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Plus, growing turtles need the vitamins and nutrients that can be found in feeder fish livers. As turtles age their diets change and they begin to eat plants and other vegetation. Most pet turtles are omnivorous, meaning they enjoy both plants and meat, so treating your pet turtle to a small fish snack every now and then is a good idea.

Pet turtles, depending on their size and age, enjoy small fish like minnows and gold fish. Knowing the age of your pet turtle will help you decide whether or not to feed it fish, as well as how often. You should also look for fishmeal to be one of the top three ingredients listed on the label, and for added vitamins and minerals to be called out in the ingredient list, says Dr. Sill unsure what to choose? Consult a veterinarian.

But maintaining a clean habitat with healthy water is very important, says Dr. That varies with the size of your turtle, but generally a portion of pelleted food may last 4 to 6 weeks, depending on supplemental feeding and pet size, says Dr.

If your turtle is still juvenile, feed it every day, advises Dr. Once it reaches adulthood around 7 years old , you can feed it every other day—or about 4 to 5 times a week. Stick with around 1 cup of food per day, then increase or decrease that amount depending on how your turtle responds.

Besides fruits and vegetables, you could offer sparing amounts of meat to your turtle, says Dr. Feeding Your Turtle a Healthy Diet Pet turtles can eat a wide range of foods, from small insects, to fruits and vegetables, to flowers. What Do Baby Turtles Eat? What Do Box Turtles Eat? What Do Oscar Fish Eat? By Mychelle Blake. What Do Goldfish Eat? What Foods Do Wild vs. Pet Rabbits Eat? By Amber L.

Red Eared Slider Turtle Care. Bearded Dragon Diet. By Donna Sundblad. What Do Mice Eat? By Kate Miller-Wilson. What a turtle eats depends on its species — specifically, what kind of jaw it has for masticating chewing food, where it lives and what food sources are available to it. Sea turtles , depending on the species, may eat seagrasses, algae, sponges, sea squirts, squid, shrimp, crabs, jellyfish, cuttlefish or sea cucumbers. For instance, leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea , which can reach a whopping 1, pounds kilograms use their scissorlike jaws to munch on a jellyfish-only diet, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

Green sea turles Chelonia myadis , on the other hand, are herbivores that feed on algae and seagrasses. Symbolic Baby Turtle Adoptions. Shop Our Online Store. Pledge to Avoid Turtleshell. Turtle Watching Tips. Kids Saving Turtles. Sea Turtle Trips. Costa Rica Leatherback Turtles. Belize Ocean Wildlife Research. Costa Rica Green Turtle Research. Whales of Guerrero. Baja Ocean Wildlife Expedition. Donate To Save Baby Turtles.

Learn about the favorite foods of sea turtles including jellyfish, sea grass, and more. What Do Sea Turtles Eat? Did You Know? Email Address. Sign Up. We will never share, trade, or sell your information.