Have you ever watched a turtle swimming? There’s just something so amazing about these amphibians. The way they glide effortlessly through the water. Only someone who owns a turtle knows how much of a pleasure they can be to watch for hours.
If you are one of the lucky few who have a turtle for your pet, or you are planning to get one in the future, chances are that you want to know what to feed your friend who carries his house everywhere he goes. That’s why we have created this list of turtle foods, to help you know what to feed your friend and what foods to avoid.
Since a lot of pet owners have dogs and cats, those of us who own reptiles often feel like we get lost in the shuffle. But that is why we have done our best to find the best turtle food possible, and our pick is Tetra ReptoMin Floating Sticks Turtle Food. These sticks are not just for turtles but work for newts and frogs as well. Full of Vitamin C and calcium, these sticks provide the nutrients necessary for a strong shell and skeletal development.
These sticks are packed with shrimp and fish meal protein and scientifically formulated. Along with the nutrients that these contain, we love that they float, so you get to have some interaction with your amphibian friends. That’s a huge bonus in our book!
Pros
Vitamin C and calcium-fortified
Floats so you can interact with your pet
Rich in protein to give your turtle proper nutrition
Promotes strong skeletal and shell development
Cons
None
2. Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food – Best Value
As turtle owners, we want to get food that is healthy for them to eat, but we also want to get value for our money. Based on our research, Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food is the best turtle food for the money. One thing that we love about this is that it comes in your choice of two sizes. This way, if you aren’t sure if your turtle will like them, you can give them a try.
This natural food is free of artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives and contains 25% protein so that adult turtles with shells of 6 inches or longer have their dietary needs met. They also float, so it’s easy for aquatic turtles to find their food. These pellets are also recommended by vets, professional breeders, and zoos.
Pros
Comes in two sizes
Will meet dietary requirements for adult turtles of 6 inches or longer
Pellets float so they are easy for turtles to find
Does not contain artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives
Recommended by vets, professional breeders, and zoos
Do you want to give your turtle a special treat? Then we recommend Zilla Reptile Munchies River Shrimp Turtle Food. We love this food because it’s a great protein source both for fish and reptiles and because it mimics the type of food that they prefer to eat when not in captivity. These shrimp are delicious and you can add them to their pellets or leafy greens, or you can give them to your pet as a treat. They make great food for salamanders, axolotls, turtles, and even the larger species of tropical fish to naturally enhance their colors. We also love that they come in a resealable pouch.
This food is a great choice, but it’s a bit more expensive, so that is why it’s not in the top two spots.
Pros
All-natural ingredients
Packed with protein
Great for salamanders, larger tropical fish, axolotls, and turtles
Can be used as treats or as part of their everyday diet
Comes in a resealable pouch and doesn’t require refrigeration
if you are looking for high-quality food for your turtle, Fluker’s Buffet Blend Aquatic Turtle Food is the one we recommend. Packed with essential vitamins and nutrients, this food combines mealworms and river shrimp, both of which have been freeze-dried, along with vitamin-enriched pellets. The result is a balanced and complete meal with a delicious and nutritious variety that you can feel good about giving your turtle. This food ensures that your turtle will receive the right balance of minerals, fat, protein, and vitamins.
Pros
Includes a mixture of mealworms and river shrimp, both of which are freeze-dried
Pellets enriched with vitamins ensure that your turtle is vital and healthy
Full of essential vitamins and nutrients
Gives turtles a balanced and complete meal
Gives your pet the right balance of fat, minerals, vitamins, and essential protein
If you are looking for new food to give to your box turtle, we highly recommend Zoo Med Canned Box Turtle Food. This food contains apples and whole corn, two foods that box turtles love. It includes many minerals and vitamins to provide your box turtle with a meal that is nutritionally complete. This appetizing food also will reseal to keep it fresh and to help you when dealing with picky eaters.
This is the ideal food for box turtles and comes in a convenient and handy package. This soft, moist turtle food also includes natural flavoring to encourage your turtle to eat without a lot of binders and preservatives.
Pros
Contains apples and whole corn, which box turtles love
Nutritionally complete with minerals and vitamins
Reseals to ensure freshness
Natural flavoring encourages turtles to eat
Soft and moist diet without a lot of binders and preservatives
When you are looking for food for your turtle, we recommend Zoo Med Gourmet Aquatic Turtle Food. This high-protein food is a nice way to add a treat to the diet of your turtle with pellets, dried shrimp, and savory mealworms. Your turtle will also love that it includes whole cranberries, which they love eating in the wild.
This food has been formulated to meet your growing turtle’s needs with a 2 to 6-inch shell length. It’s packed with minerals and vitamins and does not contain artificial flavors, preservatives or colors.
Pros
Contains no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors
Has added minerals and vitamins to make it a healthy treat
Includes whole cranberries, dried mealworms, pellets, and dried shrimp
Give your turtle a treat he will love with this Omega One Adult Turtle Floating Sticks Food. One thing that our turtles love about these sticks is that they contain a lot of different types of seafood, including whole herring, halibut, and whole salmon. It’s also fortified with essential minerals and vitamins to help your turtle have a long and healthy life.
These floating sticks encourage your turtle to come to the surface to feed so that you can interact with him and have some bonding time. These sticks not only taste good but help maintain the vitality and health of your frog, newt, or turtle. It also includes the right ratio of calcium and phosphorous for strong and healthy shell growth.
Pros
Ideal for maintaining the vitality and health of frogs, newts, and turtles
Made with fresh, whole ingredients such as whole herring, halibut, and whole salmon
Fortified using essential minerals and vitamins
Made with a variety and abundance of seafood
Made with a variety of fresh seafood
Full of calcium and the right amount of phosphorous
if you are looking for healthy food for your turtle, we recommend Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food. This food is nutrient-rich and packed with lots of animal and fish protein. Made to satisfy your turtle’s carnivorous needs, these pellets float on top of the water, so that you can interact and watch your shelled buddy while he eats.
You also don’t need to give him extra mineral and vitamin supplements, since it offers total nutrition. Free of artificial flavors and colors, this is food that you can feel good about feeding your pet and that he is going to love eating.
Pros
Provides complete nutrition, so no need for additional mineral and vitamin supplements
Food floats on top so that turtles can eat the way they’d like
We were looking for food for our box turtle, and we came across Rep-Cal Box Turtle Food. This food provides turtles with great levels of minerals and vitamins, including calcium and Vitamin D3, so there’s no need for supplements. This food can be given to your turtle on its own, but you can add mealworms, fruit, and earthworms occasionally to their food.
It’s been formulated by United States veterinarians and made with natural ingredients from plants and animal protein. however, there are some ingredients that make it the bottom two, such as ground wheat, animal by-products, and corn gluten meal.
Pros
Gives box turtles 100% daily nutrition
Contains lots of minerals and vitamins
No extra supplements needed
Cons
Contains a lot of fillers like corn gluten meal and ground wheat
The Zilla Turtle Chasers Floating Shrimp Turtle Treats was the final thing we tried, and we are putting this on the list only because we want to share our experience with them. It’s true that our turtle enjoyed chasing the treat around before he ate it, and we are happy that it’s made out of real shrimp with a lot of protein in it.
But there are a couple of things that we have to warn you about these treats. First of all, they have an awful smell to them. But since our turtle loves shrimp, we thought we’d give them a try. But they also crumble really easily, and they are very messy. The water becomes really dirty with these treats in it. They are also very expensive for what you get. We definitely won’t be purchasing these again.
Pros
Full of protein
Fun for turtles to chase around
Cons
Smell horrible
Make a mess in the water
Crumble easily
Overpriced
Makes water and tank dirty
Buyer’s Guide: Selecting the Best Turtle Food
Now that we have gone over some of the foods on the market that you can purchase for your turtle, we’re going to look at some of the other things that turtles love to eat and that you can include as part of their diet. Some of these have already been mentioned, but now you have a complete guide.
Proteins
Canned tuna
Dried shrimp
Mealworms
Small crickets
Tiny feeder fish
Leafy Greens
Cabbage
Dandelion Greens
Kale
Mustard Greens
Fruit
When you are feeding your turtle fruit, cut it into little pieces
Apples – soften by steaming
Berries – blueberries, strawberries, etc.
Melons
Pears
Vegetables
Green beans
Carrots (boil or steam)
Pumpkin
Sweet potato (cooked)
Squash
Water Plants
You can purchase these at a nursery. Along with providing your turtle food, they also can pull waste from the water, which can help with keeping down the growth of algae.
Wow! That was a lot of information we just threw at you, wasn’t it? Well, we hope that you found this article useful and that you have a better idea of what to feed your turtle and what he will enjoy the most. As pet owners, we know it’s hard to wade through the many different options for our pets, and that is why we do our best to help you narrow down your options.
Nicole is the proud mom of 3 rescue fur babies, Baby, a Burmese cat; Rosa, a New Zealand Huntaway; and Mac, a Lab/Mastiff. A Canadian expat, Nicole now lives on a lush forest property with her Kiwi husband and new baby daughter in New Zealand. She has a strong love for all animals of all shapes and sizes (and particularly loves a good interspecies friendship) and wants to share her animal knowledge and other experts' knowledge with pet lovers across the globe....Read more
