Can Turtles Eat Crickets – Know for Their Betterments
Though it seems to be unusual to eat crickets for slow-moving turtles, they actually eat crickets in the wild. But the scenario is different if you have pet turtles. You need to maintain a healthy and balanced diet for your little pet.
So, can turtles eat crickets? Yes, turtles can eat crickets along with other bugs like grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, slugs, etc. Crickets contain essential nutrients for the sound growth of pet turtles.
Read more to know the importance of crickets in your turtles’ diet and how much you should feed them.
Can You Feed Crickets to Your Pet Turtles?
Contents
As turtles willingly eat crickets in the wilderness, it is quite easy to feed crickets to pet turtles. Besides crickets, turtles are also interested in other bugs and critters. Grasshoppers, caterpillars, and beetles are their favorite insects to meet their protein needs.
In captivity, pet turtles need to have a healthy diet as their natural food source is limited. Crickets can be a very good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals to keep your pet turtles healthy. Besides, crickets are a delicious snack for these cute little friends.
Adding cricket to the diet of pet turtles helps improve their bones and shells. But feeding too much cricket can cause pyramiding in pet turtles. As long as you moderate the feeding, crickets are very good food for pet turtles.
One thing to remember here is turtles may love to catch live crickets. But feeding live crickets to pet turtles may not always be the best way. Live crickets release a bad odor which can deteriorate the water your turtles live in. So, the best way is to feed dried crickets that have been frozen.
Dried crickets contain the same nutritional values as live crickets. As a bonus, they don’t have the dirty stink that can bother the living environment of pet turtles. And it s much easier to moderate the amount of crickets turtles eat when you give them dried crickets.
Do Turtles Like Crickets?
Wild turtles love sneaking after crickets and catching them at a blistering speed. Pet turtles also love to eat crickets but catching them in a closed tank can be a mess. Besides, crickets release serious stinks, which can pollute the water of your turtles’ tanks.
So, the best way is to feed dried crickets to your turtles. Pet turtles love to eat dried crickets because those have no odor.
Health Benefits for Turtles Eating Crickets
Crickets are a protein-high food for turtles. According to research, 100gm of crickets contain about 55-73% of protein, which is higher than beef or chicken. So, this can be a very good source of protein for your pets.
Besides, crickets contain a lot of vitamins and minerals necessary for the growth of pet turtles. There are Vitamin A, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin C, etc., in crickets along with calcium, zinc, copper, potassium, etc.
High calcium in crickets helps improve the bone and shell condition of turtles. Also, the dietary fiber in crickets helps increase metabolism and ensure healthy growth.
How Much Crickets Should Turtles Eat?
Though crickets are beneficial for turtles, they shouldn’t eat a lot or very often. Crickets should be a small part of their diet as it has high protein. You can feed crickets to pet turtles twice a week, 5-6 each time.
How Do You Prepare Crickets for Turtles?
If you feed dried crickets to pet turtles, the preparation is minimal. You can buy a pack from pet stores and keep it at room temperature for some time. Give them whole to your turtles so that they can enjoy their delicious snacks with each bite.
Can You Feed Crickets to Baby Turtles? If So, How?
Baby turtles can also eat crickets like adult ones. In fact, they can eat more than adults as they need a lot of protein to grow. If baby turtles can’t consume whole crickets, you can slice them in half for convenience.
Video of a Turtle Eating Crickets
FAQs
Box turtles can eat crickets as their diet should contain low-fat protein. Crickets and other insects should cover at least 50% of their diet for healthy growth. Besides these insects, you should also feed veggies and fruits to box turtles.
Red-eared slider turtles are naturally fond of eating crickets and other insects like waxworms, bloodworms, krill, etc. If you have red-eared slider turtles as pets, you can definitely feed crickets to them. As this species is smaller, it might be helpful to chop crickets to make it easier for the turtles to eat.
Yes, absolutely. Painted turtles love to eat aquatic insects along with snails and worms. They will even eat frogs and lizards. So, you can feed crickets to painted turtles.
Final Words
Selecting a healthy diet for pet turtles can be tricky. Now that you know whether can turtles eat crickets or not, it will be much easier to put some extra protein in their diet.
Besides having essential nutrients, turtles will love this snack to their heart’s content.
Do you want to know if turtles eat rice or lettuce? Read our articles about it to learn more.
