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What should I feed my
turtle?
The red-eared slider starts out life eating mostly bugs, worms and other meats, but becomes more omnivorous as it matures.
Reproducing the natural diet as much as is possible will make your turtle happier and healthier. In the wild, turtles choose from among a variety of foods that are in season and available. Variety is one key to a good diet for your turtle. Calcium is the other important key.
You can read about the complicated relationships between calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D3 and other elements at several websites. The point to remember is that phosphorus is in most of the foods that turtles eat. It is the calcium side of the ratio that demands attention. Providing calcium separately allows the turtle to decide when it needs more calcium. Cuttlebone, plaster block, boiled and crushed eggshells, and crushed
oyster shell can all provide calcium on demand. Just providing a good source of calcium is not enough, however. Dietary calcium is not properly utilized in the absence of vitamin D3. Turtles can manufacture D3 if provided access to UV-B rays from direct sunlight or a good reptile light (e.g. Reptisun
5.0 or Reptile D-Light.) Or D3 can be provided in the diet through supplements like Rep-Cal. A few foods block the absorption of calcium because of their high oxalic acid content. Spinach should be avoided for this reason. A turtle fed spinach regularly can become calcium deficient even if a good source of calcium is provided. Chard and rhubarb also contain rather high levels of oxalic acid and should be used sparingly, if at all. (Rhubarb leaves are so high in oxalic acid that they are a deadly poison.)
High levels of protein put an abnormal stress on the kidneys, and has been implicated in shell deformities such as pyramiding. It's best to avoid excessive use of meats intended for human consumption and other high protein food sources such as cat food or dog food. When used sparingly as part of a varied diet, no harm is likely to result, but high protein meats should not be used as a staple.
Other questionable foods:
1.) Members of the brassica family (Cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, bok choy, and kohlrabi) are problematic because excessive amounts of these plants contribute to kidney disease and goiter. Turnips, soybeans, radishes,
rapeseed, and mustard also contain goitrogens. These should be used rarely. However, the addition of kelp to the diet may reverse the goitrogenic effect of the brassicas.
2.) High purine foods, which include peas, beans, mushrooms, shellfish, beef, and organ meats, should be used sparingly because they can contribute to gout if overused.
3.) Head lettuce and celery are "empty" foods in that they provide very little useful nutrition or fiber. Some tortoises apparently become fond of lettuce to the exclusion of other foods. In my experience, all the turtles I've known preferred other foods over lettuce, but there are many people out there who feed lettuce almost exclusively. This is a recipe for a long miserable death. However, there may be some benefits in occasional feeding of lettuce. There is some evidence that it contains antiseptic properties. Additionally, celery or lettuce can be used to entertain a turtle that is already well fed. When a turtle begs for food after already eating some slugs, a big leaf of dandelion, some cantaloupe and a chunk of cuttlebone, it will do no harm to toss him a lettuce leaf or a bit of celery.
4.) Canned and other processed foods often are very high in salt and other preservatives. The effects of these things are not fully known, but they would not be part of a natural diet. It would be prudent to limit their use.
It all comes down to variety. If you feed just cantaloupe and crickets, there will be problems down the line. There's nothing terribly wrong with those foods. They're simply insufficient. If you feed a wide variety of foods, the occasional use of cabbage, cooked beef heart or lettuce will not cause problems. Further, feeding low calcium foods will matter not at all if a separate source of calcium (cuttlebones/
plaster blocks/ eggshells/ crushed oyster shell) are always available. This is more in keeping with the way turtles feed in the wild anyway. While some keepers carefully consider the
phosphorus/calcium ratio, turtles don't waste a precious second pondering the chemical analysis of their food. If it's tasty and it's there, they'll eat it! Later, they'll munch some carrion bones or birds' eggshells and get caught up on calcium. Turtles fed a wide variety of foods are happier and
less likely to develop food fetishes.
Try These Foods for Aquatic Turtles
greens:
aquatic plants (for aquatic turtles), collards, turnip greens, romaine lettuce, dandelion, chickweed, plantain weed, carrot tops, red lettuce, endive, fig leaves, grape leaves
(avoid spinach)
veggies:
squashes, peas in the pod, sweet potatoes, okra, sliced carrots, green beans, wax beans, tomato
(avoid cabbage or broccoli)
fruits:
good: figs, grapes, cantaloupe, blackberries
okay on occasion: banana, strawberry, apple, citrus fruits, blue berries
meats:
earthworms, crickets, snails, shrimp, cat or dog food kibble, cooked chicken or turkey, boiled eggs
(hamburger and other fatty red meats should be avoided, and
never use raw meats)
prepared turtle foods
Tetra's ReptoMin, Wardley's Reptile T.E.N., ZooMed Aquatic Turtle Food,
HBH Turtle Bites, Purina AquaMax (and others)
supplements:
Reptile Tri-Cal or Rep-Cal are the best calcium/D3 supplements by far. A jar of Rep-Cal is rather expensive, but lasts a very long time. Tri-Cal even comes in a handy shaker bottle. Use once a week. Vitamin supplements may also be used.
(Don't use any supplement that has phosphorous in it)
© 1999 Mary Hopson, Anchorage, AK
This information sheet may be freely copied and distributed.
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