Can Turtles Eat Pineapples? Everything You Need to Know!
Did you know that you could accidentally kill your pet turtle, just by giving it the wrong diet? It may be hard to believe, but feeding even natural foods in unregulated amounts can be deadly to your beloved reptile. One of those foods is pineapples.
So, can turtles eat pineapples? Yes, turtles can eat pineapples. Pineapples contain important vitamins and minerals, which help turtles build immunity and a strong shell. However, the concentrated sugar and acidic materials make it extremely dangerous. So it should only be given as a rare treat.
If you have a pet turtle, you might have more questions. In this article, we’ve discussed everything you need to know about turtles and pineapples, and why it’s important to monitor the pineapple intake of your pet turtle.
Can You Feed Pineapples To Your Pet Turtle?
Contents
Turtles can eat pineapples. However, the benefits and dangers might change your opinion on them.
Before we get into why pineapples may or may not be the best food item to include in your pet turtle’s daily diet, you need to understand the physiology of turtles.
Unlike sea turtles, which get plenty of space to swim and roam around, pet turtles are usually kept in enclosures, and don’t move as much. So they can’t burn calories as fast as wild turtles. They also have a sensitive stomach that can’t handle concentrated sugar or acids.
There are both good and bad sides to pineapples. The good sides are –
If we look at pineapples, we’ll see that it’s a fruit with healthy elements such as vitamins A, B6, C, phosphorus, copper, manganese, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and protein traces. These help keep the turtles healthy in many ways.
The vitamins help them fight off infections and illnesses and improve digestion. Pineapples have the correct calcium: potassium ratio, which assists the turtles in building strong bones. Pineapples also have a lot of water in them, which helps turtles stay hydrated for a long time.
These are all good sides of pineapple, which means it should be okay to feed this fruit to turtles. However, pineapples also come with a laundry list of side effects, which you should be aware of.
First of all, pineapples contain a lot of sugar. Turtles cannot handle sugar-rich foods. If you include pineapple in your pet’s daily diet, it will develop diabetes, and become violently ill.
Secondly, pineapples contain high volumes of acidic content which can give turtles an upset stomach and even diarrhea.
Pineapples and pineapple leaves also contain a powerful enzyme called Bromelain, which can cause turtles to have swollen glands around their mouths.
So, you can feed pineapples to your pet turtle. However, it’s recommended that you give tiny amounts of pineapple to your pet turtle, as rare treats. It’s important that you monitor the intake of pineapples. A little amount is harmless, nutritious even. But too much of it can make your turtle sick.
Do Turtles Like Pineapples?
Yes, turtles like pineapples. They’re fond of sweet fruits. Turtles’ diet consists of various different types of food, among which fruits are very important. However, turtles face difficulties after eating pineapples due to their high acidic content.
Some turtles also seem indifferent to pineapples because of the Bromelain enzymes found in them.
Health Benefits for Turtles Eating Pineapples
As dangerous as pineapples may seem, they actually serve some health benefits to turtles. Pineapples contain vitamin A, which is essential for turtles.
Vitamin A is responsible for the well-being of the lungs and eyes of turtles. It’s also necessary to maintain good skin and mucous membranes. Lack of vitamin A can cause serious damage to the eyes, lungs, and kidneys of turtles.
Pineapples also contain the correct calcium: phosphorus ratio for turtles, which is 2:1. Both of these minerals boost their skeletal bone health. The ratio is extremely important because an incorrect intake ratio of these minerals can cause turtles to develop a deformed, broken shell, or even weakened.
How Much Pineapples Should Turtles Eat?
Pineapples should not be featured in the daily diet of turtles, as it can seriously damage their health. You should feed pineapples to your pet turtle in very small servings, on rare occasions. Feed one or two small pieces of pineapple, once or twice a month.
How Do You Prepare Pineapples for Turtles?
Peel off the skin and remove the core of the pineapple. Take one or two regular pieces of the pineapple, and cut them into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Then mix them with other fruits and vegetables, and serve them up to your turtle.
Make sure to wash the fruit beforehand, as store-bought fruit often has pesticides and chemicals on its skin. Also, don’t serve canned pineapple to your pet turtle. It’ll only do them more harm as canned pineapples are full of added preservatives and higher levels of sugar.
Can You Feed Pineapples to Baby Turtles?
No, you cannot feed sugar-rich fruits, such as pineapples to a baby turtle. Their stomachs and bodies are much more sensitive than that of a normal-sized turtle. Feeding pineapples to a baby turtle might cause severe health damage, even death.
Video of a Turtle Eating Pineapple
Turtles love to munch on some pineapple. In this video, you can see a turtle eating a small piece of pineapple.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, box turtles can eat pineapples. Since young box turtles are omnivorous, only half of their diet should consist of fruits and vegetables. They prefer fruits over vegetables, so it’s okay to serve them some pineapples once in a while. However, practice moderation. Don’t feed pineapples too much or too often, as it will cause sickness.
Red-eared slider turtles have an overly sensitive stomach, because of which they develop diarrhea very easily. They can eat just about anything that any other turtle can eat, yet it’s recommended to be extra careful about their diet.
If they don’t like something, they’ll simply spit it out. If your red-eared turtle likes to eat pineapples, feed it occasionally. If it doesn’t, simply avoid feeding pineapples.
Painted turtles are semi-aquatic, meaning they usually feed on fish and vegetables. So it is subjective as to whether your painted turtle will develop a taste for pineapples or not. They can eat pineapples, but they might choose not to.
If your painted turtle favors pineapples, practice moderation, and serve the fruit only once in a while. Remember, these turtles are not used to pineapples. So feeding pineapples might have negative repercussions.
Conclusion
As much as we’d all like to share a little bit of our food with our pets, it’s important to consider the consequences when feeding them. Pineapples are acidic fruits that are both healthy and life-threatening to our pet turtles.
In the end, it all comes down to moderation. We should control restraint on our part, as too much of anything might ruin things. The same can be said about turtles and pineapples. We hope this article was helpful. Thanks for reading.
Do you want to know if turtles eat kale or cucumbers? Read our articles about it to learn more.
