Turtles are no different than most other living creatures on earth in that they are in fact able to walk backwards as well as forward. Obviously turtles are able to back-peddle while in water, however they are also able to walk backwards while on land. However it has been suggested that they may be unable to walk backwards when turning corners.

Something to consider is that although a turtle can walk backwards, they are unable to run backwards at high speeds. They also are also usually unable to flip themselves back over onto their feet if they happen to flip onto their backs accidently. Some turtles have died as a result of this as it leaves them vulnerable and makes their undersides “cook” if exposed in the sun for too long. Others have been known to starve to death while on their backs.

Usually a turtle will walk backwards to try and avoid a predator or to retreat back into its shell for protection when it feels threatened.

Turtles can and do enjoy eating vegetables such as carrots. However it is important to keep in mind that they need to have a varied diet in order to stay as healthy as possible. Land turtles love to eat vegetables such as carrots, kale and lettuce.

If you are thinking about feeding your turtle carrots it is important to shred the carrots so that they are easier for your turtle to eat and digest. This also reduces your turtle’s chances of choking. Carrots are inexpensive and can be purchased in a number of different places. Anywhere from the local grocery store to your neighborhood garden or produce stand and can also last for quite awhile if you buy the individual smaller packs and only open them up when necessary.

Carrots are probably one of the healthiest things your turtle can eat as veggies are a staple in any turtle’s diet. Your turtle should be given at least 1 serving of vegetables daily. If they eat insects they need to eat every other day.

It can be beneficial to your turtle and your wallet to feed your turtle fish food as it is usually cheaper to buy and easy to supply. However it is important to remember that turtles cannot only feed upon things such as fish food and pellets its whole life. They need things like salmon, worms, vegetables etc. to get the proper amount of nutrients and stay healthy.

Fish food should never be a primary diet for your turtle; however it will not harm your turtle to feed it fish food from time to time. Different species of turtles are known to have different diets. Many turtles are omnivores that love feasting upon plants and insects. Some even love to chow down on fish. They also love to eat crickets.

An important thing to remember when considering your turtle’s diet is that it should always consist of items that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Minerals such as D3, phosphorus and calcium are extremely important for the health of your turtle. Calcium is probably one of the harder things for your turtle to get enough of so it is important to keep a very close eye on this. Feeding your turtle things such as crushed oysters, eggshells that are boiled and crushed, and cuttlebone can help your turtle maintain a good amount of calcium.

Too much protein in a turtle’s diet can cause stress on the kidneys and is also thought to cause deformities in a turtle’s shell. It is advised that you not feed your turtle high protein foods such as meats that we humans eat, as well as dog or cat foods.

However, if protein is fed very sparingly along with a varied diet, it shouldn’t cause any harm to your turtle but never make it a staple. One of the biggest things to remember if you decide to feed your turtle fish food is not to start relying on that as a staple in its diet. Many pet owners make this mistake because fish food is a lot easier to supply then other foods you might find or might think cost too much. It is recommended that you feed your turtle as wide of a variety of foods as possible without overusing any single type of food.

Turtles are able to climb however their ability to do so is somewhat limited. They are able to climb onto objects such as rocks, and logs when they want to get out of water. However you will probably not find a turtle climbing up a fence or the side of a tree, although it has been rumored that certain species have in fact mastered fences. Perhaps the only way to know for sure whether they can climb fences or not is to be fortunate enough to witness such an event taking place. Until then, the world may never know.

Turtles can eat tomatoes and many enjoy doing so. However it is important to never feed your turtle too much of one type of food, even tomatoes. Tomatoes should not be given to your turtle more than once a week and it is even better to feed them to your turtle even less than this. It is recommended that rarely feeding your turtle tomatoes is best.

The reason that turtles should not eat tomatoes too often is because it can make them ill and cause a number of health problems. The excess sugar and acid in the tomato can cause the turtle’s stomach to bloat painfully and can also cause diarrhea and make the turtle’s stomach more hospitable for parasites to thrive in.

Since tomatoes are technically a fruit, they are pretty high in sugar content and acidity. Mediterranean species of turtles such as Hermmans in nature would rarely have access to fruit and because of this their digestive tracts are not developed to deal with these amounts of sugar. This can result in an imbalance of their normal intestinal flora. It is recommended that fruit such as tomatoes only be given to them sparingly or not at all.

There is no need to get upset about your turtle not being able to eat a lot of tomatoes, there are plenty of other accessible and inexpensive things such as vegetables, pellets, and small fish that are healthy for your turtle, if not healthier!

It is true that if a turtle gets stuck on its back, there is the possibility of it dying. In fact, male turtles sometimes fall backwards after copulation and if they are unable to right themselves they can die of starvation.

A turtle’s ability to right itself after falling onto its back also depends upon the particular species. For instance,, the flat shelled turtle that lives in freshwater have long, muscular necks which make it easier for them to flip themselves back over if they happen to accidently get flipped onto their backs.

However for other species of turtles and tortoises, righting themselves can be a task if they have been flipped onto their back. Tortoises and turtles that live on land have much shorter legs and necks which makes it harder for them to get off of their backs. It has been said that early explorers and sailors even used to take giant land turtles with them on long journeys across the oceans as a source of fresh meat, and they would keep the creature upside down so that they weren’t able to wander off of the ship and/or get away.

Some turtles are fortunate enough to have been made equipped with shells that will automatically right themselves if they are flipped over. The very tall domed shells of the star tortoise for instance have a natural tendency to roll back into an upright position. This is also due to the mono-static shape which effectively means that there is one position that they are most stable in. That position being right side up.

For other turtles whose shells are flatter, they have two stable positions on their front and on their back which means that the possibility of getting stuck on their backs is more likely. Even worse are the turtle’s whose shells have even more stable points. Having these stable points makes them more likely to flip onto their backs as well as onto their sides and get stuck halfway through when trying to roll back onto their fronts.

Young turtles that get stuck on their backs in direct sunlight can overheat and die in a very short matter of time. It can even happen in minutes! If a turtle accidently flips onto its back while underwater there is the possibility of it drowning, starving to death or becoming stranded in cold waters and dying from the freezing temperatures.

Turtles can eat bananas. In the wild, turtles love to munch on anything they can find; often they will feast upon things such as insects, fish, bananas, and strawberries in nature. However something important to keep in mind is that turtles should never have too much of one type of food, and should only be given fruit on rare occasions if not at all.

Fruit has a high amount of sugar, which could be harmful to the turtle if fed too frequently. The sugar content and acid, etc. in fruits can cause a turtle’s stomach to bloat up and cause pain, as well as diarrhea and a number of other health problems.

Some pet owners have found that only feeding their turtles bananas on rare occasions is the best method and that mixing it with a varied diet helps. Experts have suggested that bananas every now and then for a turtle can be a healthy choice.

Turtles can and do enjoy eating lettuce. Most turtles are omnivorous creatures which means that they will eat just about anything. However some of their favorite things to eat include leafy green vegetables such as lettuce. They also love to eat small fish and insects. However this does not mean that you should feed your turtle anything that you want. Table scraps are never acceptable for a turtle, and these creatures also require a healthy and balanced diet.

Some pet owners have found that adding a variety to their turtle’s diet ensures the best health and also helps the turtle not get sick of what it’s eating. Among the better commercial foods for aquatic and semi aquatic turtles are Tetra Reptomin floating turtle sticks. Some pet owners have found that getting creative and mixing them with other fish foods, bits of meat, and vegetables such as lettuce can help since the floating sticks by themselves are a bit expensive.

It is perfectly fine for your turtle to eat lettuce; however something to keep in mind is that turtles are generally quite messy when they eat. Because of this owners should try their best to keep water clean and free of debris. Lettuce when left uneaten can easily make a tank dirty in a matter of minutes. Another thing to watch out for are small decomposing amounts of flesh as they can get trapped under rocks and logs and contaminate your turtle’s environment. Lettuce can be sticky when it gets soggy and is also easily trapped underneath rocks. This is why it is important to keep an eye on your turtle when feeding it such things and to remove any uneaten portions from the tank immediately.

If you ever notice your turtle seeming lethargic or appearing to have cloudy skin patches or milky eyes this is a good indication that your turtle may have very poor nutrition or could even have a disease. If this is the case a veterinarian who knows a lot about reptiles should be consulted as soon as possible to determine whether or not the turtle’s diet is a cause or if there are other factors involved.

It is important that you keep a close watch on your turtle’s diet, and if you own more than one turtle, make sure they both get to eat equal amounts of food. Turtles are generally messy when they eat, so make sure to keep the water clean and free of debris, as small decomposing particles of flesh can get trapped under rocks and logs and contaminate your turtle’s environment.

Try adding a little variety to your turtle’s diet. They love vegetation such as lettuce, other leafy vegetables, cabbage, berries, alfalfa and cloves.

Although turtles are omnivorous creatures they are better off not eating things such as bread. This is because turtles lack certain enzymes needed to breakdown foods such as bread and things that contain dairy. This could be harmful to them. Some people have reported that their turtle has eaten bread when handed it. If a turtle is domesticated and you are feeding it, chances are that it will probably eat anything you throw its way. However this doesn’t mean that you should feed it foods such as bread. A lot of human foods are processed and packed with preservatives, spices, and other things that can be very harmful to a turtle. Instead you should try to feed your turtle a diet that is high in vitamins, nutrients, and calcium to ensure that they are healthy and maintaining a well-balanced diet. Turtles love to feast upon things such as leafy vegetables, meat, small fish, dehydrated shrimp, etc.

Turtles do not breathe underwater in the sense of what we call breathing. That is, they do not take in oxygen through inhalation and exhalation. Rather, they absorb or take in oxygen through means other than just by their lungs.

Turtles have a set of lungs that it can breathe with. As its activity increases so does its demand for air. The turtle, depending on the species can hold its breath underwater for a long time. Most species can hold their breath anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. How long the turtle can hold its breath is also in direct proportion to how active it is and if it is able to find pockets of air. These pockets of air can be found in small caves and/or under ice.

According to some studies that have been done, turtles were found to virtually not be breathing at all. Instead they would take in air by a different area of the body other than the means of the lungs. It was once thought that turtles did breathe underwater because movement of the water was seen around the turtle’s mouth. However later studies showed that the air was actually absorbed through gill like structures in the beck in some turtles and in through the skin at the throat on others. Water movement was also found near the turtle’s anal area where there was also absorption of air through two sacs. These sacs are similar to the throat in that they have tiny capillary blood vessels that are equipped to absorb the oxygen needed from the water.

Some turtles are able to hibernate for up to four months without breathing or eating while underwater. In addition to the absorption of air through both ends of its body, the turtle’s system slows down. Because these creatures are cold blooded, their body temperatures are comparable to the environment around it. When the temperature drops, the turtle cools down. The turtle’s heart can slow to as little as 5 to 10 beats per minute. The creature’s need for oxygen and/or food is diminished. Cold water not only lowers the turtle’s body temperature, it also retains more oxygen that the turtle will absorb. Turtles are no different from other living organisms in that they need oxygen to perform natural bodily functions. They are also able to go without air for short periods of time.

Turtles are still in need of oxygen when they are underwater hibernating. In fact, two things can still cause a turtle to die. One being the lack of oxygen due to a stagnant body of water. The second being the body of water freezing solid. Turtles often fare better in a pond or river that has a constant flow of water regardless of the temperature to bring in a fresh supply of oxygen. If the water freezes, the turtle will literally freeze to death.