redearslider.com

Hello,
i have two red ear sliders who are about 2.5" big, about 20grams in weight. One recently got sick and i was told that it was mal nourished. I have been feeding them pellets and dried shrimp all the time. apparently this is not enough. the vet suggested dog kibbles which i have just tried but they are hard and sink to the bottom of the tank immediately. What exactly do you feed your turtle to provide good diet? Please tell me the brand or what not as I would like to pick it up for my turtles.

About your turtle food, it sounds funny, but try watermelon or cooked carrots. I find that my turtles are always still hungrey after they eat dried shrimp, the petstore said it was more of a treat than a food. I hope you find this information usfull.
Marybeth

Definitely carrots, Napoleon LOVES them! Also try some romaine lettuce.


What I hear over and over is that variety is the most important thing. I go to the grocery store a few times a week and graze the salad bar for Napoleon. I end up spending like 20 cents each time, and it lets me buy just what I need of lots of different things.


I found this list posted on Yahoo Answers (apparently sourced from http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/turtlefood.html) and printed it out for reference:

Try *Many* of These Foods for Turtles

greens:

aquatic plants, collards, turnip greens, red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, dandelion, chickweed, plantain weed, carrot tops, red lettuce, endive, fig leaves, grape leaves, sow thistle
(avoid spinach)

veggies:

good--squashes, peas in the pod, okra, grated or sliced carrots, sweet potatoes
okay on occasion--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

flowers:

geraniums (Pelargonium species), Chinese Lantern (Abutilon hybridum not Physalis sp.), nasturtium, borage, hyssop, carnations, daylilies, petunia, pansies, chives, dandelion, rose and rose hips,

meats:

good--silkworms, earthworms, crickets, snails, shrimp, slugs, waxworms, mealworms
okay on occasion--cat or dog food, cooked chicken or turkey, boiled eggs, lean beef
(hamburger and other fatty red meats should be avoided, and never use raw meats because of contamination dangers)

prepared turtle foods:

Tetra's Reptomin, Wardley's Reptile T.E.N., Turtle Brittle, Purina AquaMax

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.)

Look under feeding and nutrition. There's a sticky that says "what to feed your turtle"

Please look at stickies before you post....

star chick, some of those foods should only be used rarely...and I dont believe peas are good at all.

I didn't analyze it deeply, but that doesn't look like a good feeding list at all. Like Jessica said, those foods shouldn't be a staple. Grapes are high in sugar and should only be fed as a treat. Just refer to Jen's post under Feeding and Nutrition.

Just a small tip, ReptoMin is the most preferred aquatic turtle food here, gives a good amount of nutrients. Wardley Turtle Food is a lot cheaper, but is full of fillers, and generally has less good stuff than ReptoMin.

Rep-Cal aquatic turtle food is also good, some say it's better than ReptoMin, but again, more expensive.

fungke, please refer to the nutrition section of our site, to see what foods are healthy. Some of those foods listed above are not good, and some shouldnt be a staple, only used in occasion or rarely at all.

thanks..
just wanted to see what people have tried and was looking for food that was healthy and floats as they seems to not eat it if it sinks.

fungke, there are tips to entice eating certain foods... try dipping the food in some tuna water... that works especially for pellets... do they eat the pellets before they sink?

This is the updated nutrition/feeding section on the site:
http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

Lynn,
will try the method you suggested and what the site offered.
but it is just this one turtle who refuses to eat. as i may have mentioned in a seperate post,
this turtle has just seen the vet in regards to not eating and he gave the turtle some vitamin shots. since then, my turtle had dialated pupils for a day and half, then he is moving about now, but still won't eat. vet tells me to take the turtle in again for shots (obviously)..but i simply can't afford this right now.

Steve,
thanks steve, i have been reading them since yesterday.
i think that i have a grasp on nutrition for the moment.

Starchick---as a basic list, the reference you posted is good. I've relied on it in the past when my RES was much younger, and he's grown to be quite the handsome guy. I'm assuming the updated version on this site has used some of the info from it as well. None of the foods listed in it, if used as only part of the diet, will cause problems for your turtle.

Hi,
If the turtle are under weight and sick, feed caned cat food, this is high in fat and protein, vitamins to, raw chop meat mix in vitamin powder and calcium powder.
I used to feed the turtles in plastic container with water to feed this mix. It is very messy to feed these foods but the turtles do get better.
Evelyn

Canned cat food is really not a good idea. There are other things to try before resorting to that.

Also, if a turtle is reluctant to eat, feed him/her in the main tank. Some turtles become stressed when removed from their normal environment.