What to Feed a Pet Turtle
Turtle diets change with age, and most pet turtles are fed far too much protein.
Young turtles are hungry carnivores. Adults are mostly herbivores. Feeding an adult like a juvenile is the single most common turtle care mistake and leads to shell deformity and liver disease.
Juveniles
Feed daily. Roughly half quality turtle pellets, half protein — earthworms, bloodworm, small feeder insects. Offer greens from the start so they learn to eat them.
Adults
- Feed every two to three days, not daily.
- About 70–80% plant matter: romaine, dandelion, duckweed, water lettuce, squash.
- 20–30% pellets and occasional protein.
Portion size
A common guide is as much as the turtle can eat in about five minutes, or a volume roughly the size of its head. Uneaten food fouls the water fast.
Calcium
Leave a cuttlebone floating in the tank. Turtles nibble it as needed and it buffers the water slightly. Combined with proper UVB, that covers most shell health.
Feed in a separate tub
Moving the turtle to a tub of tank water at feeding time keeps the display tank far cleaner and makes it easy to see exactly how much was eaten.
Avoid
Dog and cat food, raw meat, bread, and dried shrimp as a staple — all far too rich.
