Feeding and Nutrition :: Is fruit necessary?

[sbyrd81]

I'm noticing that people feed their sliders fruit every now and then but it is not recommended as a staple of their diet. So, is it even necessary to feed them fruit? Would they eat it in the wild? Just curious. I'm assuming the purpose is just to add variety, but it doesn't seem to have many nutritional benefits.

[industrial_girl_2000]

They would definitely eat it in the wild. I have seen lots of raspberry bushes growing *right next* to the water's edge at my dad's pond in North Carolina, and I know some of the berries drop into the water from time to time.

There are quite a few nutritional benefits to fruits, especially berries. Berries have some of the highest level antioxidants out of all fruits (Vitamin C, etc.). I find berries very convenient to feed to my RES as a treat since they are small & don't require much preparation (just wash!). Sheba loves them.

[marisa]

In the wild, I think terrestrials would be more apt to eat fruit than aquatics would (terrestrials would be more apt to come across fruit walking around on land). I don't think fruit is necessary, although occasionally giving fruit adds some variety to the diet. Some fruits do have more nutritional value than others, though, and those would be the ones you'd want to offer, if you chose to do so.

[lizzie]

I don't feed my RES fruit.