Very nearly four years ago, Paola and I returned from the local pet shop with two tiny baby RES turtles, who we called Bob and Homer. A third and fourth soon joined them. And why not – they were so tiny! At the time. Boy, do they grow. Angus and Bob, our biggest turts, have gone from the size of a 2 peso coins to a small dinner plate.
Paola was quite convinced they were vegetarian, and tried tempting them with bits of lettuce. They weren’t very interested. In fact, they’d rather starve. Tuna fish, lamb, ham and chicken on the other hand. That got their appetite going. Meat of any kind has always been a welcome supplement to their diet of Tortuguetas turtle pellets. It’s only a rare treat, though.
At the moment, Paola’s mum is visiting from the US, and as she has a certain fondness for our turts, she boiled up a chicken foot for them. Yes, she likes chicken feet in her soups. Whole chicken feet. Toes and all. As do many Mexicans. The turtles like chicken feet too, as you can see from this video. It’s not been speeded up. My placid turts, who barely move for most of the day, suddenly turn into raging carnivores, racing around and ready to kill for a bite of meat. Or skin.
The feast came to an end when Bob and Angus began biting off entire toes. I didn’t want them to be swallowing any bones and choking, so the foot came out. As did Angus, who refused to release the toe he’d gotten hold of. The music is from the album 2four9 by Drumbeater.
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The Mexile 
A foot feeding frenzy! Great video, thanks.
Now, would this be a good way to dispose of the body parts? 😉
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It would take time, and the larger bones would be an issue…..but I don’t see why it couldn’t be done!
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I always thought turtles were leaf munching critters. But apparently not!
For body parts though, I would call in the piranhas. 😛
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Tortoises are the leaf munchers.
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You people are weird.
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What are you saying Don Felipe…you’ve never had a body to dispose of? Ever? Never ever?!
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If I did not see it for myself, I would not have believed it!! I never thought of it before, but I think somewhere in the back of my mind, turtles were “supposed to be” vegetarians. Hhhmmm, I learned something new today.. or is it that these are just some freakish ones???…I am just saying… its hard to un-learn stuff.
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No, they are just normal turtles! Actually they are omnivores, but tend to prefer meat when younger. They eat more veggie stuff as they get older. Most of mine will now eat a little lettuce, carrot and mango. But that’s not the sort of stuff that will provoke a feeding frenzy!
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I never knew that!! Isn’t it strange what pets eat? My cat likes bourbon biscuits, eggs and chocolate. Oh, and cheese crisps.
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Turtles eating meat is unexpected rather than unusual…certainly compared to your cat!!!
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It is the second cat I have had that has done it. I read somewhere that cats don’t see you as humans but as big cats or something so I guess they see you taking pleasure in something (and I, um, take a LOT of pleasure in bourbon biscuits) and they think if it is good for you then it is good for them.
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Don’t tease me…we can’t get Bourbons here, or custard creams for that matter. Or Jaffa cakes. Coffee breaks just aren’t the same!
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Aaah, luckily I have just eaten dinner otherwise I would have gone and raided my cupboard! My faves are Bourbons, Nice and Jaffa cakes.
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