What do turtles eat?

Question

A neighbor gave my nephew a turtle, ( which means that I have to take care of it!). It looks like it has a black shell, with yellow and red stripes on its neck and sides. What kid of turtle is this? What does it eat? Can I just drop the food in the tank, or does it need something to eat out of?

I have gotten some responses, and I must say, I didn't know some people could be so RUDE when answering a question! I know there are things called BOOKS and the INTERNET (AMAZING THINGS WE HAVE!), and the "DUH" comment wasn't called for! If you can't be civilized when answering, THEN DO NOT ANSWER!!!! I was asking a serious question about this turtle!

Answer 1

OK... SOUNDS LIKE A RED EARRED SLIDER BUT I AM NOT FOR SURE... BUT BEST BET IS THAT ID ITS AQUATIC IT MOST LIKELY IS AN CARNIVORE BUT OCCASIONALLY WILL BE A OMNIVORE( GUESS THAT MAKES IT AN OMNIVORE BUT THEY EAT MORE MEAT AND WONT DIE IF YOU DONT FEED THEM PLANTS!)... IT WILL LIVE MOSTLY ON A DIET OF TURTLE PELLETS, CRICKETS, BLOOD WORMS(EWWWWWWW! NAH JUST MOSQUITO LARVA WITH A WEIRD NAME!) AND GOLDFISH. THERE ARE A FEW PLANTS YOU CAN PUT INTO AN AUQARIUM WITH AQUARIC TURTLES THAT THEY WILL GLADLY EAT.
THEY NEED A DECENT SIZE TANK. AS I SUGGESTED TO A PREVIOUS PERSON I LIKE TO USE A LONG FOOT HIGH CLEAR TUPERWARE CONATIANER(LIKE THE ONES FOR UNDER THE BED) FILLED WITH GRAVEL AND SOME PLANTS. GIVE THE TURTLE A GOOD BASKING SPOT BY GETTING A NICE SIZED ROCK TO PUT IN THE MIDDLE. YOU WILL NEED A SMALL WATER HEATER(KEEP THE TANK WATER AROUND 75-80 THEY LIKE IT WARM) AND A WATER FILTER ESPECIALLY FOR TURTLE WASTE(THEY POOP ALOT... I MEAN ALOT!!!). GET A CLAMP LIGHT WITH A REPTILE BULB, NOTHING REALLY SPECIAL JUST SOMETHING TO GIVE THEM SOME SUNLIGHT. AND THEY WILL BE SET. THE BIGGEST PART OF HAVING MY RED EARREDS IS THE CLEANING OF THE TANK... EWWWWWWWWWWW!

Answer 2

I'm not sure from your description, it might be a red eared slider if the red is on each side of the head. Almost every turtle will eat earthworms. But be sure of the type of turtle, as most aquatic turtles have to be in water to swallow, but most tortoises will drown. (They do like to bathe in shallow water.) It is OK to put food in the tank, it's messy and some folks use a separate tank for feeding. If it is a slider pieces of shrimp and fish (raw) work well. Zoo Meds aquatic pellets are excellent.
The slider must be maintained in mid 80 degree f water, and a large canister filter helps with the mess and helps keep it from getting sick. The turtle will require a large tank. 30 gal is bare minimum. A place to bask under a mostly UVB lamp is needed. Good luck.

Answer 3

First, not all turtles eat the same things, just like some humans are vegetarian and others arent. Shrimp is the main diet of some species. Shrimp is also a main contributer to one version of shell disease. Turtles are pretty efficient in using their food- they really don't need very much, so its OK to let them go a bit hungry once in a while- like when trying to force them to change foods. The 'nutritious pellets' may taste horrible to the turtle (they DO have taste buds) and may not be as healthy as you think, especially after the tradgedy with the harmful catfood and dogfood, I dont know if id trust any type of petfood. It may be worthwhile to do a bit of reseach on them before you start to depend on them alone. In general, live or fresh food is healthier and variety is important. Try offering a few pellets along with appropriate live/fresh food and see what kinds of results you get. It would be more helpful to know the species of your turtle to give you more information. :)

Answer 4

First of all put him in water some water .it's a water turtle it needs water it lives in water . but sorry i really don't know what they eat .My daughter has a tortoise and we feed veggies and fruit.
I suggest you take it to your local pet store so they can help u
or go on the web it will be cheaper, by the way i believe you have a red ear turtle the way U described it . Good luck!!

Answer 5

The turtle you have is a RED EAR SLIDER aka RES, for there tank is 10 gallons per inch, they eat turtle pellets duh ... you can feed them romain lettuce and chicken and other stuff, not going to go into much detail your going to need a UVA lamp for heat and UVB lamp for sun rays, you can just drop the food in the tank they will eat it

Answer 6

first, look up the type of turtle. you have access to online so don't be lazy. there is also a thing called "books". then you'll find it's diet when you figure out it's type.

make sure you look up on how to care for turtles and this type of turtle... pleaseeeeeeee so many people are careless with pets like turtles and reptiles and stuff...

Answer 7

Jason gave you the right scoop on this. Be aware of a salmonella issue though with turtles. Make sure your hand and especially hands of children are washed well with antibacterial soap after handling.

Answer 8

please ignore most of the answers you receive in this forum, most of these people are just guessing
a rule of thumb to use is water turtles eat meat and land tortoises eat fruits and vegetables
some of the advice I've seen is deadly
get a decent book or look it up on any good website
good luck with your little fellow

Answer 9

i agree.... it might be a red eared slider.. they are semi aquatic and need both an area to swim and bask as well as direct sunlight or a uv lamp... my red eared sliders eat boiled chicken, reptile sticks, and semi moist dog food.... you can drop the food in the tank... i have trained mine to eat out of a tiny bowl (less mess in the water)... they take the food and jump into the water to eat...

Answer 10

normally @ the pet store certain aged turtles eat diffrent foods that are like pellets.