What's good to feed turtles?

Question

My wife found a turtle in the garden, under the dirt. The shell is kind of greyish-brown, about 6'' long. It has a red stripe on its head, sort of an elongated diamond shape, with a yellow stripe below that. She's been feeding it lettuce, but I figure it must need/prefer other foods. What else will it eat?

Answer 1

Feeding is one of the most important functions of a Turtle Owner! Proper feeding, among other things, will ensure your turts well-being .
Vegetables, salad greens and aquatic plants fall under the "Greens" , while pellets and live prey fall under the "Protein" category. Vitamins and Minerals are essential as well and contribute to your turtles health inside and out!

1. ALWAYS feed your turtle IN THE WATER ! Aquatic turtles MUST have water to eat and digest their food.
2. The CORRECT WATER TEMPERATURE is very important - it should read between 77-79 degrees . If the water is too cold, your turtle will - literally - lose his/her appetite.
3. AMOUNTS TO FEED are equally as critical. Feed as much as would fit into your turtles EMPTY HEAD, EXCLUDING the neck! My own vet recommends the "as much as fits into the head" method for the protein-based part of the diet only - which includes pellets, live feeders, snails, crickets and worms. Feed greens and aquatic plants as much as your turt wants to eat.

4. A healthy diet should be a varied one :
*for hatchlings (feed every day) - 50% greens and 50% protein , such as pellets and live prey.
*for mature turtles (feed every 2-3 days) - 75+% greens and 10% - 25% protein , such as pellets and live prey.
Some of the following info may sound "repetitive" in some parts (like - amounts to feed, etc.), but I am trying to stress the importance of "proper feeding" to ensure that your turtle is happy, healthy, and able to provide you w/years of joy and companionship!

So - sit down, get comfortable and - PAY ATTENTION!

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Vitamins And Minerals 101, BKrazyH EXPLAINS...

VITAMINS AND MINERALS - WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT?
ORIGINALLY POSTED BY BKrazyH
Posted: Nov 25 2005, 08:26 PM

One of the best ways to make sure your turtle gets their vitamins is a variety of food. When turtles are older, they naturally eat more greens than meat. Aquatic plants are easy for you (since you can just leave them in the tank) and healthy for them. Shredded plants DO make a mess in the tank so you will probably want to add a prefilter sponge to your filter's intake. You can also raise water plants in a separate tank. See the pinned topic in the "Odds and Ends" section under "Other Live Food" for information on raising aquatic plants and the posts in the feeding section.

Calcium should be a primary consideration in your turtle's diet.There are reptile drops in liquid form as well as powders. But there are easier and more cost effective ways to ensure calcium consumption . You can purchase cuttlebones in the bird section of the pet store. Be sure to remove the metal bands and toss the cuttlebone in the turtle tank. You can break it in pieces for smaller turts. As the cuttlebone dissolves the calcium is absorbed by the water. When your turtle drinks the water, he is taking in additional calcium. It's OK if your turt eats the cuttlebone. In fact, just as with birds, it helps keep his "beak" sharp and smooth . There are commercial calcium blocks specifically for turtle tank use as well. These are also good, but some turtles devour them quickly and they tend to be a bit pricier. Snails (ramshorns are great) and feeder fish are also excellent sources of calcium. We have pinned posts on how to keep and raise them in the "Raising Food" section as well.

Of course calcium will not be absorbed by your turtle without D3 . The best source for D3 is plently of sun light, everyday when possible. While there is no UVB light that can compare to natural sun, your tank should be equipped with one that stays on 12 hours a day over the basking area. And be sure to change the bulb as specified (every 6 months for most bulbs, with the exclusion of the Reptisun 10.0 which is rated for a year's regular use)

Vitamin A is important to your turtle's health, particularly his eyes. Good sources are carrots, codliver oil, and nice deep green veggies . If necessary, a vitamin shot from a good herp vet (dosing is difficult and should ONLY be administered by a vet) is a possibility. And, if your vet recommends addtional vitamin A, bird vitamins are good (just make sure they are low phoshorus).

While these vitamins are necessary for your turtle's health, if you are feeding properly, supplements are probably not needed. Additionally, they are expensive! Just be sure to give your turtle a variety of good foods, limit the treats, and you should have a healthy, happy turtle.

I'd like to add this post from Qelin:
-Do not give your turtle calcium with vitamin D supplement. My vet warned me that the majority of reptiles they see come in due to either a calcium deficiency or overdose. A deficiency is easily preventable by using a UVB light, and a good balanced diet (cuttlebone makes it foolproof). That way the turtle's body only takes in as much calcium as it needs because it will only manufacture the correct amount of D3 to metabolize the calcium needed.
-By using supplements with D3 added, you are forcing more calcium into the turtle's bloodstream than is possibly needed, and the body is not set up to excrete calcium, so the calcium is deposited in soft tissues. Calcification of soft tissues is irreversible and excruciating - they put down several iguanas a year because of soft tissue ossification



Some Do's And Don'ts Concerning Feeding! COMPILED by TURTLES...

SOME DO'S AND DON'TS CONCERNING FEEDING
ORIGINALLY POSTED BY Turtles
Posted: Jul 30 2003, 06:17 PM

It is very important to vary the diet of the turtle to assure its overall health. Do not feed it just one sort of food! You can feed your turtle a variety of life foods, fruits and vegetables, one commercial food, and vitamin supplements.
*Turtles of all ages must be provided with vegetables & fruits as a staple food item, because they contain fiber, essential vitamins, nutrients and trace elements that your turtle requires to stay healthy.
*When you feed your bigger turtle, you want to give them a variety of food. Some of the vegetables they might not eat. Feed them a couple pellets, and greens. They may not eat them at first. put a leave of romaine lettuce on top of you tank water and let it float for a couple hours. Most of the water plants, they will eat. Feed every third day and just toss in leaf on none eating days.
*Your baby will need more meat like fish, crickets, earthworms, mealworms. You should feed enough to fill the neck area up or what they can eat in ten minutes. Maybe feed fish and the next day crickets or a half and half mixture. Then the third day, pellets.

SOME DO'S...

VEGETABLES
• Romaine Lettuce
• Mustard leaves
• Leaves of Radish
• Collard Greens
• Carrot
• Beetroot
• Turnip Greens
• Sweet Potato [cooked - boiled/ steamed/baked]
• Beans
• Peas
• Pumpkin
• Squashes
SCOLL DOWN FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE INFO!

FRUITS
• Papaya
• Mango
• Water Melon ( Feed rarely)
• Cantaloupe/Common Melon
• Grapes (remove skin so its easier for them to pick at )
• Pear
• Strawberry
• Figs

WATER PLANTS
• Anacharis
• Water Lily
• Duckweed
• Water Hyacinth
• Hornwort
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE INFO!

LIVE PREY
• Feeder Fish ( guppies, rosey reds)
• earthworms
• mealworms
• crickets
• apple snails or other water snails
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE INFO!

Getting Calcium • Cuttle bone
• Calcium Dusting ( you can crush cuttle bone for this)
• Calcium blocks

Getting Vitamin A
• Green leafy vegetables
• Carrot
• Squash
• Cod liver oil


SOME DON'TS...

Empty foods like lettuce and celery provide very little useful nutrition or fiber. They are fillers, a way to add variety but not nutrition.

Oxalic acid blocks the absorption of calcium . These foods cause the turtle to become calcium deficient even if a good source of calcium is provided. Example: You feed a calcium supplement on spinach. The oxalic acid in the spinach will prevent the turtle from absorbing the calcium. Even if you feed only now and then, you are still blocking the turtles ability to absorb calcium. Which is vital to turtle shells. The rhubarb the turtle ate a month ago is still blocking the absorption of calcium months later.
Food high in oxalic acid:
• Spinach
• Chard
• Beets
• Rhubarb
*Beet Greens
For a more comprehensive look, click on the link provided by INGRID here

These foods should be used sparingly because they can contribute to gout if overused. Read sparingly as once every 3-6 months
High purine foods:
• Peas
• Beans
• Mushrooms

In excessive amounts these plants contribute to kidney disease and goiter . These should be used rarely. However, the addition of kelp to the diet may reverse the goitrogenic effect of the brassicas.
• Cabbage
• Brussel sprouts
• Broccoli
• Bok-choi
• Kohlrabi (brassica family)
• Turnips
• Soybeans
• Radishes
• Rapeseed
• Mustard

*Raw meat will cause obesity in the turtle and it also does not provide the turtle with the nutrients it needs so much.

*Raw chicken can contain salmonella !

*Frozen fish inhibit the absorption of certain nutrients and might cause long-term problems .

*High levels of protein put an abnormal stress on the kidneys and has been implicated in shell deformities such as pyramiding .
Use meat as part of a varied diet sparingly !


THINK GREEN!!!

Vegetables/fruits To Feed To Your Turtle!, A LIST OF STAPLE VEGETABLES/FRUITS

A Turtles Diet should consist of at least 50% Greens/Vegetable Matter, and as your Turtle ages, it is recommended to increase that number to 75%. A good variation will keep your Turt happy and healthy!

Here is a list of Vegetables you can feed your turtle:

*Dandelion leaves (Health Food Stores, or you can grow your own - make SURE they're pesticide-free!!)
*Green Leaf lettuce
*Red Leaf lettuce
*Turnip greens (the leafs ONLY!)
*Carrots (I HAVE used canned carrots, but only the kind that has NO ADDED sugar/salt/other additives... AND it was a storm emergency!)
*Carrot tops
*Escarole
*Chicory
*Kale
*Romaine lettuce
*Sweet potato
*Endive
*Squashes
*Peas (in the pod)
*Okra
*Collard greens
*Green beans (occasionally)
*I've also bought the "Spring Mix Salad" in the ready-made bags - it provides a good variety and my turts LOVE it!
*For my hatchlings I've bought the "Baby Fingerfoods" as well - the diced carrots/beans have no harmful additives... and my turts devoured them immediately!

*Avoid feeding any type of Cabbages!


Contributed by Brian (invisible:man)
Very useful article with an easy-to-read table -
Nutrient Analysis of Replacement Turtle and Tortoise Foods by Darrell M. Senneke
The table -


Contributed by BKrazyH - Here's another list for us with different veggies we "might" attempt.
Dr. Decuypere's Nutrient Charts




Fruits to feed your turtle:

Fruits should ALWAYS be fed in moderation, and should be a rare treat (every 2-3 months!) rather than an every-day staple food, since Turtles have a hard time processing sugar.

*Cantaloupe
*Melon
*Mango
*Papaya
*Prickly pear pads
*Tomato(e)
*Strawberries
*Grapes

Always wash everything thouroughly, before feeding it to your turt. Feed veggies and fruit raw as often as possible, since it provides the most nutrition and vitamins that way.


Aquatic Plants To Feed To Your Turtle, WHAT TO FEED, WHERE TO BUY THEM...

AQUATIC PLANTS TO FEED YOUR TURTLE -

Vegetation should account for at least 50% of your turtles diet (as your turtle ages it should get closer to 75%). In the wild turts eat what they encounter in their habitat - mostly aquatic plants.
Since this question pops up at least a dozen times a week - "What KIND of aquatic plants can I feed my turtle?" - here is a list of the most popular AND nutritious plants. You can get them at some pet stores, pond supply stores or on E-Bay (anyone who has a good source on E-Bay, please feel free to post a link!). Also check Craigslist and Freecycle in your area... people who clean out their ponds will usually give the plants away for free... all you have to do is pick them up.
ALWAYS make sure to remove any rubber-/metal bands from store-bought plants!

*Anacharis
*Duckweed
*Frogbit
*Hornwort
*Java Moss
*Pondweed
*Water Fern
*Water Hyacinth
*Water Lettuce
*Water Lily
*Amazon Swords
*Azola
*Salvinia

When purchasing aquatic plants, be sure to rinse them REALLY well before adding them to your turtle tank. Also be prepared to encounter "hitchikers", such as snails, worms and eggs (fishes or snails). To kill unwanted pests, soak your plants in a Potassium permanganate solution (this is an excellent link on how to treat aquatic plants - http://www.aquariaplants.com/plantdipsbaths.htm -, and rinse for several minutes afterwards.
Most aquatic plants, like anacharis and duckweed, do very well in a tank and will even grow new fronds/leaves IF the turt doesn't devour them immediately.
Another benefit of aquatic plants (especially anacharis) in a turtle tank is the fact that young hatchlings often use them to rest or hide in. If you keep live-bearing fish in your tank as well (guppies, mollies, etc.), they provide excellent hiding spots for the tiny fry.

Btw - most hatchlings/turts will at least give anacharis a try... it's pretty much the most popular plant to feed, since turts usually can't resist it!




PELLETS AND LIVE PREY ARE SOURCES OF PROTEIN/CALCIUM AND ARE BENEFICIAL TO YOUR TURTLES GROWTH- AND HEALTHY SHELL DEVELOPEMENT...

PELLETS

Pellets are a staple food for most Turtles. They account for about 25% of your turtles diet. Pellets usually contain a minimum of 40% protein, as well as Fat, Phospherous, and Calcium.
While hatchlings should be fed daily (50% of their diet has to be protein-based, since they grow pretty fast during their first year of life), your older turtle should only get pellets every 2nd or 3rd day (only 10%- 25% of their diet should be protein-based).
Sometimes the feeding instructions on the containers are a litte vague -
for example - "feed your turtle as much as he/she can consume in 10 minutes".
Well, my turts COULD eat the contents of the whole container in UNDER 7 MINUTES, IF I let them.
The general rule is to feed as much as would fit in your turtles head (if it were empty), EXCLUDING the neck!

Some of the more popular brands for pellets are:
*Nasco Turtle Brittle
*Fluker's Aquatic Turtle Diet
*Mazuri Fresh Water Turtle Diet
*Nutrafin Turtle Gammarus
*Purina AquaMax
*Rep-Cal Aquatic Turtle Food
*Tetra ReptoMin
*Wardley's Reptile T.E.N.
*Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle Food

Most turts WILL beg, and will continue to eat even if they are not hungry any more.
DO NOT GIVE IN!

Overfeeding can cause a lot of health problems for your turtle!
Too much protein in their diet can result in rapid growth (which can lead to organ failure) , and an (unfortunately!) common shell disfigurement called "pyramiding".

ALWAYS offer greens/vegetables WITH the pellets. Feeding pellets alone is not an ideal or healthy choice - it's the equivelant of letting children eat candy for almost every meal!
Some turts actually become "addicted" to pellets and might refuse to try any other foods.
Then it will be up to you to practice "Tough Love" as explained by kmichaud here -http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/Happy_Tu...?showtopic=6973
Healthy turts can go for several weeks without food, and I promise you - they WIILL NOT STARVE themselves to death!


Live Prey (animal-based protein)

Live Prey can account for 25% of your turtles diet (Pellets and Live Prey BOTH account for the protein part). In their natural habitat turtles always have to forage and hunt for food, which means catching fish, digging for snails, or snagging the occasional insect.
Live prey provides a turtle w/protein and calcium... and some exercise to boot.
Captive turtles are usually restricted to their tanks, so we want to provide some stimulation as often as possible to let their natural instincts emerge.

Feeder fish are a source of protein, and can occasionally be substituted for pellets.
Feeders include Minnows, Guppies and Rosey Reds.
Goldfish ARE NOT recommended for turts, since they are very fatty!
Feeders are usually kept in poor conditions at pet stores - they can be infested with parasites (which CAN be transmitted to your turt!), or you may be buying stressed and sick fish. To ensure that your feeders are safe for your turtle they should be quarantined for 14-21 days before introducing them into your turtles habitat.
One easy solution is to raise your own feeders - this way you know exactly what your turt is eating!
This link gives you a comprehensive look at what's involved - http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/Happy_Tu...?showtopic=7799

Snails are one of the best sources of "natural" calcium and most turts can appreciate a good snail dinner.
Snails to feed include Ramshorns, Mystery - and Apple snails.
Again - store-bought snails can expose your turtle to worms and other infestations, and your best bet is to raise your own.
Check out the pinned topics in this link - http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/Happy_Tu...hp?showforum=31

Some people opt to feed the occasional Crickets , and the "how-to" of raising your own is explained here - http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/Happy_Tu...hp?showforum=31

Worms , such as Earthworms, Mealworms and Silkworms, are acceptable... but I do prefer the canned kind. I DO NOT recommend "digging up" your own, since pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals can contaminate the worms and harm your turtle.

You can feed live prey 1 - 2 times a week , but do NOT feed additional pellets on those days. If your turtle has fish and snails readily available in his/her tank, make sure to offer Greens AND Vegetables daily and cut down on feeding pellets altogether .

Answer 2

I'd let it go again. It sounds like a Red-ear slider, and you may want to research its care before you claim it as a pet.

To keep it happy, you'll need at least a 75 gallon tank or tub, a way to heat the water to 75-80F, a really big filter system (and still plan on weekly water changes), good lighting- basking and UVB versions (UVB bulbs are a bit costly and only last about 6 months).

Wild caught turtles just do not do as well in captivity as we would like- they just get so stressed by the poor habitats and diets we offer that they just do not thrive most of the time.

Sadly- turtles can suffer for years! Many of the people who post answers here (not just for this question) brag about how long their turtle has lived, and then describe a terrible diet or care conditions.

Please let it go. If you wish a pet turtle, purchase one that will do better in the average home situation!

Answer 3

What kind of turtle is it? The redeared slider I had lived in the water, so I use to feed him things like turtle pellets, worms, feeder fish. The Russian Tort I have eats all types of greens, fruits (in moderation because of sugar) and vegetables.

Answer 4

You should let it go, you don't know what type it is or what it eats and you probably never had turtles before so it you like the turtle do whats best for it and let it go.

Don't wait a year or so to let it go, your not suppose to release turtles that have been in captivity because they could have a disease that could kill wild turtles. And don't feed it any lettuce, lettuces don't have the proper nutrition for any reptile.

Answer 5

first you need to find out what kind of turtle you have and research it a little bit.

in the meantime you can try to see if it will eat things like crickets, cut up fruit, worms... things you would find in a garden that it used to live in

Answer 6

It does sound like a red-eared slider (see photos: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/world_of_turtles/Red-eared_Sliders_-Trachemys_scripta_elegans/index.html). Green leafy veggies (not iceberg, or other head lettuce, though), dandelion, and squash can be used to supplement commercial turtle pellets; crickets, earthworms and shrimp can be given as a treat.

Here's a care sheet with food info: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

Answer 7

its a red eared slider for sure. just give it some vegetables (any),just not iceburg lettuce, and feed it some earthworms,crickets and ground beef. this is what i have been feeding my turtles since they were babies and they are 8 years old now. also remember to keep the turtle warm and in clean water.

Answer 8

I use to have a turlte like that and i feed it carrots, and mostly lettute, thats all i feed it and it was with us for 6 years before we let it go in a pond. =)

Answer 9

its a red ear slider and it will eat strimp, fruits, turtle food etc.

Answer 10

my desert tortoise eats iceburg lettuce,...it only likes greens.. im not too sure about yours

Answer 11

fart gas and liquid poo