wat food is good for a small turtle?

Question

igot my turtle 2 days back. the shopkeeper gave some fish flakes. it seems that the turtle doesnt like it. it just takes a few bites and then leaves the rest of it. so cud u please tel me wat is good for it so that i can give anything made at home. does it like to eat non veg stuff or only veg... it never eats anything.although i havent tried anything yet but just wanted to know.

i think eddie s is having a gud knowledge abt animals so i wud request him to please help me out.

Answer 1

I am going to assume this is a baby Red-ear Slider.

The problem with the 'turtle flakes' is that there is nothing in them that turtles need or want to eat. Please throw it away and try a better pet shop.

Baby Red-ears eat mostly 'aquatic meat' in the wild, like some fish do. They will do nicely in captivity on a diet of about 1/2 good quality pellets (try Mazuri or Reptomin if you can find them), and the other half live or frozen/thawed 'fish food' from a pet shop, like shrimp, krill, worms (especially blood worms for babies), small crickets, snails, bugs, and even small fish (better when the turtle gets a bit bigger.)

A typical serving is about the same size as the turtle's head, once a day. It will act hungry still, but we have to make sure they do not grow too fast. As it gets older (around 4 years old), we will start to add leafy greens and other things to the diet.

If you pet shop people gave you this bad info, I wonder if they gave you other bad info.

For example- your turtles SHOULD be in a big tank with warm, clean water and good overhead lighting.

You can get more ideas at either http://www.redearslider.com or http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Good luck!

Answer 2

I am not Eddie S, as you can see, but I have a lot of experience and knowledge to back me up.

Fish flakes are not good for turtles. While they may eat them sometimes, they should be fed turtle pellets on occasion. Their main diet should consist of live insects(crickets, mealworms, earth worms, cockroaches[young], etc). Also, dried krill and baby shrimp. You can feed them the dried krill that is for large carnivorous fish. The baby shrimp are for turtles and can be found at walmart and at pet stores. Online and at pet stores, they also sell canned bugs that are dead so you dont have to feed your turt live insects if they make you squeemish. They are full of nutrients and gut loaded so you dont have to feed insects covered in calcium powder.

You need a UV light, also. They may not have told you this, but turtles will die slow, painful deaths without UV light to make the vitamin D3. UV lights can be found in stores and online. Some sites to see: flukerfarms.com , reptiledepot.com (dont buy animals from them!) , lllreptile.com , and more. Your turtle should be in a 30gal tank if it is under 4 inches long, more if larger. Good luck with your turtle!

I have a Western Painted turtle and an RES. The RES I feed fish, but the Western Painted is in a 55gal tank with common aquarium fish and does not eat them. If you need help, please email me. I would be happy to help with any questions or problems you come across.

Answer 3

what breed is it? most turtles are omnivorous but some specieslike meat more. although you can feed it with pellets especially made for turtles, you can also feed it chicken small pieces withouth the skin... from my exprience they dont like fish flakes... I have 6 turtles and 2 tortoises. they like chicken more you can also try feeding then cucumbers.. remove the seeds and peel of the skin first.

Answer 4

Depending on the type of turtle you should feed it...
Reptomine floating pellets (mostly for aquatic species , very good)
Fruits and veggies (the greener the better with veggies)
Some sort of meal worm or other type of worm.

Answer 5

I think turtles like to eat fruits and vegatables. It probably doesn't eat because it isn't hungry. Carrots and lettuce are good. So are apples and strawberries. Make sure u cut the apple into small pieces though.

Answer 6

I have found many turtles at my lake cabin, and they only seem to eat fish flakes, shrimp, and floating turtle logs. If your turtle is under 2 inches across, you may have to force feed him.

Answer 7

I TRIED SEVERAL KINDS OF FRESH VEG.,FRUITS&BELIEVE IT OR NOT MINE LIKED BANANAS.AS IT GOT OLDER IT LIKED SMALL GRASSHOPPERS WITH THE LEGS REMOVED.TRY VERY SMALL OF WHATEVER YOU FEED IT.MINE WAS SCARED OF THINGS THAT WERE BIGGER THAN ITS HEAD.MINE ALSO DIDNT LIKE DRIED FOOD