Turtles can eat mealworms as food. However, these are not a good staple to feed them all the time because of the high protein and because they can produce more waste than they can handle in some cases. They can be used occasionally for treats however.[1]
What Can Baby Turtles Eat?
People always ask, “What do baby turtles eat”? The answer is simple baby turtle food of course. But seriously baby turtles require a special diet when it comes to feeding them properly. They will usually take to lettuce of all kinds except for iceberg, worms, krill, river shrimp, mealworms and pellet food.[2]
Can Baby Turtles Eat Maggots?
In summary, turtles can eat maggots and yours probably will. However there are many better alternatives like crickets, meal worms, or superworms. Also, feeding maggots to your turtle poses unnecessary risks to the turtle’s well-being.[3]
Can Turtles Choke On Worms?
YES! They CAN Choke and Drown![4]
Can Aquatic Turtles Eat Carrots?
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. “For fruits, consider shredded apples and melons, as well as chopped berries,” recommends Dr. Starkey.May 28, 2015[5]
Do Turtles Eat Raw Carrots?
The best way to feed carrots to a turtle is completely raw. Although you can technically feed turtles cooked carrots, it’s always best to stick to raw carrots just because it is easiest and most familiar to them.Jul 28, 2022[6]
What Vegetables Can A Water Turtle Eat?
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.[7]
What Can Aquatic Turtles Eat?
Foods that are healthy and safe for turtles include insects like grubs and crickets, earthworms, small fish, and dark leafy greens such as kale and collard greens. Adult turtles only need to eat three to five times per week, and baby turtles may need to eat up to twice a day.[8]
Can Box Turtles Eat Raw Carrots?
Carrots: Yes. Carrots are nutritional and can be fed alongside leafy greens. Box turtles tend to like brightly colored red, orange and yellow vegetables.[9]
Can Turtles Eat Nuts?
Avoid feeding your turtle a diet of foods high in phosphorous (fish, seeds, nuts, beef, beans), which can help lead to MBD (metabolic Bone Disease) due to its effect upon calcium absorption within the body.[10]
What Should You Not Feed A Turtle?
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.[11]
What Human Foods Can Turtles Eat?
They especially like leafy green veggies, so kale, collard greens, and mustard greens are both healthy and delicious for them. They’ll also chow down on carrots, squash, green beans, and peas. As far as fruits go, you can give them bananas, apples, and pears, among other things.Jul 28, 2022[12]
Do Turtles Eat Peanut Butter?
At the rescue, we do two things: we hunt down snails that have never been exposed to snail bait or pesticides. If you are not sure, keep the snails in a bucket with a mesh lid and feed them peanut butter for a few days. If they are not dead they are ok to feed to your turtles.[13]
What Can Turtles Snack On?
Cut up pieces of apple, lettuce, blueberries, corn or any number of other produce can make great treats for your turtle. Make sure the pieces are small enough to be bite sized, and remove any and all seeds. Little bits of meat. Your turtle can eat little bits of cooked ground beef, chicken, or pork from the table.[14]
Can Turtles Eat Sardines?
Animal-based food sources for turtles can include processed pet foods like drained sardines, turtle pellets, and trout chow. You can also feed them cooked chicken, beef, and turkey. Live prey can include moths, crickets, shrimp, krill, feeder fish, and worms.Jul 7, 2021[15]
Can Turtles Eat Canned Fish?
In a pinch, you can feed your turtle canned fish. Acceptable canned fish for turtles include sardines, tuna, and anchovies. Don’t feed your turtle any fish that has been preserved in oil. If you choose to feed your turtle canned fish, rinse it off with cool water before giving it to him.[16]
Can Turtles Eat Canned Tuna?
Yep! If you’re using canned tuna just make sure it is canned in water and not oil. Obviously tuna shouldn’t be the main or only thing they are eating but it can be a great part of a balanced diet. My turtles absolutely love tuna.[17]
What Food Kills Turtles?
Toxic Plants
For example, tomatoes are safe and they’re often a favorite of box turtles. But tomato leaves and vines are toxic. Other plants toxic to box turtles include rhubarb leaves, holly, oleander, avocado leaves and seeds, and plants in the nightshade family.[18]
What Fish Can Turtles Eat?
The best feeder fish for turtles are killifish, guppies, mosquitofish, platies, bluegills, bass and crappies. Do not give your turtles feeder fish more than a few times a month (to be safe).[19]
What Can Little Turtles Eat?
Baby turtles can eat the same kinds of proteins adults can: earthworms, snails, slugs, grasshoppers, beetles, and crayfish. Ask your local pet store if they have live food for reptiles, and this is where you can buy it.Jul 25, 2022[20]
What Can Baby Turtles Eat From Human Food?
They especially like leafy green veggies, so kale, collard greens, and mustard greens are both healthy and delicious for them. They’ll also chow down on carrots, squash, green beans, and peas. As far as fruits go, you can give them bananas, apples, and pears, among other things.[21]
What Fruit Do Baby Turtles Eat?
If you have a herbivorous or omnivorous turtle, give it a variety of vegetables and fruits in addition to pellets. Kale, lettuce, carrots, strawberries, and melon are all good choices.Oct 20, 2021[22]
What Can Turtles Eat And Not Eat?
Avoid feeding your turtle raw meats, feeder fish and fruits, except in limited cases. Kale, romaine lettuce and anacharis or waterweed are the best vegetable and plant staple foods. Use turtle pellets as your protein staple.[23]
What Vegetables Can Painted Turtles Eat?
What Do Painted Turtles Like to Eat MostVegetables, including spinach, kale, celery, red-leaf lettuce, beets, carrots, and tomatoes.Grass.Par-boil leafy vegetables.Fruit, like banana, cut melon, shredded apple, and berries.Water plants, such as duckweed, anacharis, water lettuce, water lilies, and water hyacinth.[24]
What Can I Feed Painted Turtles?
Painted Turtle Food
Painted turtles are omnivorous, and will accept both animal and plant matter with equal enthusiasm. Along with fish, worms and insects, offer them green, leafy vegetables and aquatic plants such as water lettuce, water hyacinth and duckweed.[25]
What Human Food Can Painted Turtles Eat?
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. “For fruits, consider shredded apples and melons, as well as chopped berries,” recommends Dr. Starkey.May 28, 2015[26]
What Should You Not Feed A Painted Turtle?
What don’t painted turtles eat?1Veggies that don’t include calories, like celery and iceberg lettuce.2Pet food such as dog and cat kibble, because it’s too salty.3Dessert, including chocolate and sugary snacks.4Dairy, since turtles can’t break it down in their digestive system.[27]
What Vegetables Can Baby Painted Turtles Eat?
Vegetables
Romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, collard greens, zucchini, squash, kale, escarole, and mustard greens are great vegetables for painted turtles. Parsley and dandelion should be part of their diets, as well. You can put the vegetables and plants in the water or clip them to the side of the tank.Nov 15, 2020[28]
Can Turtles Eat Crayfish?
However, snapping turtles and soft-shelled turtles eat more animal matter than the red-eared slider. Snapping turtles are omnivorous and eat insects, crayfish, snails, amphibians, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals and vegetation.[29]
Are Crayfish Good For Turtles?
Like shrimp, crayfish are crustaceans and are a big part of turtle diets but unlike shrimp crayfish come with added problems. They can make great larger additions to tanks and are also great at cleaning tanks.Jan 26, 2019[30]
Resources
[1]https://turtleinformation.com/can-turtles-eat-mealworms/
[2]https://myturtlestore.com/premium-baby-turtle-food/
[3]https://pets.stackexchange.com/questions/5740/are-maggots-appropriate-food-for-a-turtle
[4]https://crazycrittersinc.com/cpr-in-turtles-and-tortoises-yes-they-can-choke-and-drown/
[5]https://www.petmd.com/reptile/nutrition/what-do-turtles-eat
[6]https://petkeen.com/can-turtles-eat-carrots/
[7]https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/turtles-aquatic-feeding
[8]https://www.pawtracks.com/other-animals/caring-for-turtles/
[9]https://www.everythingreptiles.com/what-do-box-turtles-eat/
[10]https://www.backwaterreptiles.com/turtles/what-do-turtles-eat.html
[11]https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/turtles-aquatic-feeding
[12]https://petkeen.com/human-foods-that-turtles-can-eat/
[13]https://www.worldturtleday.org/single-post/2018/02/03/the-abcs-of-turtle-and-tortoise-feeding
[14]https://www.hartz.com/the-benefits-of-treats-for-your-turtle/
[15]https://pets.webmd.com/what-do-pet-turtles-eat
[16]https://www.cuteness.com/article/foods-aquatic-turtle-can-eat
[17]https://the-awkward-turt.tumblr.com/post/172425926913/can-turtles-eat-tuna-sliders-and-snapping-turtles
[18]https://animals.mom.com/plants-poisonous-box-turtles-2354.html
[19]https://www.turtleholic.com/feeder-fish-for-turtles/
[20]https://petkeen.com/what-do-baby-turtles-eat/
[21]https://petkeen.com/human-foods-that-turtles-can-eat/
[22]https://feedingnature.com/what-do-baby-turtles-eat/
[23]https://www.turtleholic.com/what-foods-bad-turtles/
[24]https://www.atshq.org/what-do-painted-turtles-eat/
[25]https://reptilesmagazine.com/painted-turtle-care-sheet/
[26]https://www.petmd.com/reptile/nutrition/what-do-turtles-eat
[27]https://www.pawtracks.com/other-animals/painted-turtles-eat/
[28]https://www.fishtankreport.com/what-do-baby-painted-turtles-eat/
[29]https://www.noble.org/news/publications/ag-news-and-views/2011/april/aquatic-turtles/
[30]https://aminoapps.com/c/reptiles/page/blog/cohabbing-with-turtles-guide/moXn_XQ3ikuRYwK7ZaKp1ERgJRJ12BmXYn6