Turtles should consume the majority of their diet from vegetables and flowers, with only small portions from fruits. Good vegetable options for turtles include kale, parsley, carrots, green beans and cabbage.
Leafy greens like collards, mustard greens and dandelion greens provide essential calcium-to-phosphorous ratio. Dusting a reptile multivitamin powder on food several times weekly will also be beneficial.
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Vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables are always best for a turtle’s diet; however, canned or dried food may also serve as an adequate replacement if necessary. Turtles do not possess the enzymes to properly digest dairy products due to lack of digestive capabilities.
Vegetables that may be given include carrots (including the top green portion), squash and green beans. All three should be cooked either by boiling or steaming to reduce any bacteria they contain; heads and iceberg lettuce offer little nutritional value and should only be offered occasionally as these contain high levels of oxalates that prevent your turtle from absorbing calcium.
Fruits
Turtle diets depend on their species and habitat. Most aquatic turtles tend to eat mostly vegetarian diets; snacking on submerged plants like water hyacinth, duckweed, azolla and romaine lettuce as snacks; as well as aquatic animals such as tadpoles, frogs, moths and crickets for sustenance.
Feed your turtle fruit in small doses; figs, apples, bananas, pears and kiwis are good choices; avoid fruits with high sugar content and poor nutrient ratios like bananas. Vegetables such as kale, parsley, dandelion greens and broccoli make great additions, as do flowers such as carnations, hibiscus and roses; feed twice weekly to ensure maximum enjoyment!
Meat
Since turtles spend most of their lives underwater, they require a balanced diet that includes animal proteins and plants. Their favorite meals may include blanched vegetables such as kale and Swiss chard as well as earthworms, clams shrimp crayfish. Furthermore, turtles also enjoy feeding on cooked chicken tuna mollusk snail worm and crickets for protein sources.
Be sure to feed them fresh food in small portions to prevent overfeeding, and offer only fruits such as apples and pears (but only 10-20% due to its high sugar content) from their diet. They also enjoy eating leaves and flowers such as collard greens, dandelion greens, duckweed, and hibiscus; even chewing dirt for mineral absorption purposes is acceptable!
Fish
Your turtle needs a balanced diet in terms of both protein and vitamins. Insects provide needed proteins while plants and vegetables provide vital vitamins. Grated carrots, zucchini squash, green leafy vegetables like kale or mustard greens as well as flowers (but avoid high phosphorus flowers like hibiscus or roses) may all make great additions.
Fish is a rich source of protein for young turtles, but should only be given in small amounts. Most freshwater feeder fish such as guppies, goldfish or mosquitofish should be suitable. Fried or canned varieties contain preservatives which could prove toxic and should therefore be avoided as these foods contain salt that could potentially harm your turtle.
Insects
Turtles eat insects naturally in the wild, so it should come as no surprise that they enjoy insects as part of their diet. Not only are insects great sources of protein but they’ll help your pet’s diet remain varied!
Insects offer more cost-effective feeding solutions than commercial turtle diets while providing vital vitamins and nutrients your pet might not otherwise get from commercial diets.
Avoid giving your turtle dairy foods like milk, yogurt or cheese as these don’t contain enough enzymes for proper digestion and could result in serious digestive problems for them.
Reptile Pellets
Turtles in the wild consume an assortment of insects, fish, plants and vegetables; when kept as captive animals in captivity they should receive a well-balanced diet comprised of invertebrate sources of protein; plant/veggie sources that supply essential vitamins; as well as commercial pellets which offer balanced nutrition.
Turtles require high amounts of calcium in their diet for healthy shells. A weekly supplement should be offered.
Hikari Reptile Turtle Sticks are an excellent food choice for turtles as they contain both vegetable and meat content, along with an ideal ratio of calcium to phosphorous.
