Feeding Red Eared Slider Turtles begins with understanding that they are omnivores. Omnivores are animals that eat a diet of both meat and plants. But, they must be fed correctly to remain healthy. Young red eared sliders have a different diet, they need to be fed more protein while adult red eared sliders need to be fed more vegetation. Commercial pellets, fresh foods, leafy greens, aquatic plants, vegetables and supplements are all part of the healthy red eared slider turtle diet.
Commercial pellets are not the best food to feed a red eared slider turtle. However, commercial pellets are good in a pinch. These pellets are fairly nutritious at best. The positive side to commercial turtle food is that it is convenient, all a person has to do is pour the pellets in to the turtle habitat and they usually have a good amount of vitamins and minerals. In order to keep the red eared slider turtle healthy, only about 25% of its diet should be commercial pellet, the rest of the diet should consist of a variety of food stuffs.
Fresh foods to feed a red eared slider turtle are prey such as mealworms, shrimp, blood worms, silkworms, crickets, earthworms, aquatic snails, waxworms, daphnia, krill, tadpoles and feeder fish. Catching wild prey is alright as long as they are pesticide free. Also, feeding fish may be chancy because feeder fish can have parasites.
Leafy greens that are good for red eared slider turtles are bok choy, dandelion greens, mustard greens, collard greens and dark green leaf lettuce such as Romaine can be fed sparingly. Never feed Iceberg lettuce to a red eared slider turtle, this lettuce has no nutritional value.
Aquatic plants, those that are found in an aquarium or pond, are frog-bit, duckweed, water hyacinth, anacharis, water lettuce and azolla.
Vegetables that can be fed to red eared slider turtles are green bean, squash and carrots and their tops. These vegetables can be shredded.
Supplements that can or should be included in red eared slider turtle diets are a reptile multivitamin that has calcium and vitamin D3. Mix this vitamin supplement in the turtle food twice a week. Cuttlebone can be attached to the turtle’s tank or put in the water for added calcium.
Other notables pertaining to feeding red eared slider turtles are never feed the turtles frozen fish, cooked beef or chicken or raw meat or chicken. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed each day while adults should be fed every other day. Be careful to not over feed the turtles. Only feed them what they can clean up in 15 minutes. One way to tell if they are being overfed is to look at their legs, if they have folds skin around the legs, they are getting fed to much.
