Red eye slider turtles are omnivores and should receive a diet consisting of commercial food specifically formulated for them, fresh foods and animal proteins such as cooked chicken or lean beef, earthworms, crickets, waxworms or live feeder fish as dietary sources.
Provide aquatic plants and dark leafy vegetables such as bok choy (but never iceberg lettuce). Also offer fruits rich in Vitamin A such as apples, bananas and berries.
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Protein
Red eye sliders are omnivorous creatures, meaning that they consume both plant material and animal flesh. Hatchlings and juveniles tend to consume predominantly carnivorous diets but become more omnivorous as adults.
Turtles need a regular source of protein in their diets, which can come from live feeder fish, worms or crickets. Live fish should always be thoroughly rinsed to remove bacteria and parasites before being added as food for turtles.
As part of an overall healthy diet, it is also crucial that children receive an array of vegetables and fruits. Some safe options for this include collard greens, mustard greens and dandelion greens as well as squash, bell peppers, carrot tops and shredded zucchini – while fruits such as apples, bananas and berries should also be offered.
Add a quality complete reptile vitamin and mineral supplement once every week. Furthermore, give each turtle their own cuttlebone for chewing; store-bought cuttlebones contain hard plastic backings which may make turtles sick when consumed; be sure to cut or break away this material prior to giving your turtle.
Vegetables
Red eye sliders, like humans, are omnivorous animals who feed on an assortment of foods. Their diet typically includes green beans, tomatoes, carrots, squash and kale as well as fruits like apples, bananas, berries and melons; however they should avoid cabbage, bok choy or broccoli due to goitrogens which may inhibit calcium absorption.
Baby turtles require a diet combining protein, dark leafy greens and aquatic plants such as anacharis, water hyacinths, duckweed and azolla (fairy moss). When they reach adulthood they will transition towards eating vegetables such as dandelion, mustard collard greens along with zucchini and yellow squash for sustenance.
Insects
Red Eye Slider Turtles can easily be identified by their distinctive yellow marginal scutes, yellow plastron with dark blotchy markings, and distinctive red ear mark. Their shell can range in colour from greenish olive or brown.
In the wild, this species is an omnivorous feeder; adults feed on algae as well as aquatic plant leaves, stems, flowers, roots, fruits and seeds from species like anacharis, water hyacinths, azolla (fairy moss), duckweed and frog-bite; they may also eat eggs from wetland birds as well as crush their chicks.
An ample diet is important when feeding red-eared sliders. As with any animal, changing protein food 1-2 times every week and vegetables daily while providing commercial turtle pellets every 2-3 days should do just fine. Fresh or frozen meat could cause disease while storebought cuttlebones often come equipped with hard plastic backing that could make your turtle sick if consumed by accident.
Fish
Red eye slider turtles thrive in environments rich with fresh fish like guppies, sardines and tilapia. Additionally, they like invertebrates such as worms, earthworms and crayfish as their diet.
Red eye sliders need a diet consisting of at least 70% meat – chicken, beef or lamb can all make good sources.
As they become adults, red eye sliders require more plants and less meat for nourishment. They may eat commercial fish pellets as well as vegetables and dark leafy greens such as bok choy.
Pellets
Many turtle hobbyists feed their pet a high-quality commercially prepared pellet for health and growth, such as Omega One Adult Turtle Sticks which feature ingredients like salmon, herring, halibut as well as kelp, wheatgerm and spirulina for optimal growth and health. Furthermore, Omega One sticks have an ideal calcium:phosphorus ratio as well as additional vitamins such as D3 and E that ensure optimum care and growth of these aquatic creatures.
Other foods to offer your turtle include freeze-dried shrimp or krill, crickets and worms (such as waxworms, earthworms, blood worms and daphnia), feeder fish and tadpoles for larger aquatic snails such as frog-bit and azolla; however these should only comprise approximately 25% of their diet to prevent overfeeding that could lead to rapid growth, deformed shells or organ failure. Variety in food is another way of stimulating turtles’ senses!
