Performance of Head-Started Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus 1758) fed a commercial diet

Dietary protein requirement for captive juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas)

“…or 51.5% (Hadjichristophorou & Grove, 1983) and 41% (Jones et al, 2009;Price et al, 2013). However, green turtles fed with carnivorous fish feed containing 44.8% had superior growth and feed utilization over those fed with shrimp (42.5% protein) or with omnivorous fish (Kanghae et al, 2014b). The optimal protein level from the current study expanded a previous investigation in 14-month-old green turtles in which 35 P feed significantly improved WG as compared to 30 P and 25 P feeds (Wood & Wood, 1981).…”

“…This dietary protein level is similar to the range of crude protein requirements for freshwater turtles, 39.0%–46.5% (Jia et al, 2005; Nuangsaeng & Boonyaratapalin, 2001; Xie et al, 2012; Zhou et al, 2013), and is compatible with the range of protein contents in commercial carnivorous fish feeds used for rearing green turtles, such as 43.6% or 51.5% (Hadjichristophorou & Grove, 1983) and 41% (Jones et al, 2009; Price et al, 2013). However, green turtles fed with carnivorous fish feed containing 44.8% had superior growth and feed utilization over those fed with shrimp (42.5% protein) or with omnivorous fish feed (18.5% protein) (Kanghae et al, 2014b). The optimal protein level from the current study expanded a previous investigation in 14‐month‐old green turtles in which 35 P feed significantly improved WG as compared to 30 P and 25 P feeds (Wood & Wood, 1981).…”

“…Five isoenergetic experimental feeds were formulated using practically available ingredients to contain 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, and 50% dietary crude protein (designated as 30 P, 35 P, 40 P, 45 P, and 50 P, respectively). This range covers the levels of dietary protein used for rearing turtles, reported by a number of authors (Hadjichristophorou & Grove, 1983;Jia et al, 2005;Jones et al, 2009;Jualaong et al, 2020Jualaong et al, , 2021Kanghae et al, 2014b;Nuangsaeng & Boonyaratapalin, 2001;Price et al, 2013;Xie et al, 2012;Zhou et al, 2013). Fishmeal, de-hulled soybean, and squid liver powder were used as main protein sources.…”

“…Recently, Kanghae et al (2014a) reported that complete pelleted feed for marine carnivorous fish (44.8% protein) is suitable for feeding this species, and preferred over a mixture of fresh fish and vegetables (1:1 w / w , 54.1% protein), or a mixture of vegetables, fish fillet and pelleted feed (0.25: 0.25: 0.5 w / w / w , 50.1% protein). This feed is also superior compared to omnivorous fish feed (18.5% protein) or carnivorous shrimp feed (42.5% protein) (Kanghae et al, 2014b). Until now, feed formulation and nutrient requirement have never been optimized for this species.…”

Enrichment devices for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) reared in captivity programs

“…However, since the green turtle is not a commercially popular species, there is a lack of necessary information available to support captive breeding programs. Nevertheless, several studies focusing on diet and rearing conditions have been reported in recent years, which have aimed to improve its survival, growth, and the optimization of its feed utilization (Kanghae et al, 2014a(Kanghae et al, , 2014b(Kanghae et al, , 2016Songnui et al, 2017). However, there is still a need for research into other variables which impact its welfare, the effects of which need to be assessed.…”