What to feed a baby red belly turtle
8 Tips For Feeding & Caring For Baby Red Eared Sliders
A red eared slider is a fun, unique, and interesting pet. They are one of the most popular pet turtles in the world.
Baby red eared sliders are one of the cutest reptiles, it is tempting to get one as a pet. But before you do, take time to consider the care and feeding needs of these tiny turtles. Hatchlings start life no bigger than the size of a quarter!
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It is possible to buy this turtle species in the United States. But, selling and buying turtles under four inches long is illegal.
If you have your heart set on a baby red eared slider, continue reading. We discuss the best feeding and husbandry tips for raising a healthy, happy turtle. We also share how to spot a good breeder and where to find one…
Table of Contents
- 1.
Buyer’s Guide
- 2. Baby Red Eared Slider Habitat
- 3. Baby Red Eared Slider Tank Setup
- 4. How To Care For Baby Red Eared Slider Turtles
- 5. Baby Red Eared Slider Diet
- 6. Why Is My Red Eared Slider Turtle Not Eating?
- 7. Is My Turtle Male or Female?
- 8. Handling
- Summary
1. Buyer’s Guide
Many irresponsible owners have released their pets into the wild. It is considered to be invasive in many states.Baby Red Eared Sliders can be found for sale at many reptile expos or from private breeders online.
We do not recommend taking a baby slider from the wild, especially if they are not invasive in your area. Wild red eared sliders often do not live as long as pet species. They are also more likely to carry parasites and disease.
When looking for a breeder, you will want to find one with good reviews and a high standard of husbandry and knowledge. Look for a breeder who is transparent and is willing to respond to questions.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to several potential sellers to compare their responses.
Avoid any breeder offering to sell a baby under four inches in length. Responsible breeders will only sell young adults or older juveniles.
The sale of turtles under four inches long is illegal in the United States, and has been since 1975.
Purchasing a healthy baby turtle will increase the chances of it growing into a heathy adult.
You will also need to decide on what morph of slider you want.
The most common red eared slider baby is the wild-type. Most wild-type sliders sell for $30 to $60. Private breeders sell specialty morphs like hypo pastel, albino, ghost, leucistic and piebald too. Rarer morphs like caramel and charcoal are sold for $1,000.
Why Are Baby Red-Eared Sliders Illegal?
The Food and Drug Administration outlawed the sale of all small turtles under four inches in size. This is because of the increased risk of a person contracting salmonella from these tiny reptiles.
A hatchling turtle’s small size makes it much more likely for young children to kiss it, or handle it without washing their hands. This leads to them contracting salmonella.
While baby turtles are more likely to cause salmonella outbreaks, turtles of all ages can carry this type of bacteria. There is no way to tell whether or not an individual turtle can make you sick. It is best to always wash your hands after handling it or any of its tank décor.
2. Baby Red Eared Slider Habitat
Baby red eared sliders need a proper and safe habitat to stay healthy and happy. Before getting a turtle make sure you can provide them with everything in the list below:
- Controlled Temperature: Baby red eared sliders are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. Drops in temperature can cause pneumonia. Before adding your turtle to its tank, make sure the temperatures are holding steady in their normal range.
- Omnivorous Diet: Baby sliders eat vegetation, moths, earthworms, crustaceans, tadpoles, snails, and any other small animal they can catch in the wild.
Their diet is not limited to one thing, so you should not feed them just one prey. A varied diet is both nutritionally and mentally enriching. It also helps them to get a full range of vitamins. - Clean Water: Young red eared sliders need very clean water for swimming and drinking. Use an aquarium pump to circulate and filter tank water. You should also test the water once a week for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.
- Stress-Free Tank: Even if their tank setup is perfect, your baby red ear can still become stressed if the environment around the tank is too noisy or busy. Keep your turtle’s enclosure in a calm, quiet room that is out of the reach of dogs, cats, or small children. Your slider will spend much less time hiding and more time basking, swimming, and exploring if it feels safe in its surroundings.
- Tank mates: Sliders can share a tank with fish, but this adds some extra challenges for tank cleanliness and turtle health.
Babies should generally not be kept with any fish larger than guppies. However, for first time keepers, we would avoid keeping tank mates.
3. Baby Red Eared Slider Tank Setup
For every inch of your turtle’s shell length you will need to provide them with a minimum of 10 gallons of space. For adult sliders, this can mean purchasing a tank up to 120-gallons.
Because these turtles grow fast, you may want to consider buying an adult-sized tank to save money. While it may look strange to have a baby turtle in a 100+ gallon tank, your turtle will quickly grow to fill it.
Sliders are aquatic and need clean, chemical-free water to swim in.
Fill the tank with water at least twice as deep as your baby’s shell. Even as hatchlings, red eared sliders are excellent swimmers, you don’t need to worry about them drowning.
Though they love water, sliders also need land for basking and drying out.
The land area should cover no more than a third of the tank’s surface area.
It should be large enough for your turtle to move around on.
Lighting
Baby red eared sliders bask in direct sunlight in the wild. As pets, this is usually not possible as glass or plastic tanks should never be placed in direct sunlight. Instead, heat and light bulbs are used to mimic sunlight.
Turtles need both UVB and UVA lighting to stay healthy and active.
Use an ultraviolet fluorescent bulb to provide your baby slider with plenty of UV light. The light source should be securely suspended 24 inches above your turtle’s basking platform. It should also not be blocked by plastic or glass as this will filter out the UV.
Baby sliders also need a heat bulb. This can be in the form of a ceramic heater or heat lamp, as long as it warms the air and basking spot.
They thrive in water and ambient air temperatures of between 75°F and 85°F. Basking temperatures on the surface of the basking spot should be 90 to 95°F.
Monitor water, surface, and air temperatures with a thermometer to keep your baby red eared slider healthy.
Why Is My Baby Red-Eared Slider Not Basking?
Baby sliders will not bask for two reasons:
- They can’t reach the basking platform.
- The water and air temperatures are not correct.
A basking platform needs to be easily accessible, stable, and dry. Use a gently sloping ramp from the water to the basking spot to help your turtle reach the platform.
Even if they can reach the basking spot, turtles will not bask if the water temperatures are too high and/or the air and basking temperatures are too low.
4. How To Care For Baby Red Eared Slider Turtles
Babies are more likely to get sick because of their developing immune system.Caring for a baby red eared slider is different than caring for an adult slider.
Adult sliders are hardy, but babies are more susceptible to illnesses.
Young and older species will need a large tank (with land and water), an omnivorous diet (plant and meat) and warm temperatures.
However, the immune systems of baby sliders are still immature. This makes them more sensitive to their environment.
Baby sliders need smaller temperature ranges, more frequent feeding and a very clean tank.
Frequent tank cleaning, consistent temperature checks, and a quality diet are the best ways to prevent a sick turtle. Creating a care schedule is a great idea for new turtle owners.
| Day | Activity |
|---|---|
| Monday | Feed, spot clean |
| Tuesday | Feed, spot clean and check temperatures |
| Wednesday | Feed, spot clean and handle turtle to check health |
| Thursday | Feed, spot clean |
| Friday | Feed, spot clean and check temperatures |
| Saturday | Feed, spot clean |
| Sunday | Feed, partial water change, check water quality |
Schedules are helpful for keeping up with cleaning, feeding, checking temperatures and water quality.
Sticking to a schedule reduces stress and makes caring for your baby slider much easier. It also provides stability for your turtle.
The most important part of caring for a new slider is cleanliness.
Sliders create a lot of waste, mostly in their swimming area. If not cleaned properly, dirty water will increase the risk of illness, infections, and even sudden death. Water that looks clear may still be high in the toxic ammonia and nitrites caused by decaying food and waste.
To keep their tank clean scoop out any uneaten food or visible waste every day. Every week use a gravel vacuum to remove 25% of the tank’s water. This water should be replaced with fresh, treated water. Test the water weekly to monitor levels of nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. Ammonia and nitrites should be 0, while nitrates should be 40 parts per million or below.
Baby red eared sliders are known to get sick quickly. They are more likely to develop infections.
It helps to be able to spot any injuries or unusual behaviors early on.
Their small size can make it difficult to spot injuries, but some common signs are:
- Lethargy
- Refusing to eat
- Dull eyes or shell
- Loose droppings
- Patches on the shell
You can also pay attention to your slider’s behavior. Knowing if your turtle is acting differently will help you catch health and husbandry issues before they become serious.
Before bringing home your baby slider, make sure you are prepared with the right setup and equipment.
It is best to have your slider’s tank up and running at least four weeks before bringing it home. This will let you cycle the tank and control temperature and filtration properly.
5. Baby Red Eared Slider Diet
Adults and babies eat the same food items, but the ratio of meat to plant and feeding frequency is different.Baby red eared sliders are voracious eaters and should be fed every day.
A major difference between adult and baby red eared sliders is their diet:
- Adults eat primarily a 50/50 balance of plants to meat.
- Babies and juveniles need a 30/70 ratio of plants to meat.
One quarter of your baby slider’s protein content should come from commercial turtle food pellets. The rest should be made up of live or pre-killed animal prey. For plants, avoid water-based vegetables with low nutritional value (e.g. cucumbers, celery, and iceberg lettuce).
Here is a good list of high-protein and nutritious foods that are safe for a baby slider:
| Meat / Protein | Vegetables |
|---|---|
|
|
The key to a healthy diet is variety.
Rotate food items throughout the week to provide a full range of vitamins. This will also provide enrichment and keep your slider from getting bored.
Baby red eared sliders grow quickly and need to eat more often than adults.
Feed them a portion of food the size of their head. This will be around a full tablespoon for a four inch turtle. Feed them every day until they reach six months of age, after which you can then switch to feeding every other day.
To prevent choking make sure all food is cut into bite-sized pieces. A good rule of thumb is to make sure food pieces are no larger than the distance between their eyes.
They prefer to feed in the water rather than on land.
Feeding is simple, just drop their pellets and food in to the tank.
If you are feeding in the main tank then scoop out any uneaten food after 10 minutes.
Some keepers choose to feed their slider in a separate tank. This helps to avoid making the water dirty in the main tank.
6. Why Is My Red Eared Slider Turtle Not Eating?
It is very common for a baby red eared slider to refuse food during the first three days. This is due to the stress of being introduced to a new environment.
After four days most baby sliders will start eating again.
If your slider still isn’t eating after a week, or has suddenly stopped eating, the first things you should check is:
- Is the water clean?
- Are the lights on a consistent schedule?
- Is the tank in a quiet and safe area?
- Are the temperatures in the correct range?
If the tank setup is correct then move on to check your turtle’s food.
It may be that your slider simply doesn’t like the food you are offering. You can try feeding cooked chicken or beef heart to stimulate its appetite.
7. Is My Turtle Male or Female?
In very young turtles it can be difficult to accurately determine their gender.
Determining the gender of a baby red eared slider is usually more important to breeders.
However, any turtle owner can become curious as to what sex their new turtle is. If you want to know whether your slider is a male or female, there are a few tips you can use.
- Females’ plastrons are flat (i.e. the bottom of the shell).
- Males’ plastrons are concave (i.e. curves in towards the spine).
- The vent of a female is closer to the edge of the shell.
- The vent of a male is farther down the tail, positioned away from the body.
- Males have a thicker, longer tail than females.
- The front claws of male sliders grow much longer than females’ claws. During courtship, males will wiggle their long claws in a female’s face to get her attention.
The differences between males and females will become more obvious as they age.
Once your red eared slider reaches two years old, if it is male, it will be fully mature and have all the typical male features. Females won’t mature until they reach five years of age. This is the same for yellow bellied sliders too.
It can be hard to sex a baby red eared slider based on physical characteristics.
The best and most accurate way for finding the gender of a turtle is asking the breeder what temperature the eggs were incubated at. The gender of the hatchlings is determined by the incubation temperature. Eggs incubated at 79°F will all hatch as males, while those incubated at 88°F will all hatch as females. If incubated in between, some will be male and some female.
8. Handling
A red eared slider baby should be handled only when necessary. Turtles are usually not adaptable to being held, it can cause stress.
The best way to hold a baby red eared slider is to use your thumb and first finger on each hand in a pinching style. Have one hand on either side of the turtle and your thumbs on the bottom of the shell. Never squeeze your turtle or use more force than is necessary.
Limit the time you hold a baby red eared slider to five minutes.
Summary
There are few pets cuter than a baby red eared slider.
Remember that before buying this species, it should be over four inches in size. Buying or selling turtles smaller than four inches is against the law.
If you do decide to care for a baby red eared slider, keep in mind that they are sensitive to water quality and temperature. Clean your baby’s tank weekly to maintain pristine water conditions.
They thrive in water and ambient air temperatures of between 75°F and 85°F. Basking temperatures should be 90 to 95°F.
These turtles also need a varied diet of mostly protein to stay healthy. Feed them a portion of food the size of their head every day and rotate food items.
With the right care a baby red eared slider will keep you entertained for decades.
Let us know your best care tips below.
What Do Red-Bellied Turtles Eat? (In The Wild And As Pets)
Red-bellied turtles are beautiful aquatic turtles with distinct red stripes on the underside of their shells. They get their name from the beautiful red and black patterns on their shell.
They are very popular pets, and so their owners must be aware of their dietary requirements to keep them healthy. So, what do red-bellied turtles eat?
The primary diet of red-bellied turtles includes algae and aquatic plants. However, since these turtles are omnivores, they occasionally feed on crayfish, small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects. Red-bellied turtles prefer a protein-rich diet when young and plant-based nutrition as adults.
Let’s talk about the diet of red-bellied turtles in more detail. But first…
What Is A Red-Bellied Turtle?
Red-bellied turtles belong to the United States.
You can find these animals in freshwater habitats along the Potomac River and coastal regions of Maryland, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
Young turtles have a greenish carapace and orange plastron.
The lines and beautiful details become visible once they are adults.
The reddish bands on the base become visible when the shell is wet.
At one glance, red-bellied turtles appear to resemble painted turtles.
However, you can distinguish between these two animals by looking at their size.
Another difference is that painted turtles have a yellow mark on their head, whereas red-bellied turtles do not have it.
Recommended Further Reading:
- Why Do Barnacles Attach To Turtles? Can You Remove Barnacles?
- Are Turtles Reptiles, Amphibians, Or Mammals? (Explained In Detail)
- Do Turtles Yawn? [Here’s What Research Indicates]
Diet Of A Red-Bellied Turtle
Red-bellied turtles are omnivores. Their dietary habits depend on their environment.
When kept as pets, they survive on store-bought turtle food and homemade food.
However, replicating their natural diet is ideal for keeping them healthy.
What Do Red-Bellied Turtles Eat In The Wild?
In the wild, red-bellied turtles feed on both animal and plant-based food.
Adult red-bellied turtles are primarily herbivorous.
They eat algae and other aquatic vegetation and are particularly fond of aquatic plants called milfoil.
These animals will also eat small invertebrates like shrimp, crayfish, small fish, insects, and amphibians.
What Do Baby Red-Bellied Turtles Eat?
Baby red-bellied turtles need more protein than adults.
In the wild red-bellied baby turtles eat insects, small crustaceans, and fish.
For the vegetarian part of their diet, they feed on algae and aquatic vegetation.
What To Feed Pet Red-Bellied Turtles?
You can feed pet red-bellied turtles a mix of commercial and fresh food to satisfy their nutritional requirements.
Adult turtles will enjoy a varied diet of aquatic plants like duckweed, arrowheads, hydrilla, and water hyacinth.
If you grow these plants in their enclosure, the turtle will snack on these plants whenever they are hungry.
Commercially available turtle pellets will also help them meet their nutritional requirements.
You can also add a calcium supplement to ensure that their shell and bones stay strong and healthy.
Related Further Reading:
- What Fish Can Live With Turtles? (Specific Breeds List)
- How To Take Care Of Snapping Turtle Eggs? (2 Ways To Protect)
- Why Do Turtles Bask? And Why They Don’t?
- Why Do Turtles Hide In Their Shells? (Contrary Scientific Evidence)
What Are Northern Red-Bellied Turtles?
Red-bellied turtles are classified into three groups based on their geographical presence.
Northern red-bellied turtles exist in the region from New Jersey to North Carolina.
They are also present in different locations in Massachusetts.
The northern red-bellied turtles prefer to live in freshwater bodies like ponds, streams, and creeks.
They need basking areas and like to live in places with plenty of vegetation.
Northern red-bellied turtles are characterized by the red pattern on their carapaces.
Females may sometimes be black.
The underside of the shell will be yellow to red with black spots.
Baby northern red-bellied turtles will usually have red to orange colored shells.
They will also have a dark pattern along the edges. This fades over time and finally disappears.
What Do Northern Red-Bellied Turtles Eat?
Adult northern red-bellied turtles are omnivores. However, they prefer vegetarian food to animal nutrition.
These animals thrive on readily available aquatic vegetation and algae in their surroundings.
These turtles will also feed on insect larvae, crustaceans, and worms.
What Do Baby Northern Red-Bellied Turtles Eat?
Young Northern red-bellied turtles are omnivores. Younger turtles prefer a protein-rich diet.
In the wild, they feed on insect larvae, worms, small fish, and crustaceans.
These meaty foods satisfy their protein needs and help them grow quickly.
However, baby northern red-bellied turtles also need vegetable matter to balance their nutritional needs.
They snack on algae and other aquatic plants in their surroundings to stay healthy.
What To Feed Pet Northern Red-Bellied Turtles?
It is a good idea to grow aquatic plants in the enclosure where you keep northern red-bellied turtles.
They will nibble on these plants when hungry and obtain the nutrition they need.
You can plant non-toxic aquatic plants like water hyacinth, arrowhead plants, duckweed, and hydrilla.
Northern red-bellied turtles also need protein from meat.
You can add fresh or freeze-dried foods like feeder fish, worms, and krill to their diet for this purpose.
They will also enjoy snacking on green vegetables like beet leaves, collard greens, lettuce, and zucchini.
You can also occasionally treat them to fruits like bananas.
Northern red-bellied turtles will thrive on commercially available turtle food in the form of pellets or flakes.
To keep their shell healthy, it is also important to include enough calcium in their diet.
Add a calcium supplement to compensate for any dietary deficiencies.
You can also give your pet a cuttlebone to improve its calcium intake.
Interesting Further Reading:
- Are Turtles Lucky? [How Different Cultures View Turtles]
- Are Turtles Omnivores, Herbivores, Or Carnivores? (Actual Facts)
- Are Turtles Good Pets? [How Hard Is It To Keep Turtles?]
Habitat And Other Needs Of Red-Bellied Turtles In Captivity
Red-bellied turtles make exciting pets. They have attractive colors and beautiful patterns on their shells.
These animals are timid. They do not like to be picked up and handled.
They are easily startled, and you may stress them out if you touch them too often.
Red-bellied turtles are excellent swimmers. So, you must keep them in tanks or enclosures with plenty of water.
These turtles will also bask for long durations.
Hence, you should ensure that their enclosure allows them enough exposure to the sun or has a UV lamp.
Apart from these basic factors, you should also address the following points when keeping red-bellied turtles as pets.
Correct Temperature
Red-bellied turtles require temperatures within the range of 75°F and 80°F. They do not do well in low temperatures.
If the enclosure becomes cold in winter, add a heat source to raise the temperature.
They may show the tendency to hibernate when temperatures fall.
Although they are hardy and can survive low temperatures, it is always risky to allow them to hibernate.
If you keep your red-bellied turtle in an indoor enclosure with limited access to light, add a good source of UV light to keep it healthy.
Clean Water
Red-bellied turtles like clean water. They do not do well in dirty or muddy water.
Since they are strong swimmers, they will also need large quantities of water to dive and swim.
Water with a depth of 1 to 2 feet is ideal for an adult turtle.
Red-bellied turtles in captivity need a good-quality filter.
It should control the build-up of ammonia or toxins, which will adversely affect their health and make them prone to illnesses.
Compatible Tankmates
Red-bellied turtles are not too fond of company. If you keep them with other turtles, they may end up fighting.
Even if you keep them with other red-bellied turtles, they may fight.
If you keep a pair of turtles, the male turtle may harass the female. So, always alert for signs of stress in any of the turtles.
If you catch them fighting, separate them promptly to prevent them from getting injured.
References
- https://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Pseudemys_rubriventris.html
- https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=C01W
- https://eol.org/search/?q=Pseudemys
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How and what to feed red-eared, marsh and other aquatic turtles
Aquatic ornamental turtles are frequent inhabitants of home aquariums.
These cute reptiles are very fond of children and adults. In order for the turtle to live a long and fulfilling life in a closed tank, you need to create appropriate living conditions for it and pay special attention to the right diet.
In this article, we will look at popular brands of complete food and treats for aquatic turtles, how many times a day, at what time and how to feed them correctly, whether turtles need mineral and vitamin supplements, differences in the diet of adults and small pets, as well as depending on from the type of turtle.
Features of feeding aquatic turtles
Aquatic turtles eat plant and animal food. During the period of growth and formation of the body, turtles need food rich in protein. Natural products can be added to the diet in combination with ready-made dry food designed specifically for aquatic turtles.
Natural products are served to turtles in small pieces. A single portion is determined so that in a 30-minute snack, the turtle can completely eat the entire piece of food served.
For young reptiles, 2-3 pieces of 1 cm3 are usually enough, and for feeding adult turtles, the size of the pieces should be slightly increased. If after a snack there is a half-eaten piece in the aquarium, the portion can be reduced at the next feeding.
A few more important rules for feeding aquatic turtles:
- natural food should be thermally processed before feeding the reptile;
- food served must be at room temperature;
- food can be placed in the aquarium in a special feeder located on the ground in order not to pollute the water;
- feeding with tweezers is allowed;
- To create a balanced diet, you can combine prepared food with natural food.
Overview of artificial food for turtles
Dry food is recommended not as a main food for aquatic turtles, but as a supplementary food that goes well with natural food.
Dry food for aquatic turtles offers a wide range of products from different world manufacturers.
We will briefly review the types of artificial food and other healthy treats for pet reptiles.
Complete dry food
Complete dry food can be given to baby and adult turtles every day. The composition of such a product includes useful components of plant and animal origin, selected taking into account all the requirements of the reptile's body.
Popular brands:
- Sera;
- Zoomir;
- Tetra ReptoMin;
- Dajana.
Treats
Non-complete feeds are classified as Treats. They can only be given to adult turtles and no more than once a week.
Popular treats:
- JBL Tortil;
- Tetra ReptoDelica Snack;
- Sera Raffy Royal;
- Zoomir "Tortila M" Strong shell, etc.
Vitamin-mineral complexes
At home, turtles cannot get all the trace elements necessary for their body, which they extract in the natural environment.
So that the reptile does not get sick and feels good, it must be periodically fed with special vitamin and mineral supplements. You can buy ready-made complexes in pet supply stores.
Vitamin and mineral supplements for turtles:
- MIX – mineral supplement with calcium;
- MIX - general strengthening supplement;
- mineral block "Tortila";
- Beaphar Turtle Vitamin - vitamin complex;
- FIORY Tarta Vigor - feed supplement with vitamins;
- mineral block Ca+D3 "Tortila M";
- Sera vitamins;
- Dajana – mineral stone for aquatic turtles.
Adult tortoise and small pet diet
The diet of aquatic turtles must be combined - natural food in combination with artificial food. Consider what foods can and cannot be given to aquarium reptiles.
Useful and harmful natural products for aquatic turtles:
- You can give low-fat river fish in crushed form with chopped bones.
You can not feed turtles with bony and oily fish. - May be fed with live gammarus and small crustaceans.
- Raw shrimp and crabs are allowed.
- Turtles should not be fed squid, although they love them very much.
- It is strictly forbidden to give reptiles the meat of terrestrial animals and factory meat products (sausages, canned food, etc.). The digestive system of reptiles does not absorb such food.
- Occasionally, you can treat the turtle with pieces of beef heart and liver. These products feed the body with vitamin A.
- It is allowed to feed the reptile with food mice and frogs.
- Turtles can be given natural plant foods such as carrots, lettuce, apple pulp, herbs, sprouted oats and barley.
- Non-poisonous grassland plants, as well as algae and some types of aquatic plants, can be included in the diet.
- Limited pieces of pear, watermelon, melon, banana, apricot and raspberry are served.
- Do not give turtles citrus fruits, nuts, soybeans, beans, cabbage, bread, flour products, cereals, fish waste, dairy products, chicken eggs.
- Foods high in phosphorus, stromagenic substances and oxalates are harmful to reptiles.
- With pleasure and benefit, turtles eat various insects and larvae living in the water. They can be fed with coretra, bloodworms, locusts, crickets, fly larvae, earthworms and moths. The insect must first be decapitated. Can be given dried, frozen, or live.
- Live and thawed mollusks, land snails, snails, marizas, etc. are well absorbed by the reptile organism. But it is better not to treat a turtle with slugs without shells.
Turtle menu specifics depending on their species
Water turtles are more often predators, so the basis of their diet is food of animal origin. If your aquarium has a semiaquatic or marsh reptile that prefers vegetarian food, the diet will be based on plant foods. In any case, the nutrition for the turtle must be balanced and varied so that the body of the domestic reptile fully receives all the necessary substances and trace elements.
Features of the diet of turtles of different species:
- The red-eared turtle prefers fry, small fish with bones, insect larvae, chicken fillet, gammarus and shrimp. From plant foods, you can give apples, lettuce and slices of fresh cucumber.
- Chinese amphibian Trionix enjoys beef liver, heart, lean fish, fry and small frogs. From plant foods, she will like fresh herbs and slices of tomato.
- The European bog turtle loves lean meats, fish with small bones, and plant foods.
- Musk turtle prefers to feed on algae, fish and aquatic insects.
How often and at what time to feed the turtles
It is recommended to feed the turtle at the same time. The first three years of life they are fed once a day, mainly food of animal origin. As they grow, the need for such food is lost, so plant foods and dry food become the main part of the diet.
Adult turtles are fed once every 2-3 days. In summer, turtles eat more often, but in small portions, and in winter they may not eat for several days, and then gladly absorb the increased portion.
In the cold season, it is recommended to add vitamin and mineral supplements to the turtle's diet.
After the turtle has been fed, the remains of food are removed from the aquarium. In the subsequent feeding, fresh food is served. You can not feed the reptile with spoiled foods, they can cause poisoning of the body.
Major Owner Mistakes
Beginning pet turtle owners often make feeding and diet mistakes that can cause serious health problems for the reptile.
The most common owner mistakes are:
- feeding the turtle food from his table - salty, fried, smoked and seasoned dishes are very dangerous for the body of turtles;
- regular feeding with vitamin and mineral supplements - such complexes should not be given to turtles more than once a week;
- make up an unbalanced diet, for example, they regularly treat a reptile with fish, forgetting about the need to feed other healthy foods, which leads to an excess of vitamin B and a lack of other trace elements in the body.
These are the most common mistakes in feeding domestic aquatic turtles, as a result of which reptiles develop various health problems.
The following symptoms testify to improper feeding of the tortoise: coordination of the movement of the reptile is disturbed, it refuses to eat, shows lethargy, and motor activity decreases. An unbalanced diet of small turtles leads to improper development of the body and growth retardation. To eliminate such health problems for the turtle, make up a healthy and balanced diet for it!
Never try to treat a water turtle yourself. If there are certain symptoms that indicate an unhealthy condition, seek the help of a veterinarian specializing in the treatment of domestic reptiles. An experienced specialist will also tell you in detail how and what to properly feed waterfowl aquarium turtles.
Proper nutrition is the key to a healthy and long life of a domestic reptile!
What should baby red-eared turtles eat?
The main question that arises in the newly minted owner of the red-eared turtle: what to feed such an exotic pet? Providing a young individual with food requires a serious approach.
From how correctly you make up the diet of your pet, its activity, health and life expectancy directly depend. Let's look at what you need to feed a small red-eared turtle at home.
Juveniles are usually given only food of animal origin. Approximately 70% of the diet should consist of small, lean fish and 30% of:
- offal
- insects
- Small snails
- crustaceans
- rainworms
- squids
- Shrimp
- CREMICARY
- TURNERY PRODUCTION
- POSSISE OF THE MARE.
If possible, treat your pet to live guppy aquarium fish. In general, fish is very useful for the growing organism of the red-eared.
What is the best fish to feed the little red-eared turtle?
As already mentioned, the fish should be lean. It can be pollock, blue whiting, hake, cod, navaga, perch and carp. Give the fish finely chopped and with small bones. For large fish, remove the costal bones. Raw or boiled fish to give reptiles? Here experts have not come to a consensus.
Some believe that the fish should only be raw, while others insist that it should be boiled. In our opinion, it is not necessary to boil the fish. It is enough to pour boiling water over it.
Twice a week, it is recommended to add bone meal (available at the pet store) or crushed eggshells to the red-eared food.
Dry food for small red-eared turtles
Dry food for turtles cannot get enough nutrients. It can be given to turtles from time to time if it is not possible to organize a natural meal. But in no case should a reptile's diet consist of store-bought food alone. The red-eared must receive vitamins and microelements from natural food. Constant feeding of a pet with semi-finished products negatively affects digestion, metabolism, which in the end can lead to various diseases.
What not to feed small red-eared turtles
It is not recommended to give fatty fish and fatty meat (lamb, pork) in large quantities. It is strictly forbidden to offer turtles food from the human table (boiled and fried food, sausage, bread, etc.
