Can Turtles Eat Corn? The Answer May Surprise You!
You might often wonder how many varieties of food your turtle can eat. Or perhaps, you want to know if it consumes something readily available.
So, can turtles eat corn? Being omnivorous, turtles can eat corn if offered. They even enjoy this delicious food. However, you may not want to feed your little pet this item too much since it may make it sick. The high amount of nutrition in corn may turn out to be a health hazard for a turtle.
So, corn appears to be something interesting- having both positive and negative outcomes. Let’s dig deeper into this matter!
Can You Feed Corn To Your Pet Turtles?
Contents
Corn is undoubtedly a good thing to eat. It has several nutritious elements such as protein, calcium, and sugar. So an occasional feast of corn can be treated to your turtle. As an omnivore, your little pet will enjoy this delicious food. It will bring a variety to its daily diet and make it healthy.
However, you must have heard that “too much good is not good”. This is true in the case of corn as well. A regular dose of corn will grow fat and eventually increase your turtle’s metabolism rate. You will have an idea once you take a glance at the following chart regarding corn-
| Elements | Quantity |
| Carbohydrates | 19g |
| Sodium | 15g |
| Sugar | 6.4g |
| Protein | 3.3g |
| Fat | 1.4g |
You are supposed to understand after reading this why you should not make your little pet accustomed to this eatable item stuffed with high food values.
Besides, corns are not any natural diet for your pet turtle. What we mean to say is that- turtles do not get to eat corn in their wild habitat. As a result, regular consumption of corn may result in obesity and subsequent aging, which you will not like.
So, what to do? In a word, offer corn to your turtle, but do not make it a regular item of its diet.
Do Turtles Like Corn?
Being an epicurean animal, turtles are most likely to devour anything that you offer to them. So it is beyond question whether they like corn or not. They will eat any type of corn, be it sweet, flint or dent. They would like to gluttonize their little belly with this delicious food.
Risks For Turtles Eating Corn
Though they like corn, you must not indulge in their appetite. As mentioned earlier, corns are very rich in food value. They are also hard to digest. Regular consumption of this food might result in early aging, obesity, and many other health hazards.
On top of that, if your pet develops the habit of eating corns, it will hesitate and even refuse to eat its regular diet. As a result, a lack of nutritious and suitable foods might result in its powerlessness to fight against diseases.
How Much Corn Should Turtle Eat?
It should consume a very small amount of corn. Corn should not be provided more than once every thirty days. A turtle should not eat as much corn as to risk its well-being. One must not provide corn as the staple food to avoid any health hazards.
How Do You Prepare Corn For Turtles?
Corn is like an occasional feast for you little turtle. So you must make the feast enjoyable and not harmful.
You should take out the corn off the cob. Do not let the turtles chew corn out of the cobs. They are not likely to have strong enough teeth to do that.
It is reported that turtles become breathless because of eating kernels. So, you should avoid feeding raw kernels. Instead, try to prepare crushed corns for them. You can choose to cook or boil the kernels before offering them to your pet.
Also, it is not necessary to add any other ingredients to make the food delicious. Adding butter or oil might cause problems to the weakly-equipped digestive system of your turtle.
Can You Feed Corn To A Baby Turtle? If So, How?
Yes, you can! Babies are more active. This is no difference in the case of the baby turtles. So the high nutrition rate of corns is well utilized by their frequent swimming. However, raw corns might get stuck in the throat and choke baby turtles. So, you should crush or cook them before feeding them.
Video Of A Turtle Eating Corn
Here is a beautiful video of a turtle eating corn to soothe your eyes & ears-
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
These particular types of turtles prefer meat to vegetables. While the other turtles usually consume herbs and greeneries, Box turtles like to have earthworms, crickets, and beetles. However, corn is also their thing.
They are the true instances of omnivores. It does not matter if they have meats or herbs, they will eat anything. So, you can offer them vegetables like carrot and lettuce, or insects, or corn. They will not leave corns unconsumed.
They do eat corns. They are ok with anything ranging from herbs like grass, vegetables, carrot, and corn to small insects like cricket. So, they have no problems if you feed them corns.
Outro
Since turtles are omnivores; they are likely to eat corns. They even enjoy this tasty food. However, you should not make it regular to feed them corns. The high food value of corns may cause health hazards to your pets.
You should prepare the corns by crushing or boiling them since the raw kernels can choke the little ones. Also, keep an eye on the amount and frequency of feeding corn. Keep it within a small amount and rarity.
Do you want to know if turtles eat kiwi or oranges? Read our articles about it to learn more.
