Credits: Tertpo and Aaron (Creative Commons license)
Turtles are omnivores and eat a wide range of food. They intake anything from leafy vegetables and fruits to a meaty diet, like live and dead insects, worms, fish, etc. But does this everything entail peanuts?
Here’s a fact for you:
Did you know peanuts aren’t actually nuts? Instead, they fall into the legume family, the same as peas and lentils.
Now, let’s move on to whether or not turtles can eat peanuts.
Can Turtles Eat Peanuts?
Yes, turtles can eat peanuts. But feed them only in minimum amounts. Peanuts are high in calories, fat, and protein. Turtles need protein for growth and development, whereas fat, on the other hand, can make a turtle obese. So, feed peanuts only in moderate amounts.
Nutrition Content In 100 Grams Of Raw Peanuts
Macronutrients
| Protein | 25.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 16.13 g |
| Fiber | 8.5 g |
| Sugar | 4.72 g |
Fats
| Monosaturated fats | 24.43 g |
| Polyunsaturated fats | 15.56 g |
| Saturated fats | 6.28 g |
Minerals
| Pottasium | 705 mg |
| Phosphorous | 376 mg |
| Magnesium | 168 mg |
| Calcium | 92 mg |
| Sodium | 18 mg |
| Iron | 4.58 mg |
| Zinc | 3.27 mg |
Vitamins
| Vitamin B-3 (niacin) | 12.07 mg |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 8.33 mg |
| Vitamin B-1 (thiamine) | 0.64 mg |
| Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) | 0.35 mg |
| Riboflavin (vitamin B-2) | 0.14 mg |
| Folate (vitamin B-9) | 240 mcg |
Benefits Of Peanuts On Turtles.
- Protein Are Peanuts Is Necessary For Growth And Development.
- Peanuts Are High In Monounsaturated Fat, A Necessary Dietary Fat.
- Peanuts Are Rich In Fiber That Helps In Digestion.
Peanuts Are Rich In Protein Necessary For Growth And Development.
A moderate amount of protein in a diet can undoubtedly help a baby turtle’s growth. The shell at this stage is underdeveloped and requires plenty of protein to make it strong.
Baby turtles need about 70 to 80 percent of protein in their diet. So, along with meaty food, peanuts can also supplement the protein needs when fed in midsize amounts.
Peanuts Are High In Monounsaturated Fat, A Necessary Dietary Fat.
Peanuts are high in fat. It has both positive and negative effects on turtles. A baby turtle can easily digest fat, whereas an adult turtle will get obese if overfed.
A baby turtle is highly active and will need loads of calories to fuel its hullabaloos. They swim plenty and burn calories quickly. Fat helps them replenish these lost calories. One other benefit of peanuts is that they are rich in monounsaturated fat, a healthy type of fat, along with polyunsaturated fat.
Peanuts Are Rich In Fiber That Help In Digestion.
Yes, peanuts are rich in fiber, too. Turtles, especially adults, require a fiber-rich diet. But remember that feeding peanuts too often or too much to fulfill their fibrous requirement is not advised.
Since fiber is hard to digest, it offers an essential bulk to a turtle’s diet without imparting large quantities of nutrients. It also aids the food to pass through the gut, accelerating the time taken for food to move through.
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How Often Can You Feed Peanuts To Your Turtle?
You can occasionally treat your turtles with peanuts. Feeding them once or twice a month will do no harm. However, including it daily will impart more harm than good and hamper a turtle’s growth.
How Many Peanuts Can You Feed Your Turtle?
Use peanuts as a treat, and feed them like you’d give a child candies. Of course, it all depends upon the turtle’s size. You can feed baby turtles 2 to 4 pods of peanuts at a time. They will ask for more, but providing more will only invite more trouble.
As for adults, you can give 5-10 pods at a time.
What Happens When You Feed Too Many Peanuts To Your Turtle?
Turtles can suffer from obesity as peanuts are high in fat. In addition, peanuts are rich in protein, and an excessive amount of protein-filled diet can cause pyramiding in turtles. And lastly, we cannot rule out the possibilities of indigestion and bloating.
Obesity
The fat concentration in peanuts can cause the turtle to become obese. Despite having monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat, there is still an exorbitant amount of saturated fat in peanuts.
Turtles have a slower metabolism, and the fat obtained from peanuts will take much longer to burn. In addition, as turtles get older, they refrain from doing strenuous activities. So, the fat deposition will only make them obese, inviting further health problems.
Pyramiding
When baby turtles consume too much protein in the developmental stage, their chances of pyramiding become high.
Pyramiding is the raising of scutes during the growth period in baby turtles. It is generally caused because of malnutrition, but an excessive amount of protein also causes this phenomenon.
Peanuts are high in protein, and overconsumption can trigger pyramiding.
Although pyramiding isn’t known to have serious health repercussions, it still isn’t considered a part of a turtle’s normal growth.
Bloated And Gassy
Turtles get bloated when they consume too many peanuts. This is because peanuts have compounds like phytate and tannins, which aren’t easily digested by a turtle’s system.
Can Turtles Eat Peanut Butter?
You shouldn’t feed peanut butter to your turtles. Peanuts alone in high amounts can cause health complications. And as for butter mixed with peanuts, turtles cannot digest dairy products.
Final Words On Can Turtles Eat Peanuts
Even for us, consuming too many peanuts isn’t healthy. And naturally, they can have severe health effects on our reptile friends if fed excessively.
You can treat them occasionally. If fed in moderate amounts, peanuts have nutritional benefits, too. They are rich in protein and monounsaturated fats, necessary for growth in baby turtles.
As for adult turtles, it is better not to feed them peanuts, as it will be harder for them to burn the fat obtained from it – thus, making them obese.
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