Feeding and Nutrition :: Feedback on feeding

[SouthpawSliders]

Would like some feedback on what I've been feeding my little guys.

The 2 turtles are hatchlings, about 2-3 months old. They are about 1-1 1/2 inches shell length.

I have zoo med hatchling pellets which is their staple food. I usually feed them about a hollow heads worth a piece when I get up around noon. (Yeah, I'm a night owl, I'm self employed) Hey, they get fed before I do!

I also will give them a few reptomin food sticks, but only Nibbler eats them. But then again, Nibbler would probably eat ground up truck tires. Houdini will swim up to them, but once he realizes what it is, he ignores them.

I throw some romaine or green leaf lettuce in the tank, and they will take bites out of it at their leisure. They seem to really like lettuce. I have only given it to them once a week or so because I haven't had much on hand lately. I will make a point to get more so it's available for them whether I eat it too or not.

I got a bundle of anacharis from petco, and they seemed to really like that too. They would take bites out of it very often, and even used it as a flotation device. Made a little bit of a mess in their tank, but they seem to like it.

I got a 3 foods in 1 can of reptomin food sticks along with baby freeze dried shrimp and mini krill. These are tiny, both only a few milimeters in size. At first, I gave that to them for dessert after they finished their pellets. I only gave them a few apiece, but I read somewhere on here that they should only be given sparingly, so I cut back. I give them each 1 or 2 pieces of shrimp or krill maybe twice a week. Is it OK to give them each a few tiny pieces daily, or??? They love it, and it's fun to hand feed them, but I want to be a good parent and do what's best for their health. Just like you shouldn't give your kids a pint of ice cream every night just because they like it, I don't want my turtles to overeat just because they like it. What is a reasonable amount to give them?

I got some cuttlebone in the bird dept at petco, soaked it and cut out the backing, and put a few chunks in the tank. I've seen one of them take bites here and there, but don't know if the other is eating it. maybe he is when I'm not looking, I don't know.

I got 3 rosy red minnows from petco as well, and they ate 2 of them after about 3-4 days. There is one remaining, and he's been there about 2 weeks. I have a funny story regarding that, and will post in appropriate section if you want to read it. My question is, how many and how often should they get live fish to eat? Also, I heard that they will eat snails too. Funny thing is, when I check out the fish dept at petco, most of the tanks have these tiny snails in them. I looked around and didn't see them actually for sale. Are they supposed to be in the tanks? Do they eat the algae? Or, are they stowaways and just an invasive pest? Should I get some for my tank for algae control/turtle food?

I've read quite a bit on here, and I think for the most part I'm doing ok for them, but just wanted some feedback.

Whatcha think?

[Chrisbarnett]

that sounds pretty good to me.
I would cut back on the shrimp/krill, I would recommend once a month as a treat.

[ScrewZoo]

Sounds really good.

[zoologist]

sounds great, it just sounds like a lot of food. if your turtles are eating pellets, more pellets, lettuce, and cuttlebone on a daily basis you're going to want to cut down on the amount of pellets. it should be as much as can fit in the turtle's head for the whole day. also watch out that one turtle isnt eating more then the other. before you'll know it houdini will be twice the size of Nibbler and you'll wonder why!
don't worry, you're being a great turtle parent. now i think im going to get eat some icecream for breakfast....

[spaceapple]

Oh good, I've been thinking of asking if my feeding routine was ok. But it sounds almost exactly the same as yours, minus the cuttlebone! I also got the 3 foods in 1 deal and give each turtle one shrimp and one krill twice a week as a treat. They each get 4 baby pellets a day (those are tiny, but Piper still has a hard time keeping them in her mouth!). I've taken to freezing bite size pieces of veggies inside ice cubes and popping them into the tank. Does anyone else do this?

[PcBuilder14]

My turtle doesn't like to eat fish, lettuce, carrot, krill, shrimp, and just about everything else, except pellets and very rarely eats cuttlebone.....so he's not on a good diet right now.

[untsmurf]

How big is your turt? Some babies aren't big on eating veggies and stuff. Luckily, they don't need them as much as adults do.

[PcBuilder14]

oh, he's just a little under 2 inches, so it's no big deal or anything, I would just like him to eat more things instead, because he eats the same thing every day and every few weeks will get a cricket.

[SpotsMama]

Sounds pretty good. You should consider offering more variety in the veggie area. Blueberries, fresh basil, collard greens, tomato, carrot, bell pepper, steamed sweet potato - all are good for turtles. Your turtle may not like them now since they are so young, but it wouldn't hurt to find out, and one of these days they'll see the light.