What's the best food to give my softshell turtle for a healthy life?

Shrimp should not be the sole source of nutrition. This may lead to deficiencies. Sliders are omnivorous and should be fed a combination of greens and proteins. Offer live prey such as crickets, minnows, nightcrawlers and superworms. Dark, leafy greens can be chopped finely and offered. A commercial pellet or stick formula should also be fed. To stimulate the appetite, you can soak pellets in some water used to rehydrate dried shrimp or krill. Fasting the turtles for a day or two will also get them hungry enough to eat pellets or prey. Be sure to provide adequate space, heat and lighting. Allow 10 gallons per inch of she'll as a guideline for tank size. Three sliders, when fully grown will need a large tank. UVB lighting will aid in calcium metabolism and heat is necessary for proper digestion and health in reptiles. Water temperature should range between 75F and 85F. A basking area should be 90F to 95F. Care should be taken when housing wild caught turtles with captive bred turtles. Parasites and disease present in wild sliders may infect a captive bred one. You should also check local wildlife laws regarding the keeping of wild turtles. You can read more about care of sliders here: www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

Thanks for reaching out about Zero. The specific species will determine much, but has not been provided. Most aquatic turtles are predominantly carnivorous and will eat a wide variety of insects but should also have nutritional exposure to small fish (for calcium). The will occasionally graze off aquatic lettuces so offering a chopped variety of vegetables could be beneficial. Some aquatic turtles can be sexed by long front fingernails but this is usually later in life. Size is dependent on multiple factors such as nutrition, genetics and other things. Good luck.

The pellets shown should not be fed to turtles for any length of time. Doing so may lead to nutritional deficiencies. If you feed a pelleted diet, choose one specifically for turtles. You can also offer feeder fish, nightcrawlers and freeze dried prey made for turtles. Turtles are omnivorous, so you should be offering chopped fresh greens and vegetables in addition to animal protein and a pelleted diet.

Why change a working system? You are obviously doing very well in the way you keep your turtle. Since apparently your turtle is doing well, it is getting everything it needs with the Reptomin. You could try offering it leafy greens, freeze-dried shrimp or krill, crickets, superworms, rosy red minnows and even pinky mice as an occasional treat.

Offer a varied diet including pelleted food, fresh greens and prey such as tiny crickets or earthworms. You can get prey from the pet store, do not feed wild caught insects. It may take a day or two for him to acclimate to his new environment. Keep offering fresh food daily. Be sure environmental parameters are appropriate for the species of turtle you have. This includes adequate heat, UVB lighting and water quality. If you know the species, post it in a new question or request a consultation for more detailed care information.

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Juvenile RES should receive commercial aquatic turtle pellets, supplemented occasionally with live fish (guppies, goldfish), & earthworms. Make sure she gets at least 15 minutes of natural sunlight weekly. Adults need 30% of diet to be the pellets & some protein like mentioned above. The krill can be offered on occasion. 70% of the diet needs to be plants in the form of chopped leafy greens, kale, romaine, mustard greens, dandelion greens, watercress, parsley, shredded carrot, frozen (thawed) mixed veggies & squash, & occasional fruit. Take care.

You can feed a variety of different veggies and it's best to feed dark leafy greens. Protein sources should be limited. The food can be placed in the enclosure and he will find it himself. If he's not eating, then he may be used to a different diet prior to you having him. In this case it would be best to contact the previous owner and find out what they were feeding him. Below is a link to an article that explains how to properly feed your turtle and has other helpful information for proper care. http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html I hope that helps and all is well with Puddle.