Red Eared Slider Feeding Guide (What to feed and how much/often)

[@rohilshekasoncrazzy]

This was helpful.❤

[@turtleholic]

Glad I could help!

[@demianasergyous1248]

Great informations , thank you so much, just wanted to share something that high calcium can cause stones in the bladder and that’s what happened to my guinea pig, and I believe it can happen to any animals

[@TreyTruth619]

I miss my little guy Leo

[@leyla2607]

Thank you this video helped alot! I was wondering if you could make a video on what to buy for a turtle and products you recommended.😁Please and thank you

[@turtleholic]

That’s a great idea! I’ll post that video soon

[@sharon-cf4qe]

My turtle is 24 years old

[@turtleanton6539]

So cool😅

[@shubhankarmukherjee]

My turtle doesn't eat in my presence it eats when no one is there.

[@turtleholic]

Yeah that’s usually pretty normal. How long have you had your turtle?

[@shubhankarmukherjee]

@@turtleholic I am just late for the reply but now they are eating pretty well.

[@turtleholic]

@@shubhankarmukherjee that's great to hear!

[@hello-hn2cy]

same here, ive had my turtle for 4 months

[@Loremips9966]

Hi! I've had a red eared slider for 16 years and my parents have been feeding her and recently i took charge of everything care related. They were feeding her 90% frozen fish, plus some vegetables only when they ate some. She was healrthy. I changed her to pellets for 2 months and she developed vitamin a deficiency. Pretty bad symptoms. Vets around here don t know much about reptiles, and I m not sure their recommandations will suffice. Do you have any tips? I know the pellets were very cheap compared to the competition. Could you tell me how much vitamin A per 100g is in your pellets?

[@turtleholic]

Hey, I'm sorry to hear that! It is common for turtle's to develop vitamin deficiencies when their diet is changed. I feed my turtle a couple different types of pellets to help ensure she is getting all of her dietary needs. I mainly feed her ZooMed (amzn.to/4dEBGho) and Mazuri (amzn.to/3UAJBDz). In their ingredient lists, they have vitamin A, but unfortunately it doesn't say how much. I'd suggest trying 2-3 types of pellets, and then feed her vegetables that are high in vitamin a such as kale, carrots, tomatoes, etc. You can also try giving your turtle a carrot soak. I did a video on it here -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5bXeIiQiLBnh7s . I hope this helps!!

[@TREAL406]

Good morning. What are Vitamin A Foods that I can Give A Turtle?

[@turtleholic]

Hey. I recommend kale, collard greens and carrots.

[@chris55kamakazy]

My turtle is about your turtles size, and I had 2 sucker fish large, and my Turtle ate both of them and all of my fish I had in the tank and the snails I had too. She wont eat any greens at all, i tried everything. she only ets the pellets and the shrimp. I tried all kinds of veggies and she wont eat them. how do I get her to eat the veggies?

[@turtleholic]

My turtle was like that when she was younger. You should watch this video I made about how to get your turtle to eat vegetables -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWrFpaVvrt6Kf8k

[@calgent8260]

Hello, I had a Red Eared Slider crawl into my garage one week ago. I have no idea where he came from as there is no water near me for three city blocks a drainage pond. Posted notes all around for my neighbors no one claiming him. He is a full grown adult like 10 inches long 6 inches wide. Looks good and healthy. Moves around very well. What should I do with this guy...he is staying in my backyard loves sleeping under a leaf pile. I have no water tank to put him in. I don't think he can eat without food floating in water right? I did not even know he was a Slider till one day he stuck his head all the way out extended and I saw the red ears. I thought he was a tortoise. How should I feed this guy? He has to be hungry as heck! What should I feed him? I was hanging on to him thinking a neighbor was going to claim him...but nothing from my posted signs. Should I see if there is a reptile rescue or does he deserve a pond or river I can take him to? I am in California I know they are not indigenous to this area. I am afraid rescue might not treat a full grown adult well. Appreciate your advice! Thx Mitch in California

[@turtleholic]

Wow super interesting. Sounds like most likely this was someone’s pet and they decided to release it. I think first order of business is to get some turtle pellets from amazon or local pet store. They should be less than $10. They will need to eat it in the water, so ideally you can fill up a large bucket/container with water and feed the turtle in there. Next, I think it’s best to contact a reptile rescue to see if they can take him in. If you aren’t lucky there, you should try listing him for free on Craigslist or something similar. Letting him out back into the wild is tricky since they’re not native in California and could be invasive to the ecosystem. But I guess if there are truly no other options and you can’t get your own tank, you can let him go near a local pond. Best of luck!

[@leanneclayton08]

Hello. I have a yellow bellied slider around 20 years old. He is making a sneaking noise. Any advice on how to treat him? I live in England.

[@turtleholic]

You may want to watch my video on respiratory illnesses in turtles -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGaVn4Guh56ngZY If your turtle is squeaking and struggling to breath, it means they are sick and you should take them to the vet if possible.

[@leanneclayton08]

Thank you ​@@turtleholic

[@gomosh6967]

Nice video. Thank you for sharing. I just bought a baby red slider ear terrapin. What kind of vegetables or fruit I can feed for this little baby? Thank you. From: Singapore.

[@turtleholic]

Welcome to the club! I actually made videos on both of these topics. Vegetables -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWrFpaVvrt6Kf8k Fruit -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZmlk4KlZrShgs0

[@shreeyasamaddar6254]

Sir can you please help me ?!!! My red eared slider turtle eat dried shrimps but last few week he refuse to eat dry foord . But whenever i give him dried fish he eat it happly. I dont understand why he is not eating his dry food ! What should I do? Can you please help me ?

[@turtleholic]

Unfortunately turtles can be very picky eaters. You should try going a day or two without feeding him, and then try the dry food again when he is really hungry.

[@guuaap-cj2xg]

I have a small wild turtle. It only likes to eat chicken and beetles, ive let it go for a day or 2 without food trying to feed it veggies and it would rather starve than to try it

[@turtleholic]

It can be really hard to switch a turtle over to vegetables. I’ll probably upload a video about it soon. Before you get vegetables, you should consider trying to feed it pellets first (if you haven’t already). Another tip is to soak the vegetables into tuna water before giving it to them, as this can attract them to eat it.

[@Loremips9966]

⁠@@turtleholic awesome idea with the tuna water

[@turtleholic]

@@Loremips9966 thank you!

[@speedcat390]

Can i feed it fish food?

[@turtleholic]

You can temporarily, but more than a couple weeks will probably result in a vitamin deficiency.

[@CKviper_138]

My turtle is really small and it looks like a red eared spider but I don’t know but ours is just a baby and the pellets were almost the size of his head

[@potatosama-nn5zw]

If your turtle has big red piece on its left and right head, then yes it's a red eared. If it's still a baby, you should buy smaller pellets so that it could bite eat it. You can also break the big pellets into smaller pieces if it's convenient for you!!

[@CKviper_138]

Ya we bought him smaller pellets but just don’t see red spots on the sides of his head

[@anthonydovenbarger]

i found my turtle in a lake where we went fishing i haven’t seen him eat yet he’s maybe a bit bigger than an inch and living in about 10 gallons of water in a 20 gallon tank, any tips on getting him to eat?

[@turtleholic]

Do you have a heater? You want to make sure the water temperature is between 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit since their metabolism is dependent on temperature. If it’s not eating pellets, you should try freeze dried shrimp.

[@Xomichele]

This is my first time of having a baby turtle! I’m having trouble keeping my water warm even though im using a 50w on a 10gal. What’s also a good water filter since I’m using bath water(I know it’s bad but I heard you can use it as long as you’re dechlorinate it yourself) but I don’t want to keep changing my water each time. Any advice? :/

[@turtleholic]

Hmm that’s strange. Is there any heat coming out of the heater or is it not working at all? And I recommend this filter, it’s pretty cheap amzn.to/49yGEcN and gets the job done.

[@kevindossantos-km4gg]

My turtle doesn’t wanna eat pellets so I tried veggies nothing baby minnows nothing and now it has this little fuzz on its neck just bought the turtle two days ago and it doesn’t wanna go in the heat it stays submerged and only comes up when for air

[@turtleholic]

Hey, it’s super normal for a turtle to be scared to eat and bask in a new environment. Continue to feed her pellets (make sure the pellets are small and easy for her to eat). She should start eating and basking within a couple days.

[@turtleholic]

Also, that white fuzz is most likely just shedding skin.

[@vada311]

What about if they are 12 years old with how often you feed them?

[@turtleholic]

You should feed them every 2-3 days.

[@hamizanhamaffi89]

Thanks for this! I got a baby turtle for 4 weeks now and it has been eating pallet, weekend i gave it some carrots, today i gave it some lettuce and I won’t eat it… any advice?

[@turtleholic]

I meant to mention that in the video, but sometimes turtles will be hesitant to eat vegetables, especially if they're used to pellets. I would just recommend trying different types of vegetables to see what they like. Also, you can try giving them lettuce after they haven't eaten for a day and they are really hungry, and there's a better chance that they'll eat it.

[@hamizanhamaffi89]

@@turtleholic thanks! Appreciate the advice! You’re video are do wonders on helping me with raising a pet turtle ❤️

[@turtleholic]

@@hamizanhamaffi89 Thank you! That means a lot.

[@remhk6672]

​@turtleholic try aquatic plants like Java fern and duckweed. My baby RES is a pig and eats everything. With duckweed, u have to be careful with the amount ur giving ur turtle. It contains quite a bit of protein and could lead to shell issues if given too much.

[@zoomlee7146]

Would it be the same thing to feed them a live insect instead of the same insect thats just dried out? (Sorry im asking cause im rescuing a baby Res)

[@turtleholic]

That’s a good question. Nutritionally it’s pretty much the same. The advantage of live insects is that they can help stimulate your turtle and is a good option if your turtle isn’t eating other food. However, live insects can definitely get pretty expensive over time, whereas you can buy freeze dried insects for pretty cheap on amazon. I usually just do live insects every month or so to make my turtle happy. Here’s a video of me feeding my turtle live crickets -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/qH3dXpx8f5yAe6ssi=7KSXC4FbDPQLYzWd

[@user-sv3hg5gu3u]

I loved this video

[@turtleholic]

@@user-sv3hg5gu3u thank you!

[@cruzcasusol6056]

My red slider loves chicken breast

[@turtleholic]

Nice. I’ve never tried that with my turtle, but maybe I should

[@gkaushalreddy5325]

how many times to feed

[@turtleholic]

it depends on the age of your turtle. If they are under 2 years old, you should feed them every day. If they are 2-6 years old, you should feed them every other day. Turtles over the age of 6 can be fed every 3 days.

[@gkaushalreddy5325]

@@turtleholic how many times to feed it in a day

[@turtleholic]

@@gkaushalreddy5325 younger turtles can be fed twice a day, but turtles over the age of 2 only once per day

[@gkaushalreddy5325]

@@turtleholic thank you

[@Erieberry]

See I tried veggies only but I think bc of her being wild from a baby she likes her protein and walks in the grass .. I rescued my turtle (Petunia) from the middle of the street like a year ago she was as small as an egg..I gave her pellets and she didn’t eat them I still have the pellets and the dried worms and crickets .. she likes her food wiggling 🙄😩.. worms, crickets, beetles, feeder fish.. I put two algae eaters in there to help me with cleaning BOTH were gone by that morning .. she just doesnt want to go full vegan and idk why. The vet says she’s just intense but I think she is just a liiiiiiitle bit crazy 🫠😂😂🤦🏽‍♀️ and expensive!

[@turtleholic]

Oh wow, she sounds like quite the picky eater haha. Have you tried taking her out of the tank and feeding her in a smaller container with water in it? That can sometime work. I'd start by trying it with the dried worms and crickets. Hopefully she will take a liking to those, and then maybe you can start mixing in pellets. Vegetables can be tricky even with turtles that have been in captivity their whole life. The best I have is to just try a bunch of different types of vegetables to see if any peak her interest. Good Luck!!

[@gkaushalreddy5325]

my baby RES eat pothos plant(money plant) is it harmful

[@turtleholic]

It’s fine if your turtle eats small amounts. However, if your turtle eats it everyday you should remove it from the tank because it can make your turtle sick

[@gkaushalreddy5325]

@@turtleholic till i come from school I saw my turtle ate corner of the whole big leaf and it beak turned slightly blackish

[@Mustyplatypus06]

My turtle is not a ram of romaine lettuce. He won’t touch it

[@turtleholic]

Yeah I've had a lot of trouble with getting mine to eat veggies. I think your best bet is to try a bunch of different veggies and see what she decides to touch.