Pet Care: What Do Turtles Eat?

What do turtles eat? A turtle’s diet depends on what type of turtle it is.  Most turtles start out as carnivores when they are young, and grow up to be omnivores when they mature.  Other turtles feed mostly on plant while there are also some, like the snapping turtle, that actively hunts small creatures as food.  Aside from knowing what type of turtle it is, you will also have to consider where it lives and what it has access to in its environment.

What Do Turtles Eat?

Try the following food choices for your pet turtle.  If you already have an adult pet turtle, or are planning to have one, you can feed it these types of foods that will keep your turtle healthy. 

Just as with many animals, turtles need protein.  There are several protein-rich foods that are safe to feed turtles.  These include mealworms, earthworms, waxworms and silkworms.  Also, you can try feeding your turtle small bits of cooked fish (excellent source of protein) and chicken or turkey.  You can also give them boiled eggs.  Just make sure that you do not give raw meat to your pet turtle.  This might contain a lot of fat.  Also, it might be a breeding ground for bacteria harmful for your little pet.  

Turtles also need vegetables to be healthy.  The best options are leafy vegetables.  You can feed your pet turtle with grape and fig leaves, dandelions, red clover, red or green lettuce, carrot tops, turnip greens, collards, duckweed, endive, plantain weed, and water lettuce.  You can also feed your turtle other vegetables such as green peas, green beans, carrots, corn, beet, okra and some squash varieties. 

Aside from vegetables, you can also give fruits to your turtle.  You can feed your pet turtle with apple, mango, cantaloupe, kiwi, strawberry, grapes, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and some citrus fruits. 

There are some turtles that absolutely love eating flowers.  If you have a flower-eating turtle but are not sure with what to give, you can try roses, lilies, petunias, pansies, hibiscus, borage, hyssop, carnations, nasturtium and geraniums, as they are generally safe for turtles to eat. 

What Turtles Mustn’t Eat

There are also some foods that turtles must not eat.  Almost all animals have foods to avoid.  Dogs can’t have chocolates, and some humans mustn’t eat various food items that can cause allergic reactions.  There are also those people who are not able to take in milk or dairy products because they are lactose-intolerant.  Well, it’s the same with turtles too!  The stomach of turtles lacks the enzymes that are necessary in breaking down lactose.  Turtles then cannot digest milk and other dairy products. 

Also, refrain from feeding processed food to your turtle.  This could contain potentially harmful ingredients such as large amounts of salt and preservatives that could disturb the digestive system of turtles. 

Things to consider

Other turtles eat poisonous plants.  You probably have read in a book some turtles eat poisonous plants to make them inedible by predators.  But these plants are a part of their natural habitat.  Since you will be keeping your turtle in a turtle tank and you wouldn’t know where it came from (therefore you wouldn’t know the plants in its natural habitat), it might be better if you keep poisonous plants out of your turtle’s reach. 
  
Basically, you have to know where the natural habitat of the turtle is and what type of turtle it is.  If you are not familiar with turtle types, you can always ask the pet shop owner if turtle feeds are provided or “what do turtles eat?”