If you have a sick turtle, you might have heard that you should give your turtle a carrot juice soak. In today’s article, I will explain how to give your turtle a carrot soak, when you should do it, and the benefits.
You can follow these same instructions if you want to give your tortoise a carrot soak.
How to give your turtle a carrot soak
Giving your turtle a carrot soak is pretty straight forward. All you need is water, carrots, a container, and a blender.
Step 1:
The first step is to chop up the carrots into small pieces. They don’t have to be really tiny; you just want to make it easier for your blender. I suggest adding 8-10 small pieces, but you can do more or less.
Step 2:
Next you want to dump the carrots into a blender. Then, you will want to add water. You will want to add enough water to fill up your container for around 2 inches. Make sure that the water is between 75 to 85 degrees fahrenheight. I also suggest that you add a water conditioner if you are using tap water.
Once you have the carrots and water in the blender, turn it on. You will want to blend it until the solution becomes an orange solution. It’s fine if there are a couple small carrot chunks, but ideally the solution will be completely liquid.
Step 3:
Next, you will want to put the solution into your container. You will want to fill the container up enough so that your turtles legs will be completely submerged. However, you will still want your turtle’s head to be able to rest above the liquid line to prevent potential drowning.
Step 4:
Once you have the carrot juice in the container, the last step is to add your turtle. As mentioned above, make sure that your turtle’s head is not under the liquid line. You should let your turtle soak in the carrot juice for around 15-20 minutes.
Hopefully, your turtle will start to dip their head into the turtle juice and drink/eat it. If you notice that they are not consuming any of it, I suggest that you put some pellets or treats in the carrot juice. When your turtle goes to eat them, they will hopefully ingest some of the carrot juice with it.
Now that you know how to give your turtle a carrot soak, let’s talk about the reasons why you should give your turtle a carrot soak.
When to give your turtle a carrot soak?
You should give your turtle a carrot soak if your turtle is suffering from one of the following conditions:
- Not eating
- Swollen eyes or eye infection
- Lethargy (not moving around a lot)
- Basking too much or not basking at all
Now let’s dive into the benefits
Carrot soak for turtles benefits
The main benefits of a turtle soak are that it helps provide your turtle with essential vitamins and can also help hydrate them.
It can also help provide variety to their diet.
Essential vitamins
Carrot soaks are a great way to provide your turtle with vitamins. Carrots are packed with vitamin A, which is a very important for a turtle’s health. Vitamin A helps promote healthy eyes, skin, muscles, and helps maintain strong bone strength.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an important vitamin for reptiles and amphibians to have healthy eyes and eyelids, skin, mouth, trachea and lungs, muscles, and bones. When turtle’s don’t get enough Vitamin A, it can result in a bunch of different conditions including:
- Lack of appetite
- Lethargy
- Swelling of eyes and ears
- Nasal discharge
Therefore, if your turtle is able to soak in this Vitamin A rich solution, it can help combat the symptoms mentioned above.
Aside from Vitamin A, carrot juice is also high in Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant which helps your turtle fight off infections and can help improve your turtle’s immune system.
Lastly, carrot juice is high in calcium, which is essential for your turtle shell and bone health. You can learn more about vitamins in my article on what vitamins do turtles need.
Hydration
Many people forget that despite spending much of their lives in water, turtle’s still need to drink water. When they don’t consume enough water, they can become dehydrated which can lead to a wide range of health issues.
By soaking your turtle in carrot juice, it may entice your turtle to drink it, which can help them stay hydrated.
Variety
Just like humans, turtles can get sick of the food you give them, especially if you feed them only one type of pellets. Therefore, it is recommended that you feed your turtle a variety of pellets and vegetables to help stimulate their diet and to ensure they are getting all of their required nutrients.
If you are having a tough time getting your turtle to eat vegetables, you may be able to kickstart their veggie diet by giving them a carrot soak.
Enrichment/Different environment
It is not uncommon for captive turtles to become bored with their habitat. This can cause them to not move around as much and in extreme cases they might stop eating. Giving your turtle a carrot soak can actually be an enriching activity for them, as it gives them the opportunity to experience a new environment.
This can help spark their energy and might help combat any boredom they are facing.
Conclusion
I hope this article helped explain in simple terms how to give your turtle a carrot soak. It’s pretty straight forward, and all you need is water, a container, carrots, and a blender. While it won’t be able to heal every illness, carrot soaks can be a great way to treat your turtle if they are suffering from swollen eyes, nasal discharge, lethargy, or loss of appetite.
As I mentioned in the beginning, while this article is focused on turtles, everything in this article applies for carrot soaks for tortoises.
