Does anyone have a pet turtle and how . . . .?

Question

can you tell if it is a male or female (if there is a way)? Oh, and what do you feed it besides turtle food?

Answer 1

I have a pet westerm painted turtle but Ive had red eared sliders. So you can tell if your turtle's gender by looking at their claws. Males have much longer claws on their front feet than females. As well, the tail of males is longer and thicker.
Best Answer - Chosen By Voters

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/inde...

Answer 2

For box turtles: females have flat bottom shells, males have rounded (so that can stay on top of the female while mating). Females have brown eyes, while males tend to have red. Females will also be darker colored (normally brown shells) while males will be bright orange and red. Males also have thicker tails.

My turtles love live earthworms (the thrill of the hunt...) and small live fish or crickets. They also enjoy strawberries. You can buy vitamin powder to put on the worms, etc. My turtles normally didn't eat the store bought turtle food.

Make sure you have a good environment, too. Plenty of water, humidity, etc. LOTS of great websites for turtles--they are hard to care for.

Answer 3

i put mine out in the garden it ate all the strawberrise it loved them it also ate lots of worms it liked apples lettis cantalope tomatoes etc it was a box turtle its now hibronating some where in the yard we hope to see it in the spring :(

Answer 4

I have a red eared slider. the seller of him told me he was a boy after looking at the bottom part of his shell im not shure how she told, but any way, i feed him dried shrimp, you can buy at a shop, some insects like flies, and of course like tutrle food

Answer 5

i dont have turtles but if you bring it to the vet or reptile expert they could tell you.