Can Turtles Eat Green Beans? Is It Good For The Long Run?
Turtles have always been known to be a big fan of greens when it comes to diet. However, the most common green food available, which is green beans, might cause problems in the long run. Moreover, not following the correct process of serving them green beans might even be worse.
So, can turtles eat green beans? In essence, yes, turtles can eat green beans, which is perfectly fine unless overfed. They are undoubtedly healthy for them as they provide turtles with vitamin B, antioxidants, etc. It’s best to serve them less at a young age for proper diet control.
Despite the benefits, it’s also important to know their health risks and how to set out the green beans for the turtle to eat healthily. Here, you will learn everything you need to know about the link between turtles and green beans.
Can You Feed Green Beans To Your Pet Turtles?
Contents
Turtles, like most reptiles, are of three types; carnivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous. While the carnivorous avoid edibles, the herbivorous and omnivorous turtles love to have greens in their diet. Thus, green beans aren’t any different.
However, there has to be a balance in their diet to make sure they get everything they need in their body. Similarly, anything excess would result in bad health and early departure from life.
Nevertheless, it’s best to give out fewer beans at their early stage when it comes to omnivorous turtles. The younger turtles prefer protein that primarily comes from insects. It helps them to build strong shells and a greater lifespan.
On the other hand, if they are fed more greens than insects at their early stage, their diet would get jeopardized. It’s due to the diet maintenance you need to do where you need to give 70 percent insects and 30 percent greens. You will be unable to maintain their healthy diet after feeding them insects followed by a glutted amount of green beans.
Contrarily, herbivorous turtles strongly depend on edibles. Thus, it doesn’t matter if it’s a young or old one. They will eat greens till their death. These turtles mostly gain their protein needs from the plants such as collard and green beans. However, it doesn’t mean you will only cater to them with collard and green beans.
It’s recommended to keep your turtle healthy; changes in diet are quite necessary. This rule applies to all types of turtles, but it matters the most with herbivorous turtles. As it eats vegetables only, you would certainly want that to be different every time.
Do Turtles Like Green Beans?
Even though green beans are a part of the edibles that they eat, they are certainly not their favorite. Canned foods like green beans are always convenient for a pet owner. Mostly, it’s because they can get into any super shop and get one easily at a good price.
However, turtles have preferences too. They might like the green beans, but they would pick aquatic plants any day of the year. It also depends on the turtle’s breed, whether they would like it or not.
Health Benefits For Turtles Eating Green Beans
Consuming green beans provides turtles with high dietary fibers, which are effective for helping the digestive system. Moreover, green beans contain vitamin B and vitamin C, which help the turtles to fuel up their charge and help them stay active throughout the day.
Similarly, the folate in green beans ensures that your pet’s healthy cell growth and function are going smoothly. On the other hand, the antioxidants help the turtle live longer by preventing cell damage.
However, there are dangers that your pet may face if fed excessively.
How Much Green Beans Should Turtles Eat?
Knowing how much to feed is key here if you want to only emphasize the health benefits from green beans to the turtles. One single piece of green bean has 17 milligrams of calcium and 2 grams of protein.
As per calculation, we can say that you can feed two to three pieces of green beans once a month. It’s better to use them as a reward for the pets rather than making it a regular diet.
How Do You Prepare Green Beans For Turtles?
Preparing green beans for turtles isn’t tough. They like it simple, neat, and with no spices. Make sure that the beans are washed to remove the pests and pesticides that the turtles hate the most. Lastly, don’t put anything with the beans, not even salts.
Once you are ready with your beans, simply cut them into small pieces so your pet can have them without any trouble.
Can You Feed Green Beans To Baby Turtles? If So, How?
As long as your pet is an omnivorous or herbivorous turtle, you can feed green beans to them.
Feeding green beans to baby turtles isn’t any different from the usual one. However, the only difference is that you make smaller pieces according to the size of the turtle’s mouth. As the mouth of baby turtles are undoubtedly smaller than regular ones, the bean’s size should also be smaller.
Video Of A Turtle Eating Green Beans
Nevertheless, here’s what a turtle eating green beans looks like.
FAQs
Box turtles are omnivorous and don’t mind green beans in their diet. However, at their early stage of life, you should prioritize proteins over green beans. Collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, broccoli, and turnip greens can also be a part of their diet if you want to bring variation.
With red-eared sliders, you want to reduce the amount of artificial food. They are not a big fan of it. Thus, green beans can be a great shift from those man-made ones where if you feed the correct amount, they can benefit from it.
While at an early stage in their life, the painted turtles will certainly not like the taste of green beans. As a result, avoid it and hunt for insects. However, as they grow old, edibles become a viable option for them.
Nevertheless, whether your pet-painted turtle will like it or not is totally up to the setting it was raised in.
Outro
To conclude, the benefits of feeding green beans are substantial and can be used when you are out of food or want to bring up varieties in your pet’s diet. If you can hold yourself from their cuteness and not overfeed it, then it’s a solid win.
However, the negatives are also to keep in mind. Depending on the pros and cons, the decision is up to you. As long as the perfect ratio of protein and edibles are maintained, you can feed them to both adult and young ones.
Do you want to know if turtles eat flies or avocado? Read our articles about it to learn more.
