When do turtles eat

Turtle experts recommend feeding your aquatic turtle live goldfish at least once a week. Turtles love to chase their prey, so capturing their dinner will give them a nice bit of fun and exercise! Many pet stores also carry food sticks — specially created sticks that contain all the vitamins, minerals and protein your pet turtle will need for a healthy diet. Food sticks can supplement the diet for both land- and water-based turtles. Apart from occasional snacks, young turtles should be fed twice a day.

Adult turtles can be fed every other day they prefer to take their meals in the early morning. If it sees you coming, it will swim up to the glass near the surface of the water and open and close its mouth in a chewing motion. General Upkeep of Your Pet Turtle. Feeder fish can be expensive and they can make a mess of the tank; turtles are generally sloppy eaters, and you may find yourself having to pick decomposing fish particles out from under tiny rocks.

In the s, a salmonella scare among families with young children who kept pet turtles caused the United States to ban the commercial sale of any turtle less than four inches long. The problem was, small children were putting their tiny turtle pets in their mouths, thus contracting the dangerous bacteria. There is no way to know which turtles carry salmonella and which do not, so it is very important to wash your hands with antibacterial soap after handling your pet.

For more information on care for your pet turtles, check out helpful websites like PetTurtle. Turtles naturally have a very long lifespan, which means you could be investing in a pet that will stay with your family for several generations. Make sure that you and your children understand the responsibilities required for keeping turtles as pets before you take a trip to the pet store. It happens to the best of us.

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Try out these 6 bird feeders to attract your feathered friends. How to introduce a cat to your baby the right way. How many teeth does your cat have? Probably more than you think. Why Bichon Frises are so difficult to potty-train. Can cats eat bananas? You likely have a red-eared slider, which is the most common pet turtle in the U. Like red-eared sliders, most water or aquatic turtles eat an omnivorous diet. Follow the guidelines below and your turtle will be in great shape.

Starkey says. The best veggies are chopped dark leafy greens such as kale, collard, and mustard greens, Dr. Shredded carrots, squash, and zucchini are great foods that turtles can eat, too.

You can also go with edible aquatic vegetation such as water lettuce, water hyacinth, and duckweed. If you have a land turtle, or tortoise, for a pet, they eat a strict herbivore diet.

What turtles can eat largely depends on their age and nutritional requirements. Keep in mind that younger sliders will eat relatively more protein than older animals, says Dr.

Turtle pellets can be purchased at most large pet stores as well as many online stories, says Dr. Feeder fish and crickets should be available for purchase at pet stores too, while fruits and vegetables can be bought at your local grocery store. Any brand that is carried by a reputable specialty pet store—and is designed for turtles—will provide the right nutrients, Dr.

All animals need protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals, says Dr. You will need to ignore this type of behavior in the long-run if you want your turtle to stay healthy. No matter what type of food you are feeding your turtle, it is important to have a high power filter that can eliminate their waste after they poop. You can learn more on my article about the best filter for turtle tank. If you are afraid that your turtle might be eating too much, you should try to counter this by encouraging them to exercise more.

An easy way to do this is to add ornaments to your turtle tank. I recommend checking out some of these cool ornaments that your turtle can climb on. How much and how often you should feed them depends on when they reach maturity. Now that you know how much to feed your turtle. 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:. Moreover, you need to give your turtle a healthy, balanced diet of more than just turtle pellets. This ratio should apply to juvenile and young adult turtles.

As the turtle ages, I would phase out one of the pellet feeding days and replace it with leafy greens and veggies.