What should you feed a turtle and how many times a day?

Question

I have 2 new turtles but I don't know what to feed them or how many times a day. I'm in school so I obviously can't feed them during the day. Tips?

Answer 1

I am asuming you have a Red Ear Slider, you didn't say and they are the most popular so we ill go with that. Turtles need a varied diet. Just pellets is not a healthy diet. Aquatic turtles must be fed in the water or else they can not swallow the food. It doesn't matter what time you feed them. If it will make you feel better just put some Romaine Lettuce in the tank before school.

Hatchlings
Hatchlings should be fed everyday for the first year of their lives. They should be given as much as they can eat in 10 to 15 mins time or as much as you could fit into their head if hollow. You can feed them all of it at once or you can slit it up into 2 feedings.

Hatchlings tend to be more Carnivorous than adults, so make sure to check out the suggestions of live and protein-rich foods below for how to supplement accordingly. (Make sure you still give fruits and veggies at this stage!)

Juveniles/Adults
Once your turtle reaches the 4" mark, we recommend that you change their feeding schedule to every other day. Giving them greens or live plants in between.

Adults tend to become more Omnivorous, so make sure to check out the suggestions of fruits and vegetables below.

Vitamins and Calcium
You should supplement your turtle's diet with both vitamins and calcium, every third feeding or once a week. To give them vitamins many people will give them a Vitamin Bath once a week. You can also either soak the pellets in a liquid vitamin or dampen them and roll them in a powder vitamin before feeding.

It is recommended you have a light that supplies UVA and at the very least a 5.0 UVB output. The UVB is necessary for the absorption of calcium and vitamin D3. Turtles need both calcium and Vitamin D3 for strong bones and shells.

**Feeding Tip Feedings should be done in a separate container so that you do not have to frequently change the water nor the filter media.


Common Diet Errors

Feeding Cat or Dog Food
Despite what some pet store employees may tell you, turtles should not be fed dog or cat food (Sounds insane, but we've heard it!)

Pellet Only Diets
Pellets provide many benefits, but variety is key!
Supplement their diet with veggies, live foods and some fruits. Check out our safe list below.

Giving in to Beggars
Turtles will always beg whether you give in or not- they know you are the supplier of food!
Supplement between feedings with greens or live foods they have to chase to eat. ( Iceberg lettuce is a common filler that doesn't contain much nutritional value, but will keep them content.)


Safe Feeding List

Commercial Foods (This is just a few of them on the market)
* Tetra Reptomin
* ZooMed's Aquatic Turtle Food
* Exo Terra
* Wardley's Reptile Premium Sticks
* HBH Turtle Bites

Frozen/Canned (For treats)
* Spirulina-enriched Brine Shrimp
* Bloodworms
* Plankton
* Krill
* ZooMed's Can O'Crickets, Grasshoppers, or Meal Worms

Live Foods (Carnivorous)
* Guppies or Rosies Reds (no goldfish they are too fatty and have very little nutritional value)
* Crickets (Gut-Loaded)
* Pinhead Crickets (for smaller turtles)
* Earthworms, Night Crawlers
* Ghost Shrimp
* Aquatic Snails/Apple Snails
* Slugs
* Wax Worms, Super Worms

**Be careful about Wild-Caught foods, they can carry parasites that can be transferred to your turtle. Freezing Wild-Caught foods for a month will help to kill off some parasites.

Fruits (small amounts for treats only)
* Apples
* Bananas
* Grapes
* Melon
* Tomato
* Strawberries

**Should be cut up in small, bite-size or match-like sticks that will be easy for the turtle to bite into and not choke on.

Veggies
* Squash
* Zucchini
* Carrots
* Greens- Red Leaf, Romaine, Collards, Kale, Dandelion Greens

**Stay away from Spinach. Make sure to cut the veggies in bite-size or match-like sticks so your turtle can eat them easily. Iceberg lettuce is a good filler, but contains little/no nutritional value!

Aquatic Plants
* Anacharis
* Duckweed
* Water Hyacinth
* Water Lettuce
* Water Lily

If you need more help feel free to email me. Also check out a forum I am a member of for more help. Great people who are happy to help! http://www.turtleexchange.com/forum/index.php

Answer 2

I don't know what kind of turtles you have but...years ago someone I knew picked up an eastern slider turtle beside a river. The turtle had about a 2 - 3" shell. He took it home, tossed it in his aquarium, and the thing ate fish food pellets (it would eat the flakes too). He feed it probably a couple of times a day. He kept it for a couple of years when the thing started to get a bit big for the aquarium. If you could find a petstore that sold turtle food, it would probably have directions on the packaging.

Answer 3

You can buy turtle pellets at the pet store and feed them a few before school and a few after. I think you can also feed them certain varieties of lettuce (not iceberg though because I heard it is bad for digestion).

Answer 4

First, it depends on the type of turtle. Second, they sell floating sticks, which are turtle food, in many stores. Third, my vet told me to feed them daily if they are indoors, and skip a day or two if they are outdoors, so they hunt flies and eat grass. Red Eared slider like red vegetables, and raw meat. Also consider some guppies in the pond, turltes love fresh fish!

Answer 5

Leave fresh lettuce in their cage/aquarium in the morning and when you get home feed them turtle food you can get at any pet store...probably just once a day

Answer 6

Check out your local pet store for turtle care books or check around on the Internet for what your type of turtle eats. For my box turtle, he loved lettuce, bananas and bugs but it really depends on the type of turtle.

Answer 7

we need to know what kind of turtles you have. Are they water turtles, or tortoises? If you are keeping them in a terrarium you can control the light and they will eat raw veges ands small bugs and worms. If you have water turtles the same goes for the lighting but you will need leafy veges(no iceburg lettuce- it contains poisons) and small water animals or a quality petstore food made to cover their needs.

Answer 8

turtles only need to eat at most once a day. i just leave a lettuce leaf in the pond so it can eat when its hungry. but u only need to feed ur turtles once a day or once per two days. its not gonna die of hunger so no worry.

Answer 9

you should go to the local pet shop
they sell turtle food
ask them how much you should feed them and what and when

Answer 10

I feed mine REPTO-MIN it is a reptile pellet 3-4 times a day. now he is about the size of a popcan, and eats 8 pellets a min of 3 times a day.