Spring Turtle Feeding is Crucial: A 4-Step Guide to Minimize Illness
As the temperature rises, more and more turtle enthusiasts' turtle hatchlings are emerging from the soil, and their eyes are open wide. It is another year of the growing season, and the leisurely turtle keepers will soon start to busy themselves. Just like hibernation is a test for turtles, the process of emerging is no less than hibernation. Many turtle keepers say that during hibernation, they are full of spirit. Why do they become listless after a few days, which has something to do with your operation.
Emerging turtles need to rest and adapt for a few days, and the most concerned by everyone is the feeding problem. No matter how you tell yourself that it is resistant to hunger, its body is honest, and it always tries to eat. Turtles that have stopped eating for months will have fragile esophagus and digestive function after emerging. If the New Year's feeding work is not done well, it will greatly increase the probability of turtles getting sick.
Dividing turtle feeding into four steps may help your turtle smoothly pass through the early spring.
First step: feeding amount should be small. Because during this period, the turtle's digestive system is weak and its body resistance is not strong. If you feed it according to the previous feeding amount, it will likely cause digestive disorders and suffer from digestive diseases. At the same time, the turtle's body spends too much energy digesting food, and its weak resistance will become even more fragile. Therefore, it is necessary to feed little, and about 30% of the original amount is a good choice. Even a few grains of turtle food are fine. Some turtle keepers say, 'I see it eagerly looking at you, I want to feed it more.', please ask yourself, when your child always looks at you with longing eyes and asks for a drink, would you be ruthless and refuse?
Second step: feed easily digestible food. This is not mentioned before. Easily digestible food, if you don't want to bother, just remember that turtle food and puffed food are easy to digest. If you want to, soaking and feeding is more beneficial. Of course, freshwater shrimp, fish jerky are also fine. It doesn't mean completely eliminating meat. Depends on your judgment. The meat of shrimp and fish is a good source of nutrition, but it is not recommended to feed a lot of red meat, especially fatty meat.
Third step: stable climate is key. Spring is very volatile, sometimes very warm and sometimes it needs to add a few clothes, so this time is when people are most prone to catch a cold. Three-day weather forecast is relatively accurate. At this time, it's better to check the weather forecast often. Before a large temperature drop, don't feed it or feed it in smaller amounts for three days. Choose a period of relatively stable temperature to feed.
Fourth step: balanced diet. This is not only relevant to the early spring, but it needs to be paid attention to throughout the turtle keeping process. We humans also need to eat a variety of foods to ensure balanced nutrition. The same goes for turtles. Sometimes due to work reasons, it's busy and there is not much time to prepare ingredients. Turtle food, shrimp dry, insect dry (not recommended to feed in spring), fish dry, these ready-made turtle foods are available in the market and are easy to use, and can be interspersed or combined to feed.
In addition, soon after emerging, some turtles may have a little scaly skin, temporarily refuse to eat, retract their hind limbs and swell in the armpit, and a little white chin, which is normal. Don't panic. Caring is good, but don't panic and make a mistake. Often, after the turtle adapts to the environment or the temperature rises, it will stabilize and improve. If the spirit state is good, you can observe it quietly instead of rushing to treat it.
Calm down, objectively understand, stabilize your mindset, isn't this the practice of keeping turtles?
