Once in a while, you might feel like offering one or two cherries to your turtle. If you are unsure of in case it would be alright to feed cherry to a turtle; then your concern is justified.
Let’s find out more about whether turtles can eat cherries.
Can turtles eat cherries?
Yes, turtles can eat cherries. As a matter of fact, cherries contain high nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, which are very healthy for turtles’ health. But at the same time cherries are full of sugar content and malic acid, so it would be better not to feed cherries to turtles regularly.
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Although cherries cause no harm to turtles’ health, and turtles, in general, like to eat cherries, but other parts of cherries, such as leaves and peats, along with dried and canned cherries, should be avoided for turtles.
Cherry leaves:
Traces of Cyanide, a poisonous and toxic chemical content, have been found in cherry leaves before. Although no incident has been evidenced where turtles were affected because of consuming cherry leaves, it is better to avoid this part.
Cherry peat:
As mentioned earlier, Cyanide, the toxic and poisonous chemical compound, has also been found in cherry peats. As a result, commonly, people remove cherry peats before consuming them. Thus, it is advised to offer a turtle cherry only after removing its peats.
Dried cherries:
Dried cherries contain a lot of sugar, and also this has zero health benefits and has very low likability among the turtles. So, not offering cherries to your turtle means reduced health risks and also preventing them from having loathed food.
Canned cherries:
Canned cherries contain lots of sugar syrup, and one cup of canned cherries can contain as much as 15 tablespoons of sugar. Eating these cherries can cause diabetes. So, turtles should not eat cherries from such sources.
What turtles can eat cherries?
Let’s see if the following turtles can eat cherries or not –
Box turtles:
Box turtles, the most common pet type, highly depends on given foods. As a result, they develop a weak metabolism system. Fruits should not exceed 10-15% of their total food. And sugary foods such as cherry should not be given every day.
Aquatic Turtles:
As uncommon food as cherries, they are hardly fond of aquatic turtles. It is mainly because they have different taste bud, and their body is accustomed to different types of food.
Cherries can be offered to them but certainly should not be forced on them. And even if they approve, they should not be fed more than twice a month.
Painted turtles:
Painted turtles are omnivores, and they consume both plants and animals. As a result, they tend to have more dynamic food habits than other turtles. Painted turtles can eat cherries, but only if provided in small portions.
How many cherries can you give a turtle?
You can give your turtle a piece of cherry occasionally.
Cherry, as a fruit, is very delicious and nutritious as well. Also, it contains high calories and sugar. Cherry comprises essential vitamins, minerals, chemical compounds, and antioxidants. It is widely regarded for enhancing immunity and heart health.
However, the fruit is also standing low on pH level, which means it has an acidic condition. Also, this fruit has high sugar content. That means, if consumed too often, cherry can cause acid reflux, obesity, and diabetes.
In worst cases, turtles can also face intestinal discomfort and diarrhea in the long run.
But, cherry is a good option for turtles as a pleasant snack in the diet. Occasional consumption can make turtles like eating cherry. But if they eat cherry on a regular basis, it can adversely affect their food habit and lead to other unwanted routines and issues.
Why shouldn’t you feed cherries to your turtle very often?
If you don’t control the amount and frequency of providing cherries, this could lead to serious difficulties.
Pesticide traces that may exist:
Producing cherry is a hard job and requires many chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides. Any cherry that contains pesticides can transfer toxins to the turtle’s body.
Buying organic cherries can be a good way to avoid such risks. Also, if consumed infrequently, cherry produces low risks for turtles to consume pesticides.
Sugar Content is high:
In every 100 grams of red cherry, sugar content is 8 grams, and in sweet cherries, it is 13 grams. The metabolism and digestion system of cherry is not compatible with consuming high sugar contents.
Thus, it is often advised to make turtles eat fewer cherries. And some experts suggest they should consume cherry no more than once or twice a month that too in a very small portion.
It might be acidic:
Cherry is a very acidic fruit and has a pH level ranging between 3.2 to 4.0. Along with malic acid, cherries have high quinic, phosphoric and citric acids. Acidity creates adverse digestion constrain in turtles’ stomachs.
And lead to many disease and discomforts such as acid reflux, diarrhea, intestinal discomfort.
Thus, while choosing a diet, multiple and frequent acid-based foods should be avoided. And have to balance between acidic and alkaline foods on any given day.
How to feed cherries to turtles?
Cherry is a high protein and high nutrient food and can be a great occasional treat for your turtles. To avoid multiple and various health risks, turtles should avoid regular cherry consumption. If you want to feed your turtle, you can follow the steps given below-
Buy organic cherry:
Organic cherries are a healthy option and should be the first step to feed cherry to your turtle. It helps you to avoid feeding pesticides and unhealthy chemicals to your turtle.
Get rid of leaves:
Due to their cyanotic chemical presence, it is better to remove all the cherry leaves when feeding to a turtle.
Remove the peat:
traces of Cyanide also has been found in cherry peats. Thus, removing cherry peat is a mandatory step. And for this, you can simply hold the cherry with two fingers and remove the peat by pushing it against a stick.
Cut the cherry into two:
A full-size cherry can be an unpleasant treat to your turtle, so it is advised to offer them cherries after cutting them into two portions.
Benefits of cherries for turtles
Cherry has high nutrition and protein content. But it contains a very low amount of ingredients that turtles need. Such as Vitamin A and Calcium. Although cherry provides this nutrition but has a very low amount of this nutrition.
Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is an important defense against many optical and respiratory problems diseases. Vitamin A is an essential ingredient to prevent turtles from getting skin and other membrane infections.
Although cherry provides a very low amount of vitamin A, to maintain optimal well being you should feed your turtle other green and leafy vegetables.
Calcium:
Turtles have a strong shell that is made of the same skeletal system that it has inside its body. Such a dynamic skeleton makes turtles unique skeletal animals.
A healthy skeleton means, ample amount of calcium consumption. And for turtles, it is a must to consume as much calcium as possible.
The calcium content of cherry is not so high; as a matter of fact, no fruits can provide turtles with their required amount of calcium. So, calcium must be fed from other sources as well.
Cherries also contain proteins and calories. Apart from the nutritional value, cherry is tasty food and can make a turtle encouraged, and subtle changes in routines can keep its taste bud active.
Are fruits bad for turtles? What fruits can I feed my turtle?
Turtles can eat most of the fruits. Fruits are delicious, contains nutrition, and most importantly, they all come with some health benefit. But fruits with citric acid should be avoided.
Citric acid creates acidity, and in the long run, can produce diseases such as acid reflux, intestinal discomfort, and diarrhea.
Citrus fruits are orange, lemon, grapefruits, etc. other than these fruits, all fruits are safe for turtles. But consuming any fruits on a regular basis should be avoided for turtles.
Fruits are renowned for their high nutritional values and vitamin content. Almost all fruits contain some vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrition for physical wellbeing. Some fruits may contain harmful elements for turtles, but their number is low.
Almost all fruits available are edible for turtles. You should avoid fruits that contain citric acid. Some fruits are high in calcium; some fruits have high phosphorus content.
Calcium-enriched fruits help in a strong skeleton, and phosphorus enriched fruits help to strengthen the skeleton and bones.
Final thoughts:
Turtles can be fed with cherries. Their high nutritional content can be very beneficial to turtles’ health. But cherries also contain lots of sugar and malic acid. So, it should be kept in mind that consuming cherries on a regular basis will affect the turtle’s health adversely.