How many times should i feed my baby turtle

Feeding Aquatic Turtles | VCA Animal Hospitals

For the purpose of this discussion, the common red-eared slider will be used as a representative animal in describing how to feed aquatic turtles.

What do red-eared sliders eat?

An improper diet is likely the most common cause of health problems in captive turtles and other reptiles.

"Red-eared sliders are typically voracious eaters and are omnivorous, eating both animal and vegetable matter."

Red-eared sliders are typically voracious eaters and are omnivorous, eating both animal protein and vegetable matter. As juveniles, they are mainly carnivorous (eat animal protein) and become more omnivorous as they age. All aquatic turtles eat and swallow with their head under water and will not eat out of the water. To help facilitate optimal cleanliness of their tanks, aquatic turtles can be fed in a separate, small aquarium of warm water. That way, they will soil this water, and not their main aquarium. When feeding turtles, offering a variety of food is important. Changing the types of food fed on a regular basis helps stimulate the turtle to eat and provides nutritional balance.

What are some acceptable animal-based protein foods I can offer my red-eared sliders?

The carnivorous portion of their diet should consist of commercial turtle or fish pellets, as well as a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. Pelleted foods come in several sizes. Larger pellets tend to float well and are attractive to large turtles, whereas smaller pellets tend to sink quickly and are generally accepted by juveniles and small turtles.

"The carnivorous portion of their diet should consist of commercial turtle or fish pellets, as well as a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates."

Aquatic turtles in the wild eat fish, and "feeder fish" may be purchased from pet stores or bait stores to feed pet turtles. Depending on the size of the turtle, fish such as goldfish, guppies, or minnows may be offered. Feeding live fish can provide your turtle with the mental stimulation and exercise that comes with the challenge of chasing and catching its dinner. Fish also can be a good source of calcium for turtles, as long as they eat the entire fish, bones and all. However, recently feeder fish have been implicated as carriers of parasites and bacteria that can infect the pet turtles that eat them. Therefore, if feeder fish are fed to turtles, they should be offered infrequently. Smelt, mackerel, and other oily fish should be fed sparingly or avoided all together, as their high fat content may upset nutritional balance and lead to vitamin E deficiencies. A predominantly fish diet may also lead to a thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, so fish should only be offered as a small portion of aquatic turtles’ diets.

Depending on the size of the turtle, amphibians such as tadpoles and frogs can be offered, as can earthworms, snails, slugs, beetles, grasshoppers, moths, crickets, mealworms, wax worms, and other insects. Feeding wild-caught fish and amphibians is not recommended, as they may contain parasites and other infectious organisms that may affect the turtle.

Raw meat, fish, or chicken from the grocery store does not contain a balance of calcium and phosphorus for a turtle and is not recommended as a food source for turtles. Regardless of the protein source, the carnivorous portion of a turtle’s diet should make up no more than two thirds of the diet of juveniles and about half of the diet of adults.

What types of plant material can I feed my red-eared slider?

The plant portion of the diet should be made up of vegetables, preferably ones that float and can be left in the water for the turtle to nibble on throughout the day. Leftover food should be scooped out of the tank daily to promote proper hygiene. Desirable vegetables to offer include dark leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, collard greens, mustard greens, carrot tops, endive, Swiss chard, kale, parsley, green beans, dandelion greens, turnip greens, and clover. Iceberg or head lettuce should not be fed, as it is comprised mostly of water and contains very little nutritional value.

"The key to feeding turtles is to provide variety, as many turtles get bored and stop eating if they are fed the same foods over and over."

The key to feeding turtles is to provide variety, as many turtles get bored and stop eating if they are fed the same foods over and over. Many red-eared sliders are drawn to the color red, so shredded vitamin-A rich red bell pepper is also good to offer. Safe, non-toxic aquatic plants, such as water hyacinth, water lilies, Elodea, or duckweed, can be placed in the tank. Always check the safety of plants before offering them to your turtle to be sure they are non-toxic.

How often should I feed my red-eared slider?

The frequency of feeding depends on the age and size of your red-eared slider. Smaller or juvenile turtles will eat heartily every day. As they get older, adult turtles may be offered a good-sized portion of food every two or three days.

Do I need to give my red-eared slider vitamins and minerals?

The key to proper nutrition for a red-eared slider is a diverse and varied diet containing a balance of vegetable and animal protein, depending on the pet’s age. Some veterinarians suggest adding a balanced, commercially available multivitamin once per week with an additional source of calcium, such as a calcium block or cuttlebone, twice per week.

What about water?

Aquatic turtles, of course, swim in water and drink all day; therefore, the only water requirement for an aquatic turtle is to keep their tanks clean and at an appropriate temperature. Having a well-functioning filtration system that is cleaned regularly is key to ensuring good water quality.

If you have any other questions about nutrition or care of your red-eared slider, make sure you seek the advice of a veterinarian familiar with turtles. Remember, turtles and other reptiles commonly carry Salmonella bacteria on their skin or in the gastrointestinal tracts, so it is important to always wash your hands thoroughly after feeding, cleaning, or handling turtles.

How Much (and how often) to Feed a Turtle?

Your turtle keeps begging, and you keep feeding. Your head starts to wonder, “Just how much food should I feed my turtle?!” Here’s the answer.

Diet can be one of the trickiest things to master when it comes to perfecting the care of your turtle. It can take a lot of research and time to ensure that all of your turtle’s nutritional needs are met. In this article, I will focus specifically on how much and how often you should feed your turtle.

Aquatic turtles tend to be opportunistic eaters, so they will eat as much as you provide them. This can easily lead to overfeeding which can have negative implications on their health. So, it is very important to establish a routine and stick to it.

In general, it is best to feed your turtle every day or every other day. However, the exact answer depends on the age of your turtle.

Here are some good rules of thumb for frequency of feedings:

Feed babies and juveniles (turtles up to 1 year of age) once a day.
Young adults (ages 1 to 5) should be fed every other day.
Mature turtles should be fed every two to three days.

As mentioned in the introduction, turtles are opportunistic. Even if they are overweight, they will continue to eat whatever is provided. So, making sure you are not feeding them too often is very important for their overall health.

Below are my top choices for turtle food. They are all under $15.


My Top Pick Tetra Tetrafauna Pro Turtle Food	Price: ~$10 Nutrition: High Protein and Vitamin D3	Check Price On Amazon
Aquatic Turtle Medley Food - Freeze Dried Shrimp & Mealworms for Aquatic Turtle	Price: ~$15 Nutrition: High Protein and Fiber	Check Price On Amazon
Fluker’s Buffet Blend Turtle Food	Price: ~$8 Nutrition: High Protein and Vitamin A	Check Price On Amazon
Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food	Price: ~$15 Nutrition: High Protein and Vitamin C, D3, E	Check Price On Amazon

How Much to Feed a Turtle

You should feed your turtle the amount of pellets that would fit inside their head if it were empty. A great way to measure this is with a medicine cup.

Another method is to feed your turtle as much as they can eat in around 15 minutes. That being said, you shouldn’t pour a bunch of food into their tank at once, as uneaten food can cause problems in your tank.

Turtles do not need too much food to sustain themselves. They actually eat far less than most people would presume. Overfeeding as well as underfeeding your turtle can be problematic, so it’s important to know how much is a good amount.

As well as understanding how much total food you should provide your turtle with, it’s also necessary to understand what type of food to feed your turtle.

What type of food to feed your turtle?

You should feed your turtle a combination of pellets, vegetables, and a protein source.

The pellets, or “staple food”, should make up the majority of your turtle’s diet. It should account for around 75% of their food. I suggest that you have a couple different types of pellets to ensure they are getting all of their nutrients. When it comes to how many pellets you should feed your turtle, as mentioned you should feed as many as would fit in your turtle’s head.

While it depends on the species of your turtles, most will require some vegetables. This is especially true for the popular red-eared sliders and painted turtles. Some great vegetables include romaine lettuce and collard greens. Make sure to take out any uneaten vegetables before they rot in your tank. You should feed vegetables to your turtle once or twice a week.

Once a week, you should feed your turtle some treats. These should be some type of insects or freeze dried worms. This is important because it provides your turtle protein. You can also feed your turtle small live feeder fish.

As a reminder, I recommend you do further research specifying the type of turtle you have, as it varies from species to species. If you want to feed pond turtles, you should check out my article what do pond turtles eat? If you have a snapping turtle, you should check out my article on what do snapping turtles eat?

How Much Should I Feed A Baby Turtle?

When it comes to baby turtles, I would recommend that you simply follow the empty-head rule, just as with young and mature adults.

Turtle feeding schedule

Below is a schedule of when and what to feed a baby turtle:

Monday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head
Tuesday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head, Leafy greens
Wednesday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head, Protein treats
Thursday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head
Friday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head, Leafy greens
Saturday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head
Sunday: Enough pellets to fit the size of their head

As the turtle ages, I would phase out one of the pellet feeding days and replace it with leafy greens and veggies. If you have a Red-Eared Slider, you should check out my article on how much to feed a Red Eared Slider baby.

How many pellets should I feed my turtle?

You should feed your turtle as many pellets as would fit inside their head if it was empty. A good way to measure this is with either a medicine bottle cap or a plastic bag.

Pellets are great for all species of turtles, especially red-eared sliders. My favorite pellets for red-eared sliders are these Zoo-med pellets.

How Many Times do you Feed a Turtle in a Day

You should feed juvenile turtles once a day, turtles 1-5 years old every other day, and turtles 5 years and up should be fed every two to three days.

As you know, nutrition is incredibly important to maintaining your turtle’s happiness and overall well-being. Therefore, it is a very important thing to understand and execute properly.

How much and how often you feed your turtle is very dependent on its species. While there are some general suggestions that apply to most all turtles, it’s important to research your specific species of turtle to know the correct proportions of vegetables and protein as well as how much to feed them.

It is also important to pay attention to your turtle’s body language and behavior to determine if they are being overfed or underfed. If you are concerned about their behavior or appearance, visit your local veterinarian to see if you can determine the cause.

Keep in mind that your turtle will likely eat whatever you give them, so it is important to establish a good, strong routine. Feed them at the same time every day or every other day and keep the amount of food at the same amount each time.

Your turtle will continue to eat even once they are full, so make sure that you only provide an amount of food that they can eat within twenty minutes. Anything more and you’ll likely be overfeeding them.

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How many times a day should a red-eared turtle be fed?

The red-eared turtle is the most common type of domestic turtle. This reptile has a medium size, an interesting color and has a fairly high level of intelligence. In terms of intelligence, it surpasses many other species of its kind.

Red-eared appeared in artificial terrariums many years ago, now such a pet can be purchased at any pet store. She is considered a long-liver: under favorable conditions, a pet can live thirty - forty (30 - 40) years. However, many owners of such a reptile do not know how often, what and how much to feed your red-eared turtle . In our article we will try to answer this important question.

What to feed

Under natural conditions, red-ears mainly feed on crustaceans, fry, small fish, as well as insects and snails. The reptile also needs plant food.

At home, it can be fed with various types of commercial food. It is important that the pet's diet is varied, so it should be added to the diet and natural food. It is worth noting that this type of turtle needs to be fed with water, as they are not able to produce saliva on their own.

How much and how often should I feed my red-eared turtle?

It is difficult to answer both of these questions unequivocally: it all depends on the size of the pet, age, and also the food that the reptile eats.
First, let's consider young turtles , that is, up to a year old. Feed them every day with purchased food. However, it is also necessary to give plant foods: vegetables, herbs, fruits, even if the pet refuses at first.

It is worth trying to feed the turtle with a bloodworm, you can start introducing aquatic crustaceans into the diet. The amount of food for young turtles is also different from its amount for older representatives of this species. They should be getting about fifty percent (50%) of the protein in their food daily. Therefore, feeding artificial food alone will not be enough.

The owner of a reptile to cover such a lack of nutrition should add to the menu turtles - fish such as guppies, if possible, earthworms and insects. Some experts claim that already at such a young age, your pet can eat boiled meat or minced meat with pleasure. However, this food should be introduced into the diet gradually.

Since foods can vary, you need to carefully choose the brand specifically designed for your pet. Namely: according to its age and size. It is important to know that young representatives of this species of reptiles need additional feeding with vitamins, it is worth consulting with a breeder or veterinarian about this.

Red-eared turtles can grow and develop normally only with proper feeding.

For adult red-eared turtles (more than a year old), the percentage of artificial food in the diet should be not less than ten (10%) and not more than twenty-five (25%).

It is worth gradually adding vegetable foods (for turtles older than a year, these are lettuce, dandelion leaves, cabbage and pieces of fresh cucumber). All this must be given, even if the pet initially refuses. It is possible and even necessary to give the turtle boiled or raw meat of chicken or beef.

Some experts suggest giving the red-eared turtle raw lean fish meat, but pre-boiled (about a minute) in boiling water. Small aquarium fish can be given both in crushed form and live, but it is worth commensurate the size of the live bait with the size of the turtle.

Reptiles between one and two years of age should be fed every other day. And an older pet, starting from the age of two, needs to be fed every two or even three days. But this, again, also depends on the individual characteristics of the reptile.

The turtle, which has reached the age of three, begins to eat more and more algae. To make the aquarium look aesthetically pleasing, aquatic plants should be grown in a separate place from the reptile.

It is important not to overfeed your pet, but at the same time not to leave him without the vitamins he needs. Any food for reptiles must be of high quality and fresh. Frozen food should be thawed and warmed to room temperature beforehand.

Food for turtles of all ages should be thrown directly into the water, but it is important to correctly calculate the amount of food, otherwise uneaten food will rot in the water, after which it will need to be changed.

Reptiles should be fed during daylight hours, as they are active during the day. With the correct calculation of the age, size, characteristics of the red-eared turtle and the selection of food, the owner will have a healthy and happy pet.

How often should I feed turtles? | Tail News

Contents

1 What time to feed the turtle? 2 How much food to feed a turtle?

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Feeding frequency is one of the foundations of a proper diet. But if you search the Internet for how often you should feed your turtle, the information will vary from source to source. What is it connected with? And how many times a day should you feed a turtle?

Controversy over the frequency of feeding reptiles is not uncommon. And all because there is no single answer to this question.

The frequency of feeding is individual for each pet.

However, there are approximate rules that should be followed. They are valid for both land and aquatic turtles.

What time to feed the turtle?

It is best to feed turtles in the morning, but after the animal has warmed up. The choice of time is due to the fact that turtles lead a predominantly diurnal lifestyle and food is better absorbed before evening. In the evening and at night, when the lamps are turned off in the aquaterrarium, the temperature drops and the reptile's metabolic rate decreases.

If you feed your pet at night, there is a high risk that digestion will fail. This is especially true of land and some aquatic species of turtles, such as marsh and red-eared.

Other reptiles can take food with the same benefit around the clock.

It is advisable to give your pet food at the same time. Compliance with the regimen promotes proper digestion and makes it easier to maintain cleanliness in the aquarium.

Turtles get used to the feeding schedule. This is one of the few available ways to communicate with them.

How much food to feed a turtle?

The ideal portion size is the one that a turtle can handle in half an hour. If food remains after this time, it must be removed. This will help prevent contamination of the terrarium.

If the turtle eats all the food within a few minutes and then continues to search for food, the number of feedings or servings should be increased. If the turtle, on the contrary, can not cope with the food, you need to either reduce the portion, or feed the pet less often.

Observe the behavior of your pets and study their needs. Very soon you will understand how often and in what quantities you need to feed your turtle.