Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) are one of the most widespread turtle species in North America and a popular reptilian pet. Although this active turtle can be fun to have in the home responsible ownership is important. One of the most important responsibilities as a pet owner is, of course, feeding. Understanding the right diet for painted turtles is important to keeping this pet healthy and happy.
The Right Diet: Food for Painted Turtles
The best way to feed a painted turtle is to replicate what he would eat in the wild. According to herpetologist Patricia Pope Bartlett in the book Turtles and Tortoises: A Complete Pet Owner’s Manual the painted turtle is an omnivore that increasingly relies on plant foods towards adulthood. In the wild, baby painted turtles eat snails, small leeches, dying fish, and some aquatic plants. As adults these turtles seek out plants first and meat second. As a pet owner it is important to consider the age of the turtle when designing its diet.
What to Feed a Painted Turtle at Home
A pet owner may not have aquatic plants and leeches on hand, yet a healthy diet can still be constructed for the painted turtle. The conservation group Grizzly Run says on its “Painted Turtle” page that formulated turtle food from a pet store is fine but should compose no more than 25% of the pet’s diet. Young turtles can be fed mostly bloodworms, daphnia, and krill with a few plants mixed in. Roughly 60% of an adult’s diet should be composed of plants such as collard, mustard, and dandelion greens, as well as carrots, squash and green beans. Other food items to occasionally rotate into the turtle’s diet can include rehydrated dog or cat food, crickets, snails, and earthworms.
Getting Enough Calcium
Emphasizing calcium in a turtle’s diet is incredibly important as this mineral helps maintain the turtle’s shell and strong bones. Patricia Pope Bartlett suggests feeding turtles foods that are high in calcium and low in phosphorus. Such foods include avocados, blueberries, cabbage, cauliflower, and okra. Spinach is absolutely to be avoided due to its high oxalic acid content. Oxalic acid combines with calcium in the body and forms insoluble salts in the kidneys. A.C. Highfield in the Tortoise Trust article “Feeding Red Eared Sliders, Painted Turtles, and Similar Aquatic Species”, further notes that a diet high in meat is low in calcium. Highfield suggests feeding painted turtles calcium supplements such as Rep-Cal or Miner-All.
Feed Painted Turtles the Right Amount
The turtle community has a pretty good grasp on what to feed painted turtles but their grasp on how much is a little shakier. The general consensus seems to be that a daily feeding for juveniles is appropriate with adults eating every other day. Highfield suggests making greens freely available and says that certain foods such as dehydrated dog food should be fed only once a week. Richard Lunsford of Austin’s Turtle Page notes that there are several theories on how much to feed at a single meal. Some turtle owners feed their turtles as much as they can eat in 5 minutes, others feed as much as the turtle can eat in one sitting, still others feed a food quantity the size of the turtle’s head. Of course, how much a turtle should eat depends on the age, size, and activity of the turtle.
Diet for Painted Turtles About to Hibernate
In the wild painted turtles hibernate in the winter resting in the mud at the bottom of their ponds. Allowing pet painted turtles to hibernate as well may be important to their health. Patricia Pope Bartlett suggests that owners stop feeding their pet turtles at least two weeks before sending them into hibernation. The Colorado Reptile Humane Society also suggests withholding food for several weeks and goes into greater detail on how to care for a hibernating turtle.
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