What kind of fish can a red-eared turtle eat? Weekly diet for turtles. What fish to feed a red-eared turtle

When a new pet appears in the house, you need to familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of its nature in order to know how to care for it and what to feed it at home. The red-eared turtle is a predator and prefers to eat both plant and animal foods. Although she is an omnivore, her diet must be balanced, replenishing the body with all the necessary elements. In the end, it depends not only appearance, but also the health of the reptile.

Diet of an adult red-eared slider

What do red-eared turtles eat at home? Animal food for an adult should consist of 80% raw fish. Moreover, the fish is given to turtles whole, with the head and entrails. In this form the product contains all the elements and vitamins necessary for muscle mass and the formation of the reptile skeleton. It is better to give preference to lean species with a low fat content: perch, pollock, pike, cod, hake, whiting, herring.

She can be given the liver and heart of beef or poultry. Offal contains vitamin A, which promotes normal growth and keeps the animal's skin healthy. If there is a lack of vitamin A in the body, the horny scutes begin to peel off, and conjunctivitis and other diseases may develop. For this reason, by-products should be regularly present in the red-eared slider's diet.

Red-eared turtles are big fans of live food. Snails, insects, bugs, small fish, crustaceans and other living creatures are consumed with pleasure by the turtle. This type of food will be a good variety in the reptile’s diet, but you shouldn’t get too carried away with it. It is enough to pamper 2 times a month exotic pet. We must not forget that various insects can be good carriers of diseases, and maintain food hygiene.

Food of plant origin is also an important element of turtle nutrition and makes up at least 50% of the total diet. This is especially important for old turtles and their plant nutrition should reach up to 75% of the diet. To stay healthy at home, your turtle needs to eat fresh vegetables; they are a source of vitamins A and K, calcium and fiber. Lettuce leaves, zucchini, cucumbers, boiled nettles and dandelions will go here.

And it is useful to give aquatic plants as food; such food is close to what they consume in natural conditions. For this, hornwort, water hyacinth, pistia, duckweed, etc. are used.

Dry food for red-eared turtles can also be used if it is not possible to provide a balanced natural food. But there is no need to completely translate reptiles for semi-finished products, since such a diet will lead to metabolic disorders, problems in the digestive system and ultimately lead to diseases.

For a full life at home, it is necessary to bring the turtle’s nutrition as close as possible to its habitat. All basic and necessary elements can only be obtained by good nutrition natural products.

Young turtles are also predators, like adults. They require complete and balanced nutrition, which will promote the growth and formation of a young body at home. So, the main diet is food of animal origin, consisting of 80% fish and 20% animal by-products, as well as mollusks, insects, and crustaceans. It is preferable to use small fish and serve them raw.

The diet can also be supplemented with live food, which will include guppies, swordtails, mollies and others.

What should red-eared turtles not eat?

Although these reptiles are omnivores, but there are a number of products that can be harmful to health. It is strictly forbidden to eat the following foods:

• Sausage and cheese;
• Cottage cheese and porridge;
• Boiled and fried;
• Bread;
• Dry food and supplements for mammals.

• Any varieties of cabbage;
• Tomatoes, spinach, legumes
• Vegetables and plants that contain phosphorus, oxalates, which interfere with the absorption of calcium;
• Fatty foods (meat and fish).

Diet

It is important to observe not only the nutritional value, but also the eating regimen. Overeating can lead to the development of various diseases in reptiles, such as obesity, tympany, and pyramidal carapace. It is especially important to follow the regime and not to overfeed the animal immediately after purchase, during adaptation, in early age or after an illness.

How often should you feed your turtle? so as not to harm her health? Young turtles up to one year of age are fed once a day at the same time, in the afternoon or in the morning. The amount of food per meal should be such that the turtle eats everything in 15-30 minutes, depending on the activity of the reptile. This is approximately 2-3 pieces of meat or fish. If the pieces of food are large in size, then the turtle may refuse to eat. In this case, it is worth reducing the portion and also giving her a day of hunger strike.

Adult turtles older than one year are fed less often. They eat 2-3 times a week. And the older the age, the longer the intervals between meals. A turtle may always have food of plant origin in its terrarium. If an adult refuses to eat, it is also recommended to reduce portions and give food less often.

What to feed red-eared turtle It's up to its owner to decide, of course. But when drawing up a diet and diet, you need to know one more rule: the turtle should be a little hungry, and then it will be healthy. Everything needs moderation. Creation necessary conditions and providing proper care and nutrition will allow the turtle to remain active and healthy for many years.

The first question that arises in any person after purchasing a turtle is: what do red-eared turtles eat? In this material we will analyze in detail the food and nutrition of these creatures. Let's start with the fact that red-eared turtles are not only predators. They are omnivorous reptiles. In nature, their food and food are small fish, snails, crustaceans, fry, and various plankton.

But, like any predator, the red-eared turtle also needs plant food to fill the body with vitamins and calcium, which is required for shell growth.

What to feed baby red-eared turtles?

If you bought a small turtle, you can feed it with the food recommended in the pet store:

Various factory-made foods that can be bought at any pet store, as well as dried gamarus (dried crustaceans).

Animal feed. Gradually, first once every three to four days, and then every day, you need to feed these small red-eared turtles with animal food: crushed cattle heart, chopped earthworms, bloodworms, which can be bought at the same pet store. You can also add minced meat (beef), chicken and beef liver to your red-eared turtles' diet.

Fishes. If you're not too sentimental, you can also feed your little turtle aquarium fish, for example, guppy. To do this, they can be bred in a separate aquarium or jar. Your red-eared turtle will quickly get used to this food and love it. And in the future she will feed herself, hunting for fish.

What to feed an adult red-eared slider?

Animal food (see above - everything for small turtles).

Plant food. An adult turtle should be fed not only animal food, but also plant food. She should add lettuce, dandelion, beet or carrot leaves to her food. Red-eared birds also feed on house plants, from which you can feed thorn-free aloe or cactus leaves. You can specially breed duckweed in an aquarium or in a separate jar and give it to the turtle as food. You can also breed snails in a separate jar and gradually add them to your turtle’s diet.
Also very useful and nutritious for any turtles will be food made from wheat seeds sprouted within 24 hours. In addition, they can also be fed sunflower seeds or legumes, as well as fruits or vegetables (apples, carrots, pears).
Adult red-eared turtles also need to be given hard twigs of plants (for example, an apple tree or any ranetka). This is necessary so that the turtles gnaw them and thus slightly grind off the horny plates located on the upper and lower jaws. Otherwise, these plates will gradually resemble a beak.

Is it possible to feed red-eared turtles with sea fish and fish in general?

Remember the following: only varied food, only complex food, including both plant and animal products, will allow your red-eared turtle to always be well-fed and healthy.

Before getting an exotic pet, you need to learn as much as possible about the conditions under which it is kept. Errors in this regard can be very costly. Some animals are very picky about their diet and room temperature. You need to figure out what to feed the red-eared turtle if the choice falls on it, otherwise the reptile may develop serious illnesses.

In this article you will learn what you can feed this turtle.

Animal products

Food for red-eared turtles should consist of 70% animal food. It is recommended to give them:

1. Lean meats. This is rabbit, turkey, beef. Reptiles also like horse meat. Fatty varieties - lamb and pork - are undesirable. The reptile’s digestion cannot cope with their digestion and assimilation. Meat can be served raw or boiled. It is advisable to cut it into small pieces before serving.
2. By-products, which include liver, stomach, heart.
3. Low-fat fish, without large bones. Good choice There will be cod, sprat, hake. It is not advisable to remove small bones, as they are a source of valuable calcium. You can introduce live fish into the aquaterrarium, which the red-eared turtle will hunt. Turtles also like to catch snails. They eat them with pleasure.

This turtle should be fed a variety of foods.

It is advisable to feed your little red-eared turtle a variety of foods. That is why it is necessary to periodically offer seafood to the animal. It can be green shrimp, octopus, raw squid meat. The best insect to buy is mealworm. It is sold at the pet store. In the summer you can go outdoors to catch beetles and grasshoppers. Sometimes it is acceptable to give bloodworms to reptiles.

What is definitely prohibited are cockroaches caught in the apartment. They may be poisoned.

In this video you will learn what to feed your turtle:

Another a good option- gammarus, dried or live. Good choices would be coretra, daphnia. Before offering them to your pet, you need to turn off the filter for 25 minutes.

It is incorrect to feed the red-eared turtle at home only raw meat. This leads to a lack of vitamin A. It can also provoke the development of rickets when the reptile's shell becomes fragile. At the same time, she loses her appetite, and changes in the coordination of movements are observed. If these symptoms appear, you should immediately offer your turtle vitamin D.

Plant food

Products of plant origin must be present in the diet. Some people prefer to purchase ready-made formulations for reptiles. But in addition to food, you can also give the red-eared turtle field plants collected with your own hands. Their predominance in the diet of older individuals is especially important. You should opt for the leaves:

• plantain;
• coltsfoot;
• clover;
• dandelion

Don't forget to add fruit to your diet

It is allowed to include barley and oat seeds in the diet. They must be sprouted. To properly feed a red-eared turtle, in addition to animal food, you must also offer:

• fruits and berries;
• vegetables;
• edible mushrooms.

The latter can be given no more than once a week. As for fruits, feeding turtles at home involves the use of citrus fruits, apples, pears, apricots, raspberries and plums. Cut them into small pieces and remove the seeds. Citrus fruits are pre-peeled. Turtles love to sharpen their teeth, so you need to put a branch of a fruit tree in the aquaterrarium. Vegetables that work well include tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, and pumpkin pulp. In winter, if these products are not available, you can replace them with carrots, beets, and white cabbage.

Industrial feed

Ready-made foods do not always provide balanced doses of protein, vitamins and minerals. In addition, reptiles may sometimes refuse such food due to the strong odor. But there are individuals who agree to eat only ready-made compounds.

You can prepare such food yourself. To do this, you need to take 145 g of lean fish, 100 grams of squid, 70 g of carrots, 250 g of apples and cabbage. All components must be passed through a meat grinder, add three-quarters of a glass of milk and 2 eggs. Dissolve into 150 g hot water 30 g gelatin. Next, you need to stir it, cool it and add 20 drops of Tetravit.

Prepared food should be kept in the refrigerator. It remains usable for a week. Before serving, cut it into pieces. If the reptile's shell does not exceed 15 cm in size, then the resulting volume of food will be enough for 10 meals.

If your pet is sick, you can mix the medicine prescribed by your doctor into the finished food. Instead of gelatin, a product called agar-agar can be used. It prevents the food from melting quickly in the heat.

The red-eared turtle does not salivate, so it needs fresh, clean water nearby. You can pour it into a separate container and place it outside the aquaterrarium. From time to time it is necessary to pull the reptile out and offer it a drink. Little ones turtles are fed every day, older ones, whose age exceeded 2 years - two, maximum - three times a week. The size of one portion is determined simply - the owners watch how much food the turtle eats in half an hour, and give exactly the same amount the next time.

You can't give food from the human table

It is unacceptable to give an animal food from the human table, as well as food intended for other pets. A turtle may eat the food offered with pleasure, but in the future it will have health problems. Food consumed by people is especially harmful to the animal’s liver. The only dairy product you can give is cottage cheese. The use of bread and cereal porridges is also sometimes allowed.

Bone meal must be given to reptiles to compensate for mineral deficiencies. An alternative can be egg shells crushed to a powdery state. Multivitamins are given only after consultation with a herpetologist. Both overfeeding and underfeeding can pose a danger to the reptile. If an animal eats too intensively, this will lead to obesity, the formation of a pyramidal shell, and diseases of the internal organs. Lack of food can provoke a lack of vitamins and general exhaustion.

Question: “What to feed a red-eared turtle at home?” - sooner or later faces any owner of these little green pets. It is very important that your pet receives food not only of sufficient volume, but also of quality. Before moving directly to the issue of diet, let's consider the physiological characteristics of this type of reptile. The diet of red-eared turtles largely depends on their age. The diet of turtles is dominated by live food, however, as they grow older, the reptile begins to prefer food of plant origin.

How to feed a small red-eared turtle?

As mentioned above, small turtles are carnivores by nature, so even if your small pets happily consume pelleted food, live bait will be a useful addition. Bloodworms, caterpillars, freshwater or land snails can be used as live food. Also, do not forget that the diet must be properly balanced, that is, contain a number of essential elements: fiber, proteins, including those of animal origin. Don't forget about the balance of calcium and phosphorus. Often young aquarists are content with a superficial answer to the question. At home, however, it is not always possible to correctly organize the process of eating by turtles. Be careful when feeding reptiles in an aquarium, as this approach requires frequent water changes. It is better to organize a separate place or train the turtles to eat exclusively on the island of the terrarium.

What to feed a red-eared turtle at home?

Happy achievement to the turtle adolescence It is very important that, in addition to protein, the reptile receives sufficient amounts of calcium, which is necessary for its growth. For these purposes, complementary feeding with small fish (preferably the perch family) or snails is ideal; it is also possible to specially add fish and snails to the aquarium. What can you feed a red-eared slider so as not to introduce vitamins into its complementary food? It is enough to give your reptile some veal or chicken liver at least once a week.

What to feed a red-eared turtle at home when it has reached sexual maturity?

Adult red-eared turtles, although omnivorous, are more prone to eating plant food. However, one should not forget that food suitable for humans may be harmful to the red-eared slider. Foods such as potatoes, bread, cereals, milk, cottage cheese and fried meat are strictly prohibited. It is allowed to eat lean fish, insects, shrimp, squid and raw meat in moderation. Turtles can be given a little cabbage, asparagus, rhubarb, thyme, spinach, basil, radishes, turnips, celery, and wild cruciferous vegetables. In addition, you can buy special food and fortified supplements or plant special plant food directly into the turtles’ terrarium.

Abode of the red-eared turtle

How and where to feed

A balanced diet ensures good health with a pet's life expectancy of 30–50 years. To do this, it is recommended to follow the following rules:

1. Feed the turtle when it asks for food, but do not indulge beggars.
2. Get used to feeding at a certain time, preferably in the morning.
3. Food should be varied, combining ready-made complete feed with plant and animal products.
4. If your pet's behavior changes, contact a herpetologist.

You need to know that red-eared turtles do not feed on land. However, they should not throw food into the water to avoid contamination. It is necessary to accustom the reptile to breakfast in the nursery.

A turtle is fed in a hatchery

The frequency of feeding of adolescents older than one year is reduced, giving food twice every three days. Adults need to be fed 2 times a week. It is necessary to make a discount on taste preferences pet. If he likes plant foods, you can give food more often. Overeating is more harmful to health than fasting.

Food for turtles

Animal, plant, and complete feeds and additives are used in turtle nutrition.

Animal feed

The main food for the reptile is fish. It should be lean, gutted and boneless. The following types of fish are suitable for turtles:

• pike, perch;
• hake, cod. Some gourmets refuse pollock;
• roach, crucian carp. The entrails cannot be fed; they contain an antivitamin that destroys thiamine.

The ideal option is to feed the fry, which the turtle swallows whole, receiving calcium, digestive enzymes, and vitamins.

Meat and offal are optional feed. They can be consumed once a week to add variety to your diet. It is prohibited to feed fatty foods; the enzyme system of turtles does not contain the required amount of appropriate enzymes. Sausage, other meat products, and other human food products should not be given to reptiles.

Sometimes, once every three decades, reptiles can be pampered with invertebrates - snails, washed earthworms, bloodworms, grasshoppers, seafood.

Plant food

The plants are finely chopped and poured into a sump. The turtle consumes food according to its appetite. She is offered aquarium greens, duckweed, cucumbers, carrots, dandelion, clover, cabbage, lettuce, plantain. Eggplants, onions, radishes, and avocados are contraindicated. You should not pamper your pet with fruits, so as not to cause digestive upset.

Complete feeds

Dry food is convenient, but should not be overused. You can give it 2-3 times a month, and if more often, then in small portions. When choosing mixed feed, you should study the composition, do not purchase food containing gammarus, dairy products, oils, chicken eggs. Some of the foods are acceptable for adults, but they are not recommended for baby turtles.

Supplements

If the turtles get enough fish, the terrarium is illuminated with an ultraviolet lamp, they can do without calcium and vitamins. However, it would be a good idea to throw a mineral stone into the aquarium. If necessary, the turtle bites off as much as it wants. It is better to avoid using vitamin and mineral supplements traditional for other animals, because reptiles do not tolerate an overdose well.

Newbie mistakes

Inexperienced turtle owners make mistakes that can harm the health of their pet:

• trying to feed the reptile on land;
• throwing food into the aquarium;
• abuse treats;
• use one type of feed;
• use additives not intended for reptiles.

Owners of red-eared turtles must understand that this is an aquatic reptile that does not feed on land. The diet should be varied, consisting of animal and plant foods. Baby turtles should be fed as predators, adults as omnivores.