Feeding turtles - How to make sure your turtle has the right diet

Aquatic turtles are generally more carnivorous then their cousins the land turtles. The larger predatory turtles such as Matamatas and Snappers are completely carnivorous while Sliders, Painted turtles and Red Bellied turtles will eat more plant foods the older they get.

Aquatic turtles can't use their tongues to help them swallow foods and so they use water to push their foods into their stomachs. The best way to feed them is when they are underwater as this makes it much easier for them to swallow their food.

Aquatic turtles also have have a habit of being messy eaters. They have no teeth so they use their claws and powerful jaws to tear their food into bite size pieces. Inevitably there will almost always be pieces left over from their meals and these pieces end up at the bottom of the tanks and decay quickly. The odor left over from these decaying particles is something you definitely want to avoid, it is very unpleasant and they also cause cleanliness problems.

To avoid this problem simply put your turtle into a small container large enough to give them room to move around a bit and fill it with enough water so they can submerge themselves to swallow their food. After that it's just a case of slowly dropping bits of their food into the container and watching them hunt it down. The major advantage of doing this is that after your turtle has finished eating you can put it back in its home tank (which will be 100% turtle food crumbs free) and empty out the feeding container making sure to thoroughly clean it so that it is ready for the next meal time.

*If your turtle is a bit messy after eating in its feeding container, rinse it off with warm water before putting it back into the home tank. *

*Snappers and Softshells can't be handled for feeding so you will have to feed them while they are in their tanks, if you have these species of turtle then you might want to buy a powerful filter system and you will have to replace the water in the tank quiet regularly ...*

The best foods for aquatic turtles are:
*Live goldfish
*Earth worms
*Turtle sticks
*Fresh leafy greens
*Snails

*Avoid commercial turtle foods that consist of dried "ant eggs" or foods consisting of dried vitamin dusted flies. These foods do not have enough nutritional value for your turtles.*

Having the right vitamins and minerals in your turtle's diet is essential. Calcium along with the making sure they have the right UV (ultraviolet) lighting is necessary and this is particularly important in the turtle's early stages.

A good source of calcium is whole fish servings and this should form the staple diet of all aquatic turtles. Another good way of introducing calcium into your turtle's diet is to place a small piece of chalk or limestone into the turtle's feeding container. This will dissolve in the water and release small amounts of calcium into the water. Whenever the turtle opens their mouth to swallow food, they will swallow some of the dissolved calcium particles along with the food.

You may also want to dust the turtle's food with phosphorus free calcium powder as an alternative. This is also the best way to supplement calcium into a land turtle or tortoises diet.

When it comes to feeding land turtles or tortoises one thing to remember is that it is best to emulate foods that the tortoises would eat in their natural environments in the wild. An improper diet is one of the main reasons for death in tortoises kept as pets. So the food you feed them should be dependant on what turtle species you have and where their natural habitats are in the wild.

Grassland and desert tortoises require a diet which consists of eating mostly fresh hay which can be mixed with lawn cuttings (make sure the lawn is not chemically induced). The reason for feeding them this mixture is that the hay is similar to the grasslands in which they feed and the lawn cuttings provide extra nutrition. This mixture should make up at least 75% of their diet and the remaining 25% can consist of plants such as clover, dandelion, chicory and flowers such as roses, geraniums and pansies.

Redfoots, Yellow foots and Hingeback tortoises will be at their best with a diet that contains leafy green vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, endive, and dandelions. These greens should make up about half of their diets. The rest of the diet should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables,including apples, melons, mangoes, kiwi, squash, and zucchini. This diet can be supplemented by adding edible flowers and about once a week a bit of protein can be introduced into your turtle's diet by adding crickets.

Box turtles are a species of land turtle that will need a slightly different diet in comparison to other tortoises. They usually prefer more meat in their diets and will eat a variety of plant foods such as berries, fruits, mushrooms. They also eat a large amount of small animals such as worms and many also enjoy snails.

In general all pet tortoises enjoy having the opportunity to wander around the yard and will use this time to graze on grass, flowers and other plants. Having a yard or a place where your tortoise can exercise and have a bit of freedom will do them a world of good and you'll notice how your tortoise will start to hunt down insects and pest .

Young tortoises need a sufficient amount of minerals and vitamins to help their shells grow properly. It's always best to add regular supplements to their foods to help their development. Calcium and vitamin D3 are very important as most pet tortoises are kept in doors, which prevent them from receiving natural sunlight and synthesizing these essential nutrients.

So as a quick summary here a five of the most important tips to keep in mind when feeding your pet turtle..

1) Make sure that you are feeding your turtle a balanced diet and they are eating foods that are similar to what they would eat in the wild.
2)Foods that are high in vitamin D3 and calcium is an essential part of your turtles diet so try to include as much of these kind of foods as possible.
3)If you have an aquatic turtle, be sure to feed it in a different feeding container, bowl or tank to avoid dirtying of their aquariums.
4)Add supplements to your turtles food so they will receive the right nutrition.. This can be done by sprinkling calcium and other supplements on top of their food before giving it to them to eat.
5)Have a good understanding of your turtle: this means knowing its species, its behaviour and caring for it with theses things in mind.