The food your turtle is eating, as you may already know, is a very important factor when it comes to their lifespan. Its quality and nutritional value can ensure a healthy and long life for your little pet friend. The most important nutrients for a turtle are vitamin A and calcium.
There are several products that pet owners are feeding their turtles. Among them, celery is one of the most popular. So, can turtle eat celery?
The brief answer is yes, turtles can eat celery without any problems. It isn’t toxic for them and doesn’t lead to serious health problems. However, we do not recommend you feed your turtle with celery. Why? Read the article below to find out more about it. Enjoy!
No, celery is not toxic for turtles. However, there are some problems with this product. First of all, it isn’t providing the needed nutrients for your turtle. Turtles often suffer from nutrient deficiency, especially when it gets to calcium and vitamin A. Celery is low on vitamins, fiber, calcium, potassium, and other important minerals.
The problem is that celery, being mostly water, fills your turtle very quickly and it won’t have any need for other, more nutritious fruits and vegetables that you’ll try to feed it. It won’t be hungry while the organism won’t have the needed nutrients for healthy and smooth functioning.
Moreover, celery is low on fiber. This means that, if you feed your little friend too much celery, it will get constipated really quickly. With little to no fiber to push the food through the digestive tract, your turtle will gain serious digestive problems.
Is Celery Nutritional Enough for Turtles?
No, celery has a very low nutritional value and, if you won’t combine it with some other, more nutritious vegetables and fruits, your turtle will get malnourished very quickly. Therefore, you mustn’t build your turtle’s entire diet around celery, it isn’t a very smart idea.
However, if you really want to use celery in your turtle’s diet, try using celery leaves instead of stalks. The leaves are easier to digest and contain less water and more calcium and potassium. Also, if they contain less water than celery stalks, this means that your turtle won’t get full as easily. Therefore, you’ll be able to make it eat some more nutritious vegetables after the celery leaves.
How do You Feed Celery to Turtles?
Celery, while being very watery and crunchy, can be a little tough to eat for your little friend. Therefore, if you want to give your turtle a celery treat or meal, chop the stalk into very small pieces and mix them with some lettuce or other, more nutritious and less watery veggies or fruits. You can also use carrots or even bananas. Be careful with the last ones.
If you chose to give your turtle some celery leaves, the best way to do that is to make it a salad. Chop the leaves into small pieces and mix them with other leaves, lettuce, or even veggies. Just make sure you choose some products that will compensate for the lack of vitamins and minerals in celery and will provide the right amount of nutritional value to your turtle.
How much Celery Should Turtles Eat?
If you ask me, celery shouldn’t even be fed to the turtle in the first place. With no nutritional value, celery is basically crunchy water, exactly like iceberg lettuce. However, if you chose to try and feed your turtle some celery, here is the right quantity for you to follow.
Celery should be as little as possible. Ideally, you should mix a little amount of celery with some, more nutritious veggies. Also, celery can be used as an occasional treat. After a very nutritious meal or some more nutritious treats, celery won’t make any impact on your turtle’s health. Just make sure to always compensate the amount of unusable celery with some, more nutritious fruits and veggies.
The best amount of celery consists probably from 5 to 7% of the entire diet. For example, if your turtle is eating a pound of veggies and fruits a month, the amount of celery that your turtle is eating in a month should be approximately 0.8 ounces. That is exactly 5%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here you can find the answers to some of the most popular and interesting questions regarding this topic.
Can Tortoises Eat Celery Sticks?
Yes, tortoises can eat celery sticks. Tortoises are herbivores, 95% of their diet consists only of veggies and fruits. Therefore, any type of vegetable or fruit will be eaten immediately. However, there are some particularities to talk about when it comes to celery.
While your tortoise can love these water sticks, you shouldn’t let it eat too much celery. First of all, it will get malnourished and will encounter various health issues. Secondly, celery is very low on fibers. Therefore, digestive tract problems will come after three or four days of celery dieting.
Can I Feed My Box Turtle Celery?
Yes, you can feed your box turtles some celery. Their diet is omnivorous. This means that they eat both meat and vegetables. Therefore, a small amount of celery won’t hurt them.
Nevertheless, you should be careful with celery in their diet. While protein-packed products like shrimp or fish are the primal source of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, veggies and fruits are meant to be the primal sources of fibers. However, celery is very low on fiber. Thus, it can’t be used as a basic product in your turtle’s diet, as their digestive tract won’t be able to push the food further without fibers.
Can Yellow Belly Slider Turtles Eat Celery?
Yes, Yellow Belly Slider turtles can eat celery. However, celery is not the most beneficial product for their health. Not because it has some toxins or poisonous components but because it banally doesn’t have the right amount of vitamins and minerals to keep your turtle alive.
Of course, it has some vitamins and minerals. Nevertheless, your turtle will have to eat a lot more celery than it can in order to get those precious amounts of vitamin A or calcium. Thus, it isn’t right to feed your turtle with celery on a daily basis. As an occasional treat, maybe. Not a regular part of a diet.
Do Turtles and Tortoises Like Celery Leaves?
Yes, turtles and tortoises like celery leaves. Furthermore, they like practically all kinds of leaves, from lettuce to carrot leaves. However, it doesn’t mean that these leaves are beneficial for them. No, celery leaves don’t have any toxins like tomato leaves have, the problems lie elsewhere.
While having a little more vitamins and minerals than the stalks, celery leaves do not yet have the right nutritional value for a turtle. Thus, even if your turtle likes them very much, you can’t feed them on a daily basis, just as occasional treats.
Conclusion
Now you know that, even if celery isn’t toxic for your little pet friend, it surely isn’t beneficial for them. It doesn’t have the right nutritional value for your turtle to lead a healthy and happy life. Thus, they mustn’t be more than occasional, tasty treats.
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