Turtle Food?

Question

What is a good prepared food that almost every turtle likes? I've already tried reptomin, monster diet, turtle bites, and aquatic turtle yummies.

Answer 1

There is no single product that every turtle likes.  Each turtle is different.  But, more importantly - a single commercial product will NOT meet the nutritional needs of your turtle.

I'll post a basic recipe for gut loading insects for your turtle, and also a basic diet for water turtles, but you really need to google your specific reptile and determine what its dietary requirements are.  Turtles live a long, long time with proper care and nutrition.

They also need UVB light, and calcium with D3, as well as proper water and basking temperatures.  Turtles are cold blooded, and must be offer a range of temperature, to control their body temperature.  Heat is necessary for digest.

GUT LOADING CRICKETS (insects) for REPTILES:

The number one problem:

Dried up and malnourished pet store crickets and mealworms. These food items are essentially useless. A dehydrated and unfed cricket contains almost no nutrients at all; refrigerated mealworms are even worse. A lot of the variety in nutrients found in wild insects is actually in the stomach content - usually plant material. We need to duplicate this to provide the best for our reptiles; without the risk of illness/disease/parasites which can result from feeding our pets wild insects.

Please note that wax worms, while fattening, are not nutritious.

Basic Dry/Staple Cricket Food:

Equal amounts of dry Iguana food, dry dog food, chick starter mash, oatmeal (you can add dry baby food wheat/rye/barley, etc. as well; even shredded wheat - no sugar).

Grind these items together.  Place in a small lid/bowl for the crickets to eat.  Store the unused portion in the refrigerator or freezer, until needed.

Supplement daily with one of the following: sweet potato, bananas, zucchini, oranges, carrots, strawberries, assorted squashes (acorn, yellow, etc.), grapefruit, green beans, apples, kale, spinach, cactus pads, and just about any other nutritious item you can think of (do not use white/yellow potatoes - these are starchy and only good if used as a moisture source during shipping, and NEVER use Avocado - it's poisonous to most animals).

Provide the dry food and kale at all times (kale is readily available during the winter months, too), rotating the other food items through in succession. The key is variety, and to provide an assortment of varying nutrients. What you are trying to do is offer your reptiles crickets with guts 'loaded' with fresh foodstuffs.

The crickets should be gut loaded for 1-2 days prior to offering them to your reptiles.

Also, provide fresh clean water in a lid/bowl, adding a sponge or folded paper towel to prevent drowning.

  

Don't offer more crickets than the reptile(s) will consume within: 1.) a few hours if it’s a lizard, salamander, frog/toad, or 2.) a few minutes, if it’s a water turtle, so you know the crickets will still be full of the good stuff when eaten.

The crickets should be dusted (shaken in a plastic bag gently to coat them) with vitamins (keep these refrigerated) and calcium D3 powder 2-4 times a week, depending on the age of the reptile.

Be sure to remove any uneaten crickets so that they do not soil your pet's environment/water or bother your pet, once it is full.  Crickets CAN turn the table - and feast upon your pet! Or aggravate them, causing stress and even cessation of eating.

Also be sure the crickets are the correct size for the reptile.  The cricket should be the same size long as the reptile’s head is wide.

There are many opinions on how to meet the dietary requirements of your RES (and other water turtles).  You can consult your vet for their recommendation, too, and google turtle breeders/sites to see what they feed.  This is what I have found to provide a happy/healthy reptile:

In the wild, red ear sliders (and other water turtles) eat both animal and plant sources of food. However, juveniles are mainly meat eaters, and eat less plant matter than they will as they grow.



In captivity, the diet for juveniles should consist of a commercial aquatic turtle pellet product (like Reptomin floating food sticks); aquatic plants such as Anacharis (research which are safe for consumption); gut loaded crickets; and very small feeders guppies/goldfish/minnows. Hatchlings should be fed small amounts spaced several times over the day (they are growing quickly) and juveniles should be feed on a daily basis. The diet can be supplemented with frozen tubiflex worms and earthworms. Plant matter, in the form of leafy greens (like curly kale) or finely chopped mixed vegetables, can be offered several times weekly but may not be readily accepted until they grow a bit older, or curiosity sets in.

Get a cuttle bone from the bird dept. at a local pet shop (you can easily cut this to a desired size or use whole for larger turtles/tanks) and drop it in the water for added calcium.  Turtles are curious, and eventually they'll bite at it.  This is fine too, but if they don’t, they will still get added calcium as they drink the water.

For adults the diet is relatively the same (amounts increased as they grow, and daily feedings decrease), but more of the diet may consist of commercial turtle pellets and plant items, such as Anacharis and vegetables.  

All my turtles, regardless of age, enjoy their gut loaded crickets.  Offering fresh live fish supplements their diet, and provides a good source of exercise as they swim, stalking and catching them.  Adults should be fed assorted greens several times a week.  Adult turtles may not eat daily, but most will if offered the opportunity.

Alternate/rotate the greens to provide a variety of nutrients: kale; romaine/red leaf lettuce; mustard greens; dandelion greens/flowers; watercress; parsley; Swiss chard; shredded carrots; shredded squash; mixed vegetables (fresh is better, but thawed frozen can be used) and miscellaneous fruits. NO iceberg lettuce; brussel sprouts, or cabbage!  Never Avocado (this is toxic/poisonous to most animals)!

You can reduce your task of keeping their environment clean by removing your turtle(s) to a small tank/plastic water filled container (water turtles primarily feed in the water) for feeding.  Turtles shred their food with their beak and front claws, and tend to be quite messy eaters.

I'll post a couple of links you might want to peek at when you find time.  They will provide a variety of care/dietary requirements for water turtles.

An informed owner means a happy owner, and a content and healthy turtle.  Enjoy you pet!

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 2

I feed mine carrots, chop them into tiny pieces. Live prey like meal worms or rosey reds.

Answer 3

Bil-Jac fresh frozen dog food (thawed,of course) I have yet to find a turtle that will not eat it.Mix in a little grated carrot and a pinch of calcium powder and they love it. Keep feeding the turtle food,too,so the turtle gets all of the vitamins it needs. Earthworms are great,too.

Answer 4

maybe guppies

Answer 5

It really depends on what kind of turtle you have, i would ask the place where you purchased the turtle.

Answer 6

minows and guppies (goldfish) like they eat in the wild,,leafy greens.

Prepared food is ok once in a while like frozen or freeze dried tubiflex cubes..

Sliders are great for decorating ponds or large tanks. I have had two for 36 yrs now plus a 8 yr old and a 5 yr old..

I have had them in a 150gal pond for about 6 yrs now..

MOST important !!! TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!! They will get the calcium the NEED from the cuttle bone for good shell growth.

Answer 7

i  say  natrual  food   like   theseaquatic plants (duckweed, water lettuce, parrot feather, etc.), collards, turnip greens, red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, dandelion, chickweed, plantain weed, carrot tops, red clover, endive, fig leaves, grape leaves, sow thistle, tufted vetch

veggies:

squashes, peas in the pod, okra, grated or sliced carrots, sweet potatoes

beets, green beans, wax beans, corn

fruits:

figs, grapes, blue berries, cantaloupe, blackberries, tomato, banana, strawberry, apple, citrus fruits, mango, kiwi, pumpkin-- all fruits are fine for occasional use

flowers:

geraniums (Pelargonium species), Chinese Lantern (Abutilon hybridum not Physalis sp.), nasturtium, borage, hyssop, hostas, hibiscus, carnations, daylilies, petunia, pansies, chives, dandelion, rose and rose hips

meats:

silkworms, earthworms, crickets, snails, shrimp, slugs, wax worms, meal worms, zoophobas, pinky mice (live or pre-killed), cooked chicken or turkey, boiled eggs, cooked fish.

okay on rare occasion--cat or dog food, lean beef

(hamburger and other fatty red meats should be avoided, and never use raw meats because of contamination dangers)