2006-07-12 17:04:31 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Reptiles
it depends a little bit on where you got him from. where i work we give them a combination of fruits, vegetable, live aquatic plants, and crickets. you can also feed them turtle pellets or live fish. just remember to put the food in the water. a handy trick for helping to keep the tank clean is get a separate smaller tank with a sufficient amount of water for swimming and feed them in there.
2006-07-12 17:09:24 · answer #1 · answered by Taldeara 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The main diet of a RES should be pellets, but it may take some time for it to get used to them. Pellets are nutritinally balanced and contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Try Reptomin or Mazuri turtle pellets. I know they sell baby sized Retomin pellets for hatchlings. You can also supplement with fish pellets as well.
Do not follow the feeding instructions on the bottle. They suggest you feed it several times a day, which is wrong and will cause the turtle harm (i.e. pyramiding - lumpy shell and obesity). Feed pellets three times a week. Once a week feed live or dead prey (protein), which can be dried or alive shrimp, snails, crickets, various worms and invertebrates. As it gets older, you can feed it feeder guppies once every few weeks.
In between pellets, leave some leafy greens in the tank for it to nibble on. Hatchling turtles are like children and reluctant to take in greens, but as they older they feed primarily on vegetaion. The best are aquatic plants (all kinds) or dandelions. These things have the most calcium. Other salad greens, like romaine is OK, but not as nutritious. It may take some time before it take the greens, but the sooner you leave it in, the sooner, it will accept it. Remove the uneaten greens after a few days.
Avoid the temptation of feeding it more. The little guy has a bottomless pitt for a stomach and it does not know when it is full. Overfeeding cause irreversible pyramiding, lumpy shell, which is unattractive, and obesity. Obesity will put stress on the liver and kidneys and shorten the lifespan of your turtle.
Here is a caresheet for a RES:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
I have kept and bred over 75 turtles and tortoises. I am currently keeping 20 chelonians (turtles) right now, including 1.2 RES. I run an informal RES rescue. I found good homes for 5 RES last year.
Good luck.
P.S. Do not feed it other veggies (like fozen peas, beans, brocoli, etc.), since they plants have many anti-nutrient factors which causes absorption problems, causing calcium deficiency, etc. They need a high calcium diet, and the pellets, and greens I mentioned are the best. If you have any further questions, feel free to send me a message.
2006-07-13 11:32:43 · answer #2 · answered by wu_gwei21 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Vegetables are a great thing and should be offered daily. A good vegetable is carrots and romane lettuce. Here is a wonderful informative website that gives you a whole list of what veggies your turtle can and cannot eat, and proper care of your turtle.
www.redearslider.com
2006-07-13 07:38:15 · answer #3 · answered by daredevil_girl013 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turtle pellets are O.K., also pieces of fish or shrimp, and they like earthworms. Remember sliders need to be in water to swallow.
2006-07-13 03:19:27 · answer #4 · answered by whatshisface 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you got it from a pet store it will probably eat pellets.if wild caught, you will want to feed it soft fruits and veggies along with some live insects or feeder guppies.
2006-07-17 16:08:49 · answer #5 · answered by retrac_enyaw03 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋