Red bellied turtles in the wild feed on both animal- and plant-based foods. Their preferred menu includes aquatic vegetation such as arrowheads, duckweed and water hyacinth.
Growing aquatic plants in your northern red-bellied turtle’s enclosure is an effective way to provide them with plant-based food sources, while they also enjoy fresh or frozen feed fish, worms and krill for additional protein needs.
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Diet
Red bellied turtles require a diet rich in animal proteins and leafy vegetables, including commercial pet foods like drained sardines, trout chow, and turtle pellets. Furthermore, their shells need regular calcium supplementation in their diet to stay healthy.
These turtles possess an extremely flexible digestive system, which enables them to consume a wide variety of foods. A balanced diet should consist of plant and meat-based nutrients as well as some fruit.
Switch up the foods you offer your turtle. They may not enjoy what it has been eating on an ongoing basis and this can also help determine whether they’re getting enough nourishment; monitoring how much is eaten and tracking movements of the turtle can provide invaluable information as to whether he/she is getting enough. If this fails, contact a vet who may suggest offering multivitamin with calcium supplements or cuttlebone.
Habitat
The Northern Red-Bellied Cooter (NRBC) is a species of freshwater turtle found primarily in lakes, ponds and blackwater swamps found across the Coastal Plain and Eastern Shore regions of Virginia and Maryland. Additionally, this turtle may be found living near slow moving creeks, rivers or brackish water environments (Mitchell 1994).
These turtles thrive in clean, deep waters with ample emergent aquatic vegetation and soft substrate for hibernation. For optimal conditions they require temperatures in the mid 70s for air temperatures and 85-90F water temperatures for optimal habitat conditions.
Urban development around ponds and lakes poses a substantial threat to these turtles, as it destroys their nesting sites and leads to habitat loss. Harvesting for food purposes also poses a threat, and data regarding rates at which this happens must be made public in Virginia. Population decline due to these threats as well as other mortalities like highway traffic deaths or accidental shootings has contributed to Virginia’s population drop-off rate.
Breeding
Red bellied turtles are omnivores, with an affinity towards plant-based foods. While adults may favor this type of diet, young ones need more protein in their diet, as well as calcium to ensure they grow up healthy and strong.
These birds are protected both state and federal laws. The state has implemented programs to preserve their habitats and safeguard their nests, while also creating head start programs designed to raise them until they’re large enough to fend for themselves.
Red Belly Turtles can live for 40 years in the wild. During summer breeding seasons they lay 8-20 eggs at once in their clutch. After 10-15 weeks they hatch out of their shells. Their light green carapace features keeled edges while orange bars and hieroglyphics decorate their plastron. Hibernation for winter helps avoid predators during those colder months!
Conservation
Turtles provide food for other animals while helping maintain freshwater ecosystems by cleaning away dead and decaying organic matter from waterways. Unfortunately, turtles are among the world’s most threatened vertebrates due to human activities, including hunting for sport or illegal sales into pet trade markets.
Animal diversity website reports that, in the wild, adult red bellied turtles are omnivorous eaters and feed on algae, aquatic plants such as milfoil and arrowheads as well as other forms of aquatic vegetation as well as fish, amphibians and crustaceans. Baby turtles tend to eat predominantly aquatic vegetation.
Female species dig holes near ponds to lay anywhere from eight to 22 eggs that hatch between August and October, often preyed upon by predatory raccoons, skunks, crows and birds. To combat this problem, Massasoit National Wildlife Refuge offers “head start” programs which raise and care for these small hatchlings until they can fend for themselves in nature.
