Although commercial turtle pellets can provide an adequate source of vitamins, it’s important to provide your pet with a variety of foods containing both animal- and plant-based proteins as well as leafy greens and fruits.
Turtles in the wild tend to be opportunistic feeders and will consume whatever is available, including foodstuffs such as algae. Your vet may recommend giving your turtle a reptile multivitamin supplement in order to ensure it gets sufficient calcium intake.
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Fish
Turtles should receive a varied diet to maintain an appropriate balance of vitamins, proteins and nutrients. A combination of commercial pelleted food, live insect prey and fresh vegetables should be carefully considered when making food selections for their meals.
Aquatic turtles are predominantly carnivorous as juveniles and gradually shift toward becoming omnivorous as adults, finding protein sources such as aquatic fish, minnows, crickets, worms and snails for sustenance in their natural habitat.
Vegetables should make up a substantial part of a turtle’s diet, with leafy greens playing an especially essential role. A diverse array of plant material can aid the proper development of shell and skin structures. Avoid feeding canned or cooked foods which contain high concentrations of salt and other chemicals to your turtle.
Insects
Turtles’ natural environment will provide much of their food. This may consist of various species; for instance, hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles specialize in foraging for sponges and jellyfish in coral reef environments.
Pet turtles need a balanced diet consisting of commercial pellets, vegetables and live prey such as earthworms, slugs snails frogs tadpoles crickets mealworms wax worms moths cockroaches feeder fish such as goldfish or guppies; meat should only make up part of their diet due to being too fatty for turtles; all food should be fresh rather than canned or frozen and should only be given in reasonable amounts to avoid soiling the tank or increasing ammonia levels in its surroundings.
Meat
A captive turtle should consume at least 80-90% vegetables and flowers as their diet should include fruit and fish as treats, with less oily fish such as smelt and mackerel being avoided as these could potentially cause vitamin E deficiency.
Vegetables such as kale, parsley, cabbage and green beans make excellent food options for turtles. Other suitable vegetables are carrots (including the tops), squash, radishes and zucchini. As far as fruits go, most turtles enjoy eating ripe apples, bananas, pears or kiwis for fruit snacks – although all foods should be dusted heavily with Rep-Cal or Miner-All supplements to enhance calcium and mineral absorption.
Some turtle owners opt to feed adult and juvenile turtles every three days; others believe daily feedings are sufficient. It is essential not to overfeed your turtles as this could result in malnutrition.
Vegetables
Aquatic turtles enjoy snacking on fresh, leafy vegetables that provide essential nutrition, but be wary not to overfeed your turtle as excess vegetable matter can contaminate the water faster than even an effective filtration system can clean. Provide enough food until he stops eating before taking action – any leftover food must be removed as this could create bacteria and algae growth that poses health threats in its place.
Red-eared sliders and other aquatic turtles may enjoy supplementing their regular pet foods such as drained sardines or turtle pellets with protein sources like krill, frog legs, feeder fish or dehydrated worms as a protein source. Such food should only be given intermittently to avoid vitamin deficiencies or metabolic issues; calcium/vitamin supplements may be added daily for maximum absorption.
Fruit
Fruits provide valuable nutrition for turtles, but should not be the primary food source. Give a few pieces as treats only. Avoid citrus fruits such as lemons and limes which contain citric acid that could cause digestive irritation in turtles.
Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium, not to mention being packed full of dietary fiber.
Strawberries, kiwis, grapes and tomatoes are among the many safe fruits to feed turtles, provided you remove the seeds and rind prior to feeding them to them. Blueberries provide antioxidants which may help lower stress levels in turtles while providing calcium magnesium vitamin C/K essential to their wellbeing.
