
- Nature food. Once you pick out Painted Turtle as a pet, you won’t have any problem feeding it since it is not a food picker.
- Food unusual in nature. Brine shrimps – Even though Painted turtles prefer live shrimp, the bacteria- and parasites-free brine shrimps can be an excellent protein source for your pet.
- Commercial food. Most experts consider freeze-dried food safer for Painted turtles than live ones. Unfortunately, these animals often avoid consuming already dead worms, shrimps, and fish.
- Treats
- Supplements. Remember that Painted turtles in captivity often need supplements periodically to get enough calcium and necessary vitamins.
How much should I Feed my painted turtle a day?
- What Do Baby Painted Turtles Eat? 1. Commercial Turtle Food Foods 2. Small Fish 3. Worms 4. Insects 5. Tadpoles
- Quick Tips for Caring for a Baby Painted Turtle
- What Do Painted Turtles Eat?
- Frequently Asked Questions Can Painted Turtles Eat Fruit? What Do Painted Turtles Eat in the Wild? How Often Should You Feed Your Painted Turtle? ...
- Final Thoughts
What kind of fish can live with painted turtles?
What Kind of Fish Can Live With Painted Turtles?
- Quick and Agile Fish. While painted turtles are skilled swimmers, they rarely catch extremely quick and agile prey. ...
- Large Fish. Painted turtles typically prey on relatively small fish, although they may readily feed upon injured or dead fish of any size.
- Armored Fish. ...
- Tips and Tricks. ...
How often does a painted turtle need to be fed?
How often do you feed a painted turtle is important for its health. Like most reptiles, the painted turtle does not eat every day. In captivity painted turtle diet should not be fed every day. Vets recommend feeding the adult painted turtle once every 2 to 3 days. However common vegetables for painted turtles in small quantities can be offered ...
What do painted turtles need to survive as pets?
- Vitamin A deficiency. ...
- Respiratory illness. ...
- Often appearing on the turtle’s heads in their ears, abscesses are hard, pus-filled swellings and often closely related to vitamin A deficiency.
- Shell infections. ...

What does a Western painted turtle eat?
Painted turtles feed mainly on plants, small animals, such as fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and some carrion. Young painted turtles are mainly carnivorous, acquiring a taste for plants later in life.
What should you not feed a painted turtle?
What don't painted turtles eat?Veggies that don't include calories, like celery and iceberg lettuce.Pet food such as dog and cat kibble, because it's too salty.Dessert, including chocolate and sugary snacks.Dairy, since turtles can't break it down in their digestive system.
What human food can painted turtles eat?
Shredded carrots, squash, and zucchini are great foods that turtles can eat, too. You can also go with edible aquatic vegetation such as water lettuce, water hyacinth, and duckweed. “For fruits, consider shredded apples and melons, as well as chopped berries,” recommends Dr. Starkey.
What can I feed wild painted turtles?
What Do Painted Turtles Like to Eat MostVegetables, including spinach, kale, celery, red-leaf lettuce, beets, carrots, and tomatoes.Grass.Par-boil leafy vegetables.Fruit, like banana, cut melon, shredded apple, and berries.Water plants, such as duckweed, anacharis, water lettuce, water lilies, and water hyacinth.More items...
How often should I feed western painted turtle?
once every two to three daysPainted Turtle Diet Painted turtles are good eaters and enjoy feeding on a variety of foods. Adult turtles should only be fed once every two to three days or so; daily feeding will cause them to become overweight. Painted turtles are omnivores, meaning they enjoy eating meat as well as plant matter.
Can painted turtles eat bananas?
Yes, bananas are a safe food for box turtles and other turtles as well, but they should only be fed in moderation.
Can I feed my turtle lettuce?
Is Lettuce Safe for Turtles? There isn't any type of lettuce that should be poisonous to a turtle. They can eat all kinds, and many varieties — like romaine and radicchio — are both nutritious and delicious for them. Iceberg, on the other hand, is basically just crunchy water.
How long can a painted turtle go without eating?
A so-called “sub-adult” turtle (six months to one year old) can't go more than a day without eating. An adult turtle should eat, on average, every 2-3 days.
Can painted turtles eat grapes?
Turtles are low-maintenance pets who'll eat pretty much anything you give them. So, if you're wondering whether you can feed turtles grapes, the answer is yes. Grapes are both good and bad for turtles since they have valuable minerals and vitamins that are important for their growth.
Do painted turtles eat lettuce?
Painted Turtle Food Painted turtles are omnivorous, and will accept both animal and plant matter with equal enthusiasm. Along with fish, worms and insects, offer them green, leafy vegetables and aquatic plants such as water lettuce, water hyacinth and duckweed.
Can I keep a wild painted turtle?
0:071:36How to Care for a Wild Turtle | Pet Turtles - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd it's actually legal for you to take that turtle home and attempt to make it a to turn it into aMoreAnd it's actually legal for you to take that turtle home and attempt to make it a to turn it into a pet they also don't make particularly good pets they're not used to captivity.
What to do if you find a painted turtle?
The best thing to do if you find a turtle in your yard is to leave it on its own. Most turtles won't stay there longer than a day and will move out of your yard on their own. Even if they stay to lay some eggs, it is not going to harm or hinder you in any way.
What can turtles eat and not eat?
Turtles need lots of foods with vitamin A, so choose plants like carrots, squash, bell peppers, and other red, orange, and yellow vegetables. Avoid vegetables with low nutritional value like lettuce and celery. To treat Vitamin A deficiency, a veterinarian may recommend Vitamin A treatments injected or taken by mouth.
Can painted turtles eat watermelon?
Absolutely! While there's debate about whether you should give them watermelon at all since it's not a part of a wild turtle's diet, there's little doubt that they can eat it. In fact, most experts recommend adding fruits like watermelon to your turtle's diet. But you still should only give them fruits in moderation.
What do you feed a small painted turtle?
The diet of baby painted turtles consists of small fish, worms, insects and tadpoles. They also eat carrion, or dead fish and insects. As painted turtles mature, they add plants to their diet. In captivity, baby painted turtles will eat commercial turtle food supplemented with small pieces of meat and insects.
Can painted turtles eat grapes?
Turtles are low-maintenance pets who'll eat pretty much anything you give them. So, if you're wondering whether you can feed turtles grapes, the answer is yes. Grapes are both good and bad for turtles since they have valuable minerals and vitamins that are important for their growth.
What Are Painted Turtles?
Painted Turtles are one of the many types of aquatic turtles. They are known for their black, oval-shaped shells with yellow or red marks along their legs, tail, neck, and head.
What Do Baby Painted Turtles Eat In The Wild?
A Painted Turtle isn’t considered an adult until they are at least five years old. So, they are carnivores for the first five years of their life, eating only live food.
What Do Painted Turtles Eat As Pets?
What can Painted Turtles eat under your care? What do Painted Turtles like to eat?
Frequently Asked Questions
How often Painted Turtles eat will depend on their age. For instance, a baby Painted Turtle under five years old will need to eat every day.
Conclusion
So, what do wild Painted Turtles eat? Overall, Painted Turtles will eat most things they find in the wild. When they’re under five years old, they’ll eat more live food for the animal protein. They know what they need to grow big and strong.
By Jason Williamson
Jason is a huge animal lover with many pets of his own. He loves sharing all his knowledge of all creatures here and learning more whenever he can.
Can turtles eat duckweed?
You may not think of duckweed as being an adequate food source for turtles, or even a food source at all for that matter, but that is actually not true. Painted turtles love eating this stuff a whole lot and it contains many different vitamins and nutrients which turtles need.
Can you feed a painted turtle?
As you can see, feeding a painted turtle is really not all that difficult at all. There are many different foods that they enjoy and many prime choices for purchase. As long as you give them a varied diet of protein, veggies, and water plants, they will be perfectly happy.
Can you freeze brine shrimp for painted turtles?
If you want to provide your painted turtle with a big protein boost and a tasty snack, you might want to go for these freeze-dried brine shrimp. Yes, your turtle would probably like live shrimp better, but these are freeze-dried, which means that they are totally free of harmful bacteria and parasites.
