot of food, but it is absolutely impossible to overfeed it. This leads to metabolic disorders and the development of various diseases. The serving size is determined individually: the volume should be such that the animal eats in half an hour. Another criterion is that the portion by volume should correspond to about half the shell. If after this time there is still food left, it will be correct to remove it from the aquarium.

When owners feed their pet, they should carefully monitor how often and how much she eats. There are times when an animal eats the usual volume in just a few minutes and starts looking for food again. In this case, you can add a little write, but do not turn it into a system. You can also try to put a drinker with water: it is likely that the body is dehydrated and is looking not so much for food as for the moisture contained in it.