Turtle/tortoise nutrition — hypovitaminosis A in aquatic turtles; low Ca:P drives SNHP
The text below is reproduced verbatim from the first-hand source (Merck Veterinary Manual).
> Hypovitaminosis A is common in aquatic turtles and insectivorous lizards fed a diet deficient in preformed vitamin A. The commonly used nutritional supplement beta carotene cannot be metabolized by many reptiles. > Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism is the most common bone disease encountered in reptile practice. It is caused by poor diet (low calcium:phosphorus ratio, vitamin D3 deficiency) or poor husbandry (lack of UVB light, inadequate thermal provision) (see secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism photograph and radiograph).
Source: pdf-raw/exotic-b3/reptile_nutrition.txt (first-hand professional veterinary reference, tag-stripped).
Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)
Hypovitaminosis A is common in aquatic turtles and insectivorous lizards fed a diet deficient in preformed vitamin A. The commonly used nutritional supplement beta carotene cannot be metabolized by many reptiles.Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism is the most common bone disease encountered in reptile practice. It is caused by poor diet (low calcium:phosphorus ratio, vitamin D3 deficiency) or poor husbandry (lack of UVB light, inadequate thermal provision) (see secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism photograph and radiograph).