Feeding Turtles - Suitable Food for a Freshwater Turtle

Every freshwater species has its own preferred diet and you should always research the particular species that you are interested in buying. This is very important since malnutrition will lead to illness and sometimes even death.

Generally speaking, freshwater turtles will do best on a varied diet consisting of shrimp, fish, shellfish, vegetables and supplements. Freshwater turtles need a lot of calcium to develop their shell. Fish and mussel meat is a good food source, but don't give your turtle too much since it can lead to bad water conditions.

One of the most common mistakes made by turtle owners is feeding the turtles indiscriminately. Turtles are omnivores and will eat almost anything you provide them with, including food that is not at all suitable for them. In the wild the freshwater turtle is adapted to a low fat diet, and if you start feeding it with minced meat, greasy chicken and steaks from red meat it will sooner or later become sick since its body can't digest the food properly. The only red meat not dangerous for your turtle is beef heart, provided that the hearth is lean.

It is not dangerous for a freshwater turtle to abstain from food for a few days. Turtles are not stupid and if you spoil them with their favourite live food they might go on a hunger strike if you try to feed them frozen or prepared food instead. If you let them starve long enough they will however start eating frozen or prepared food again. This is necessary since live food, like worms, are a great food source by not a complete diet. If you give your turtle only its favourite food it might develop serious deficiencies.

How much food does a freshwater turtle need and how often?
It is suitable to feed adult freshwater turtles once or twice a day. Very young turtles prefer food more frequently, once a day is okay but two smaller feeds is much better. If you have a healthy and well fed adult freshwater turtle you don't have to feed him for a few days if your are unable to do so. He will survive you going away for a week or so without any problems, but it's nicer for him if you leave him a live plant to nibble on.

The suitable amount of food given with each feeding is determined by the size of your turtle. Look at the turtles head, and give him an amount of food as big as the head each day. If you give your freshwater turtle more than this, his growth rate will increase dramatically, and if you underfeed him he will not grow at all or grow very slow. You can usually not kill a freshwater turtle by overfeeding him in the way you can with a fish, since the turtle will use the extra energy to increase his size.

Loss of appetite

A freshwater turtle is usually always interested in food and will happily eat everything you give it. If your freshwater turtle stops eating or seems less eager to eat, the first thing you should do is check the temperature. Since they are hibernating animals they will stop eat if temperatures become to low. Most freshwater turtles eat very little if kept in temperatures below 20°C and will stop eating at all if temperatures decrease to 18°C or lower.

Stress can also cause the turtle to abstain from food for a few days. This stress can for instance be caused by moving to a new aquarium or an illness like fungus or a cold. If you have recently moved you turtle, just give it a few days to adapt while you disturb it as little as possible and provide it with its favorite food. If you suspect fungus or cold, check the turtle for symptoms and seek help from a veterinarian or your local pet store.

Other turtle owners can also be of great assistance when you are a beginner. A cold can usually be detected by carefully taking the turtle out of the water and listen to its breathing. If you hear a wheezing sound, your turtle has probably caught a cold. Treating the cold usually involve keeping the sick turtle in warm and shallow water, 24-26 °C. Add 10 g rock or sea salt per litre together with some aquarium anti-bacterial medication from your pet store.