What to feed my (soon to come) red-eared slider?

Question

I know they enjoy the pellets that include dried shrimp and whatnot. But I want to give my (soon to be) baby RES some fun with the hunt. I've heard of feeder fish, but have also read of people feeding them baby frogs and guppies. I'm just wondering about what fishes to feed them, I think I have everything else in perspective.

This will be an aquarium baby ^_^

Answer 1

Red eared sliders need a diet that is a mixture of animal and plant material. However, young red eared sliders eat more animal protein so babies are started off on a diet that is more on the carnivorous side. It is still a good idea to offer vegetation to young turtles although they may not really start eating it until they get older (offering it early on at least makes it less likely they will shy away from trying it as they age). For adult red eared sliders, vegetation should make up a significant part of the diet.

Packaged Turtle Diets and Red Eared Sliders
Commercial pellets are fairly nutritious and are certainly convenient, and are beneficial since they contain a good mix of vitamins and minerals. However, as the saying goes, "variety is the spice of life." Offering a wide variety of foods is better than solely feeding a commercial turtle pellet as a variety of fresh food offers a wider range of nutrients in different forms (which may even be absorbed better when fed in the natural state).

As well, feeding a variety of items is more stimulating to the turtle. Live prey items are especially enriching, as they give turtles an opportunity to exercise by hunting as they would in the wild. Generally, I would recommend limiting pellets to about 25% of the diet, making up the rest with items from the list below.

Items to Feed Red Eared Sliders

* Feeder Items: live feeder fish (guppies, goldfish, minnows), earthworms, crickets, waxworms, earthworms, silkworms, aquatic snails, blood worms, daphnia, shrimp, krill, mealworms. For very small turtles, prey may have to be cut into smaller pieces. Larger turtles can be offered larger items like tadpoles.
* Leafy greens: collard, mustard and dandelion greens, kale, bok choy. Head (iceberg) lettuce should never be feed as it contains very little nutrition, but dark green leaf lettuces (e.g romaine) can be feed sparingly
* Aquatic plants: in an aquarium or pond you can add aquatic plants on which turtles usually love to snack. Submerged plants like anacharis are often eaten, as are water hyacinth, water lettuce, duckweed, azolla (fairy moss), and frog-bit.
* Other vegetables: carrots (tops are fine too), squash and green beans.

Supplements
A good reptile multivitamin with calcium and vitamin D3 shoule be mixed with the food a couple of times a week. Also, an excellent way to provide additional calcium is by putting a cuttlebone in the turtle tank. These are often avaiable in the bird section, and they can be affixed to the tank or just floated in the water.

Red Eared Slider Feeding Tips

* Catching wild prey items is fine, as long as you are sure they are pesticide free. Same for vegetation.
* Vegetables can be shredded to make them easier to eat, especially for smaller turtles.
* Some experts recommend feeding fresh fruits such as bananas, berries, apples, and melon. However, this isn't really a natural staple in the red eared sliders diet and it may cause diarrhea. If used, fruit should be only in very small quantities.
* Don't feed frozen fish, or at least not very often, as freezing some types of fish increases levels of an enzyme in the fish that destroys vitamin B1.
* Cooked chicken and cooked lean beef don't offer balanced nutrition and these will foul the water very quickly. Use only as very occasional treats and feed only if you use a feeding tank outside of the main tank.
* Never feed raw chicken or meat due to the risk of bacterial contamination.

Answer 2

The main diet would be a high-quality pelleted turtle food (although some fish foods work just as well, like trout chow). Avoid the cheap brands- they use less-nourishing ingredients to keep the price down.

The great thing about good pelleted food is that you don't have to worry about vitamins, minerals, or the calcium/phosphorous ratio that can cause problems if you don't keep it balanced.

Feed an amount equal to about twice the size of the turtle's head every day while it is a baby. As it gets older, back off to every other, then every third days.

Once you get the hang of feeding and other cares, you can start supplementing the food with live or frozen/thawed things like feeder fish, worms, insects (but not mealworms), small shrimp, etc.

Turtles select food by size- if the prey is too big or too small, it will be ignored (or harassed but not eaten). Obviously, with babies, the problem is finding small enough stuff.

The real issue is the rest of the care. A quick checklist for other cares would include:
- Tank offering at least 10 gallons of swimming space per inch of turtle. Most keepers use plastic tubs or kiddie pools.
- Water heated to about 75-80 with areas that are a little cooler (and can be cooler at night)
- Good basking sites, with at least some heated to about 90
- Powerful filtration (very messy eaters!) and/or a program of routine water changes
- Lighting that simulates sunlight in intensity, duration, and wavelengths. Must include some ultra-violet 'B' rays, which do not pass through glass.

A great site for these guys is listed below:

Answer 3

Turtles have a propensity for plants...they will eat the heck out of them in a pond. They will also attack dead fish lying on the bottom of a pond. The real trick is to keep the water very clean, without chlorine, and not to overfeed which becomes a mess. Your turtle will do as it will do. Many are called, but few live in a "home" situation. They really do need space.

Answer 4

Leafy greens like spinach, romaine lettuce, or kale are all good and high in nutrients. Leave them in there for a few hours then take em out or else they can start to rot and dirty up his home. Live food is good and fun thing a couple times a week, just make sure you have a really good filter for his water. Live food can get really messy fast and all those little pieces of uneaten food will start to rot in the water.

Answer 5

I would buy some baby guppies....that is what I did when I first got my turtle. Now she eats minos. But I also still give her the pellets too. Is this turtle in a pond or is it in an aqurium? Just make sure to keep it cleaned up wherever you have it.

Answer 6

you should feed them goldfish minnows. they love those. I have one and she love's floating fish food that you can find @ walmart. the baby RES should eat a little bit of fruits and vehtabowls.

Answer 7

feed it fruits and vegetables

Answer 8

Minnows

Worms (Break up)

Crickets

Mealworms