My Red eared slider has a funny diet, and its not my fault?

Question

The only thing he seems to eat are turtle pellets and grapes. I know fruit isn't the best thing to give him, so it leaves me with basically turtle pellets.
I have tried the works, like all sorts of lettuces (the red leaves, like collard) and carrots and other stuff, but he takes no interest. What type of vegetable is he garunteed to like?

Answer 1

Vegetable? Red-ears are mostly meat-eaters. Its diet should be something like this:
- A base of good quality pellets
- Some live or well-preserved bugs, worms, krill, small shrimp, and maybe some small fish
- Some dark leafy greens

The standard portion should be about the size of its head. We would feed a turtle under about 2-3" every day, then cut back to every other day. At about 4", we would increase the amount of vegetation in the diet, but even then it would not be the main part.

Also, make sure that the water temps are good (75-80F),and other cares are OK. You can check all of this at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Answer 2

His diet is influenced by age. Younger turtles need more high protein foods and will tend to eat more "meaty" items. As they get older, they will replace some of the "meaty" foods with more vegetable matter. So it may just be a matter of time before he eats his veggies. Sounds like your turtle has gotten a "sweet tooth" for grapes already!

A good, balanced turtle pellet is fine as the main part of his diet. You can also try earthworms and crayfish (occassional treats) and offer a dark green leaf (even dandelion, if picked from somewhere without chemical treatments) about once a week till he develops more of an interest.

More on red-eared slider diet: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

Answer 3

If he doesn't eat it, he doesn't want it. Try feeding hin duck weed, its an aquatic plant that most turtles LOVE. Another choice is to plant the tank with different plants. They'll eat as they see fit.

Try not feeding turtle pellets. They can be hamful. Buy some freeze dried krill, my turtle loves those. Also, crickets, mealworms, and waxworms(only as a treat) are VERY good. Its better to feed some crickets with the pellets than just plain pellets. Plus, they love 'stalking' the crickets

Answer 4

Try a small earthworm -- it should be no longer than 1/3 the length of your slider - if too long cut it with a scissors. make sure there is water around to help him get it down. No earthworms around, then try a meal worm or get red worms from a bait shop. Some live meat will help his appetite.

Answer 5

Feed him some bananas