Penman6668
Dr. Jan Itor
I just got a red eared slider. I have done all the research and everything. I was just interested in what everybody feeds theirs. I am just curious if they prefer one food over another.
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Red Eared Slider Feeding
- Thread starter Penman6668
- Start date
Tula_Montage
It's Jager time!
whats a red eared slider? post pictures?
Tula_Montage
It's Jager time!
oh ok iv 'like' never gotten into turtles 'like'... :shrugs:
Tracee
Grrrl
http://www.google.co.uk/search?sour...-05,GGLG:en&q="red+eared+slider"+"care+sheet"
There that wasn't too hard!
I had one when I was a little girl, I fed it anything - from chicken to cat food, even maggots. Normal slider food 99% of the time of course!! I would download a few care sheets and stick to regular food though!
There that wasn't too hard!
I had one when I was a little girl, I fed it anything - from chicken to cat food, even maggots. Normal slider food 99% of the time of course!! I would download a few care sheets and stick to regular food though!
Cflaguy
Old School Snakeman
I fed mine
Reptomin. Label for label, ingredient for ingredient it is the best. Soak them first. Or any pellet you may use. Let them absorb water and expand before feeding them. If not the turtles may gorge themselves on dry pellets. Then when they expand it can cause some constipation or worse. Duckweed is a favorite but can if you get it from a lake you can bring it bugie-boos. A treat is always fish. Rather feeders or what I eat. Heat is the key. They need a light more so than snakes for thermoregulation.
Reptomin. Label for label, ingredient for ingredient it is the best. Soak them first. Or any pellet you may use. Let them absorb water and expand before feeding them. If not the turtles may gorge themselves on dry pellets. Then when they expand it can cause some constipation or worse. Duckweed is a favorite but can if you get it from a lake you can bring it bugie-boos. A treat is always fish. Rather feeders or what I eat. Heat is the key. They need a light more so than snakes for thermoregulation.
Jimmy Johnson
Old Timer
red-ear
A lot of people freak out when you say feed them commercial foods but I have been doing it for years and years and it is a good balanced diet.
I feed my aquatic turtles a mix of commercial brands.
Tetr'a ReptoMin floating food sticks is my main ingredient, mixed with ZooMed aquatic turtle pellets and T-Rex aquatic turtle pellets.
I give them a few crickets here and there along with a little romaine lettuce.
I also provide small pieces of cuttle bone about once a month. Good source of calcium.
Lighting is as important as proper diet.. Turtles need Ultra Violet rays provided by sunlight. If turtles are to be kept inside , artificial sources of these ultra violet rays are needed. Use fluorescent lighting for the main tank area. They sell fluorescent lights now that provide needed UVB rays. Something like the Reptisun 5.0 or ReptiGlo 8.0 fluorescent bulbs work well. Over the basking area a "spot" type light to provide heat as well as needed UVA rays is recommended. For this I use ZooMed's basking bulbs. Without the proper UV rays turtles can suffer from a deficiency of vitamin D3 which is essential to a healthy turtle. Do not have glass between the light source and the turtles as it can filter out the UV rays.
Filtration and regular water changes are essential.
I recommend filtration capable of filtering at least 10 times the water volume of the tank.
In other words, if your tank holds 55 gallons of water I would recommend a filter that has a filter volume of at least 550 to 600 gallons an hour.
Aquarium filters are made for fish. Turtles produce MUCH more waste then fish therefore need more filtration.
Even with proper filtration you need to have a regular water change schedule.
I personally do a complete water change the first Saturday of every month.
This includes water change, filter media change, vacuuming of the substrate...complete cleaning.
You need to provide an easily accessable basking area and enough water for your turtle to swim freely on and below the surface of the water.
sorry to ramble on
if you have any questions e-mail me and I will do what I can to help you out.
http://members.tripod.com/~Draybar/draybarturtles.html
A lot of people freak out when you say feed them commercial foods but I have been doing it for years and years and it is a good balanced diet.
I feed my aquatic turtles a mix of commercial brands.
Tetr'a ReptoMin floating food sticks is my main ingredient, mixed with ZooMed aquatic turtle pellets and T-Rex aquatic turtle pellets.
I give them a few crickets here and there along with a little romaine lettuce.
I also provide small pieces of cuttle bone about once a month. Good source of calcium.
Lighting is as important as proper diet.. Turtles need Ultra Violet rays provided by sunlight. If turtles are to be kept inside , artificial sources of these ultra violet rays are needed. Use fluorescent lighting for the main tank area. They sell fluorescent lights now that provide needed UVB rays. Something like the Reptisun 5.0 or ReptiGlo 8.0 fluorescent bulbs work well. Over the basking area a "spot" type light to provide heat as well as needed UVA rays is recommended. For this I use ZooMed's basking bulbs. Without the proper UV rays turtles can suffer from a deficiency of vitamin D3 which is essential to a healthy turtle. Do not have glass between the light source and the turtles as it can filter out the UV rays.
Filtration and regular water changes are essential.
I recommend filtration capable of filtering at least 10 times the water volume of the tank.
In other words, if your tank holds 55 gallons of water I would recommend a filter that has a filter volume of at least 550 to 600 gallons an hour.
Aquarium filters are made for fish. Turtles produce MUCH more waste then fish therefore need more filtration.
Even with proper filtration you need to have a regular water change schedule.
I personally do a complete water change the first Saturday of every month.
This includes water change, filter media change, vacuuming of the substrate...complete cleaning.
You need to provide an easily accessable basking area and enough water for your turtle to swim freely on and below the surface of the water.
sorry to ramble on
if you have any questions e-mail me and I will do what I can to help you out.
http://members.tripod.com/~Draybar/draybarturtles.html
Tyger9791
Animal Care Specialist
Cflaguy is right. they need a basking area. just build them a dry area out of the water and put a heat or what is called a basking bulb over that dry area. that way, they wont get shell rot or respiratory problems. and just like in snakes, the heat stimulates digestion and also their appetite.
everyone i know feeds their turtles reptomin. or you can get mazuri turtle food. basically their stomach is about as big as their eyeball, when they're babies. when they're bigger you can feed them more. nothing bigger than their head though. and if you do feed them feeder fish, watch out for unhealthy feeders. dont get ones that look sick or have white spots (ich). they could have other parasites or worms that could get passed on to your turtle. worms are a big problem with feeding turtles fish. turtles can get worms so easily and they're a pain to get rid of.
you could also feed them small pinky mice as a treat. i stress AS A TREAT! pinks are high in protein for a turtle. i feed my CA Woods a couple pinks a month. they mostly get earthworms and veggies though.
everyone i know feeds their turtles reptomin. or you can get mazuri turtle food. basically their stomach is about as big as their eyeball, when they're babies. when they're bigger you can feed them more. nothing bigger than their head though. and if you do feed them feeder fish, watch out for unhealthy feeders. dont get ones that look sick or have white spots (ich). they could have other parasites or worms that could get passed on to your turtle. worms are a big problem with feeding turtles fish. turtles can get worms so easily and they're a pain to get rid of.
you could also feed them small pinky mice as a treat. i stress AS A TREAT! pinks are high in protein for a turtle. i feed my CA Woods a couple pinks a month. they mostly get earthworms and veggies though.
kimbyra
cornsnake addict
I have a red eared as big as my head! Her name is Edna and she is in a 1555 gallon with a plastic pond piece for a dry area. I feed her some reptomin, (she hated the neon moist stuff of another brand), and regular Meomix dry cat food. That is mostly what she eats, she loves it. Unlike land turtles, aquatics, at least this kind, need mostly protein. Meomix actually floats on the water and she gobbles it up. It does leave a slight oily residue, but that dissipates. She has got the occasional fish as a snack too. We have a small kids pool that we put her in (supervised!) in the summer when we're outside, maybe for twenty minutes or so. We also let her walk around a bit for exercise (again supervised). The cats are afraid of her. Have fun with your new pet!
Penman6668
Dr. Jan Itor
Is the cuttle bone, the same as the type you would give a bird?
Tyger9791
Animal Care Specialist
Very cool! we have a pond near my house where a road runs right by it...i've rescued 5 turtles just this week that decided to bask in the middle of the road. some were red ears. most were cooters. i just put them back on the bank by the pond.
i have a kiddie pool too that i put tony and shelly in on warm days. my turtles arent great swimmers though...they're land turtles, semi-aquatic. so i just fill it enough for the water to just go over their shells, not too deep at all. they wade in the water and play around.
i have a kiddie pool too that i put tony and shelly in on warm days. my turtles arent great swimmers though...they're land turtles, semi-aquatic. so i just fill it enough for the water to just go over their shells, not too deep at all. they wade in the water and play around.
Tyger9791
Animal Care Specialist
yes, but you have to remove the metal clip (some come with this so you can attach it to the bird's cage) and also remove the hard coating on the outside. i just scrape it off with a metal nail file. it's usually only on one side, it might appear to be yellowish. the cuttlebone itself is white. turtle's might have a hard time biting through that and also it's not good for them. i think it's a plastic coating. but i'm not sure. my turts love to just chomp on this stuff.Penman6668 said:
Penman6668
Dr. Jan Itor
Thank you, I will stop on my way home from karate tomorrow and get on. Pet store is right across the street from the dojung.Tyger9791 said:
Penman6668
Dr. Jan Itor
Get one not get on. Sorry talking on the phone while typing.Penman6668 said:
Cflaguy
Old School Snakeman
This is
:-offtopic but a ? about turtles. I had an Ornate Wood Turtle for 15 years before she passed of old age. She ate nothing but leafy veggies and bananas. For Christmas this year Lisa got me another one because I always talked about "Miss Priss." This one has a better appetite and enjoys variety. But I know I read somewhere while doing research you should give your turtles either rabbit or guinea pig food crushed at least once a week. A good supplement for calcium and vitamins. But i can't remember which it was. Guinea Pig has a lot more vitamin C in it. Anyone know?
:-offtopic but a ? about turtles. I had an Ornate Wood Turtle for 15 years before she passed of old age. She ate nothing but leafy veggies and bananas. For Christmas this year Lisa got me another one because I always talked about "Miss Priss." This one has a better appetite and enjoys variety. But I know I read somewhere while doing research you should give your turtles either rabbit or guinea pig food crushed at least once a week. A good supplement for calcium and vitamins. But i can't remember which it was. Guinea Pig has a lot more vitamin C in it. Anyone know?
Tyger9791
Animal Care Specialist
thats a new one on me...i've never heard of that. i've read that you need to give them a variety of greens and fruits and a source of calcium and protein. they love strawberries, dandelion greens, romaine, mustard greens, nightcrawlers, pinky mice.
what type of ornate wood is it? is it north american, south american, central american?
i know mine are more on the carnivorous side. they do eat veggies but they really like their worms and pinkies. the pinks and worms are their source of protein and they get some calcium from the pinks. but not much. thats why i give them cuttlebone too.
i've tried the commercial diets, like reptomin and ectotherm yummies. but they dont really like them at all. they like fresh produce and live worms the most. i kinda make them a weird salad of greens, fruit and nightcrawlers.
what type of ornate wood is it? is it north american, south american, central american?
i know mine are more on the carnivorous side. they do eat veggies but they really like their worms and pinkies. the pinks and worms are their source of protein and they get some calcium from the pinks. but not much. thats why i give them cuttlebone too.
i've tried the commercial diets, like reptomin and ectotherm yummies. but they dont really like them at all. they like fresh produce and live worms the most. i kinda make them a weird salad of greens, fruit and nightcrawlers.
Cflaguy
Old School Snakeman
I"ll give them one of them
but wondering about the excessive Vitamin C.
And she is a Central American Ornate Wood. Was sold as a Honduran Wood Turtle.
Her favorite is fruit. She'll let Spring Mix sit all day till she gets hungry enough. But fruit is gone in ten minutes. Gonna try earthworms.
but wondering about the excessive Vitamin C.
And she is a Central American Ornate Wood. Was sold as a Honduran Wood Turtle.
Her favorite is fruit. She'll let Spring Mix sit all day till she gets hungry enough. But fruit is gone in ten minutes. Gonna try earthworms.
cowboyman13
Jimmy
I didn't noticed if any one mentioned this but red ears love a treat of some red wigglers or a cut night crawler every once in awhile. We had bunches of red ears and paints growing up.
Last edited:
tricksterpup
I has nuttin to Say.
I feed my turtles a mix of goldfish, Exo-Terra Aquatic Turtle Food, pre cooked cocktail shrimp (tails and all), Duckweed, collard Greens and any other salad vegies I have left over from my iguana.