Baby turtles are amazing gentle creatures that make wonderful pets that are fun to care for and mesmerizing to observe. However, as juveniles, they require completely different care from adult turtles. The main difference is that baby turtles require higher amounts of animal protein content. This is to help boost growth, healthy shells, and bones.

As a turtle owner, you want to ensure your baby turtle is eating the right foods and try to mimic their diet in the wild. A lack of the proper diet can make them prone to diseases and poor health. You have to feed the baby turtle more protein as well as veggies, fruits, and baby turtle food from the pet store.

What do baby turtles eat and drink? What do baby turtles eat from human food? What fruits can baby turtles eat? How can I feed a baby turtle that won’t eat? What do baby land turtles eat? What do baby turtles eat in the ocean? We have answered these and other questions relating to baby turtle food at home.

What Do Baby Turtles Eat in The Wild?

Baby wild turtles eat a variety of things in nature, but it’s mostly meat because protein is required for growth. Protein for them is mainly sourced from small insects, including snails, worms, fish, and insects. They also eat plant-based foods such as seagrass, aquatic plant, and occasional fruits. In other words, baby turtles in the wild are carnivorous but may also feed an omnivorous diet from a wide range of plants and animals.

Owners these days ensure baby turtles stay on vegetation and bring them crickets and worms. This way, they can practice their hunting instincts and get enough food from their habitat. You can also provide safe fruits and veggies for your turtles, including carrots, romaine lettuce, squash, melons, collard greens, apples, berries, and bananas. Additionally, ensure you cut these foods into tiny pieces for easy swallowing and digestion. Remember, baby turtles don’t need a lot of plant matter, so you should provide them in moderation. 

What Do Baby Turtles Eat In The Ocean?

Sea turtles hatchlings eat a variety of prey, including creatures like crustaceans, mollusks, jellyfish, hydrozoans, sargassum seaweed, and fish eggs. Unfortunately, sea turtles also mistake garbage for food, including objects such as plastic and tar balls.

A sea turtle diet varies with species – some are carnivores, omnivores or vegetarians.

Carnivore turtles

• Kemp’s Ridley – these mostly feed on jellyfish, crabs, shrimp and small fish.
• Adult loggerhead – eats horseshoe crabs, sponges, snails
• Leatherback – they eat soft-bodied invertebrates and jellyfish

Omnivore Sea Turtles

• Hawksbill – these feed on algae, marine sponges, mollusks and sea worms
• Flatback – these prefer cucumbers, crabs, jellyfish, mollusks and sea worms
• Hatchling Green Turtle – feeds mostly on crustaceans, marine plants, sponges and worms
• Hatchling loggerhead – feeds on seagrass, seaweed, sponges and crabs
• Hawksbill – feeds on algae, sea worms and mollusks.

Vegetarian sea turtles

• Green turtle – seagrass and seaweed.

What Do Pet Baby Turtles Eat

For most baby turtles in captivity, the main food is pellets or gel capsule supplements found in any pet store for turtle supplies. There are two things to check, however: whether each label has the best nutrients you are looking to feed the baby turtle and whether the formula has been approved for use by your particular turtle. For instance, what is suitable for a baby box turtle is not ideal for a water turtle because a baby box is omnivorous; in contrast, a water baby turtle is primarily carnivorous.

A few healthy additions to a baby turtles diet include:

Mealworms

Mealworms are rich in proteins and essential minerals, making them a great addition to your pet hatchling’s diet. A 100g serving of mealworms contains at least 25 g of proteins and 206 calories with healthy amounts of zinc, copper, sodium, selenium, and iron. Mealworms are also rich in essential vitamins, which are critical for baby turtles’ sustained growth; however, avoid overfeeding them on mealworms due to the high protein content. 

Fish

semi-aquatic turtles live on a wide variety of fish out in the wild, making it a must-have supplement for baby turtle owners. You can visit your local fish market and get rosy red minnows, guppies, and other small feeder fish varieties except for goldfish for your turtle. These are rich in proteins, vitamin B12, potassium, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, and magnesium, all of which are important for the development of a healthy immune system.

Fruits and Vegetables

Vegetables are rich in essential nutrients and fiber content which go a long way into supporting the young turtle’s gut bio. You can supplement your turtle’s daily meal with peas, beets, corn, carrots, pumpkin, and peas. Remember to rinse the vegetables thoroughly before feeding them to your pet. You can even go the extra step of cooking or boiling the vegetables to eliminate any harmful bacteria and fungi that might be on them.

Out in the wild, baby turtles feast on fruits rich in vitamins and various antioxidants that support the growth of a healthy immune system. Fruits are also rich in essential minerals and fiber that promote the establishment of healthy gut bacteria and prolong a turtle’s life even under captivity. You can supplement a baby turtle’s meals with raspberries, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, and mangoes.

How to Feed Baby Turtles

In their natural habitat, turtles feed on what they find while roaming. They may find food while walking around shaded land or in deep swimming holes. They can eat a wide variety of foods ranging from small fish to insects, aquatic plants, and fruits.

The ratio of the diet may differ, though – land baby turtles eat more veggies compared to the aquatic baby turtles. For example, land turtles love eating more veggies while those in water will feed on fish, snails, and other creatures. As a result, you should understand the diet of your particular turtle species and determine whether they are carnivorous, omnivorous, or herbivorous. If the turtle is omnivorous, then you need to feed it with a combination of veggies, live insects, and commercial foods.

Keep in mind that turtles may change their diet as they mature. For example, red-eared sliders begin life as carnivores before becoming herbivores. Aquatic baby turtles should feed in separate smaller tanks because they are sloppy eaters and may defecate in the middle of the meal. Feeding them in their aquarium will contaminate them. Generally, baby turtles will eat a pelleted supplement that you can easily find from your local or online store.

However, remember the amount and type of food they eat will primarily depend on their age, species, and nutritional requirements. For example, younger turtles need more proteins than their adult counterparts to aid in the growth and development of their bones. You must check the foods available in the local pet store to ensure they are getting the best diet possible. 

Additionally, feed a baby turtle twice a day and be sure not to overfeed them. Feeding them too much will not just make them grow faster; they can also outgrow their shell, which is an unpleasant sight. Also, select a food formula approved for a newborn turtle to see the best outcome.

It’s also advisable to include mineral and vitamin supplements in their diet. This includes vitamin D and C, as these enhance the growth of the shell. In addition, ensure the turtles gets some sunshine to help in the absorption of vitamin D, required for the formation of stronger and healthy bones.

How Long Can Baby Turtles Go Without Eating?

 Usually, a baby turtle can only live for a week without eating, after which, their body becomes severely weak and can die. The fact that baby turtles won’t have formed hibernating abilities in their earlier months means they need more energy. This is not the case for water requirements, as turtles require a consistent supply of water. Baby turtles cannot go without water for a couple of days.

How Do You Know If Your Turtle Is Hungry?

The first sign your turtle is hungry is when a turtle reaches for the bowl or plate where they usually feed. Baby turtles will get hungry faster than adults because their digestion is faster. Baby turtles check their plate often and can start to beg. However, due to their insatiable appetite, you should be cautious not to overfeed them.

Other signs your turtle wants to eat is when it is hitting over his tank or cage wall. Turtles do this when hungry and think if they get beyond the wall, they can get food. You need to provide food timely and avail it to them to keep them full of energy.

Some owners hide food in corners where the turtle rarely goes so that they can scavenge for food in those areas as they nibble on whatever they can find to eat.

Additional Tips for Feeding Your Baby Turtle

• Baby turtles can stay for weeks after hatching before eating anything. You need to be patient with them.
• If your turtle refuses to eat, you can try moving it to a smaller tank. You can also try reptile stimulants to boost their appetite. If these fail, call a turtle expert to examine the pet.
• Make sure your baby turtle feeds in a separate shoebox filled with water up to an inch higher than its width. As baby turtles sometimes defecate while feeding, using a separate tank can minimize pollution in their aquarium. Besides a feeding routine, your turtle will also associate the shoebox with potty training.
• Always feed your turtle inside water as water soaks up their food for ease of swallowing.
• Ensure the water temperature is adequate at a range of 750F to 820F. Low temperature may reduce their appetite, while too much of it can make them overfeed.
• For shy turtles, they may not eat when you’re watching them. In this case, leave them with the food so they can feed comfortable eating.
• For terrestrial turtles, make sure to provide a soaking bowl
• Wash your hands after handling a turtle to avoid spreading salmonella

Why Is My Baby Turtle Not Eating?

Almost every new owner asks why hatchlings are refusing to eat. Well, after hatching, baby turtles can go for up to two weeks without eating. Well, if the problem persists, it can be caused by any of these reasons:

Stress

Just adopted a baby turtle? The new environment may be unfamiliar to them and will need some time to set in. If this is the case for you, you might have to wait for the turtle to slow down the food intake naturally. Poor lighting is also a cause for stress in baby turtles and might reduce their appetite. Also, baby turtles dislike too much handling and can leave them afraid and stressed.

Temperature

Temperature requirements are slightly different from other marine animals. If the water is too cold or hot, it can reduce their appetite. Baby turtles will thrive in several temperatures, so you might have to adjust water temperature from time to time to make their life happier. Make sure you keep the temperature within 750F to 800F.

Illness

If your baby turtle refuses to eat, it could be due to an illness. Symptoms of illness to check for in baby turtles include:

Discharge from the nasal cavity, wheezing, sneezing, and difficulty breathing

Swollen and lazy eyes could be a sign of a breathing issue

If there are no feces at the bottom of the tank, it’s probably constipation

A discolored shell shows Vitamin A deficiency

Worms in feces can be a result of parasitic infection

Reduced or no movement

Inappropriate Diet

Another common reason your baby turtle is not eating is that the food offered is unappealing to them. Most turtle owners offer pellets, which some baby turtles may not like. If the turtle doesn’t eat pellets, you can try live animals, veggies, bright-colored fruits, and other foods. Baby turtles also like small fish, earworms, mealworms, and snails. Plants to include in their diet include tomatoes, vegetables, and bananas.

Time of Day

Baby turtles are more active in the first half of the day. If you feed them in the evening, try feeding them in the morning and see if this works. Turtles tend to munch food faster in the morning when energy and craving are high.

How Do I Make My Baby Turtle Eat?

It’s essential to understand why your turtle won’t eat. A few practical tips to try include

• Keep their water clean to keep them happy and encourage food intake
• The lamp should be closer to the ground and ensure to maintain adequate tank temperature
• Change the diet and introduce new items
• Shuffle the feeding routine
• Ask a vet for advice

Foods for Baby Turtles

Baby turtles feed heavily on proteins out in the wild, so you should aim to provide a similar diet to your young pet. Young turtles will continue selectively feeding only on insects and any other source of meat they can get ahold of until around the age of 10 weeks, when they gradually start consuming fruit and vegetables. Various turtle species will often feed on different diets depending on their natural habitat.

Red Eared Sliders

Baby red-eared sliders prefer protein-rich diets. You can feed them earthworms, mealworms, guppy fry, silkworms, and small feeder fish. Supplement their meals with nutritionally balanced turtle pellets, green lettuce, and dandelion leaves to provide minerals and vitamins that your baby turtle requires to maintain its growth.

Yellow-Bellied Slider

Baby yellow-bellied sliders feed on insects, small feeder fish, and vegetation during their growth months. They require a protein-dense diet to grow healthily while under captivity. You can supplement their pellets with amphibians, algae, small crickets, cockroaches and mealworms. You can also add green such as romaine lettuce, dandelions and aquatic vegetation.

Painted Turtles

Young painted turtles feed on a wide range of protein sources in the wild including small fish, insects, worms and tadpoles. In addition to live prey, you can feed the baby painted turtles pellets. Supplement the diet with mealworms, crickets, snails, freeze-dried shrimp, waxworms, and freeze-dried krill. After they grow past two inches in length, you can introduce a more comprehensive diet with plants, including lettuce, fruits, duckweed, and water hyacinth.

Snapping turtles

Small and attractively colored, baby snapping turtles are omnivorous meaning their diet has both animal and plant-based products. In the wild, they prey on small fish, tadpoles, earthworms and aquatic plants. Snapping turtles are known for their appetite: they eat everything you throw in front of them. As a result, giving them food at their request is a bad strategy and will cause you more problems (obesity).

To raise a healthy snapping turtle, you need to feed both plant and animal food. Snapping turtles enjoy eating fish, bloodworms, shrimps and other small animals. don’t forget to provide them with live food once in a while.

Eastern Box Turtle

Baby eastern box turtles should have 50% percent animal protein, 25% vegetation and 25% fruits. In other words, they are omnivores. Supplement their pellets with insects, small amphibians, snails, and small feeder fish. You can expand this diet to include berries, flowers, vegetables, and eggs as they grow. Feed baby turtles around mid-morning when their mood improves.

Asian Box turtle

Asian box turtles are also omnivores, feeding on a wide variety of foods. You can feed them waxworms, small mice, meal worms, night crawlers, romaine lettuce and turtle pellets. You can also give them occasion fruits like watermelon, blueberries, tomatoes, bananas and strawberries.

Map Turtles

Baby map turtles eat more plant-based foods than adults. Still they feed on floating aquatic protein sources. In other words, they are omnivores with a variety of diet out in the wild. Babies should eat some fresh leafy veggies and plants. You can supplement their aquatic pellets diet with snails, crayfish, insects, freeze-dried krill, and shrimp.

Common Musk Turtles

Common musk hatchlings are smelly but cute and nocturnal. They prefer to forage for insects, tadpoles, redworms, snails, mosquito larvae, algae, and fish carrion out in the wild. You should feed the hatchlings on a protein-rich diet consisting of pellets, frozen shrimp, small feeder fish, and snails while they are in captivity. Allow them to pursue small tadpoles and terrestrial insects that fall on their water. Musk turtles can live for half a century and grow only to 5 inches in adulthood.

Spotted Turtle

Baby spotted turtles feed on many foods including worms, insect larvae, and amphibian eggs out in the wild. On top of the regular commercial pellets, you can supplement their diet with algae, mollusks, crustaceans, small crickets, chopped earthworms and fish carrion. Some spotted turtles may enjoy leafy greens, duckweed and occasional fruit.

Reeve’s Turtles

Reeve’s turtle hatchlings feed on a predominantly protein diet during their early days but quickly become omnivores. In other words, they will munch both plant and animal matter with equal enthusiasm. On top of feeding your commercial pet pellets, you can supplement their diet with insects, mollusks, small amphibians, and fish. You can also introduce aquatic plant matter such as water lettuce, duckweed, lettuce, kale and other leafy vegetables.

Wood Turtles

Wood turtle hatchlings forage for food in the water and on land out in the wild where they feed pm fish, snails, insects, tadpoles, and sometimes mushrooms. When feeding them in captivity, ensure to provide a larger percentage of proteins on their diet. Feed them insects like earthworms, superworms, pinky mice, dubia roaches, crickets, grubs, sowbugs, snails and slugs. Young wood turtles can also eat commercial pellets. Occasional plant matter and ripe fruit won’t do them harm. It’s recommended to get live worms regularly and aquatic vegetation like duckweed found in their natural habitat.

What Are Some of the Treats for Baby Turtles?

Turtles are the pickiest when it comes to diets. If you keep feeding your turtle the same food, they lose interest in that food. To avoid monotonous diets, you can supplement with a wide selection of nutritional treats.

Almost every pet turtle is omnivorous, meaning you can feed them both animals and plants. Turtles also enjoy a variety of foods. So, you have plenty of choices when selecting treats. Everyday treats for baby turtles include:

Freeze-dried insects – turtles in the wild love eating insects. Unfortunately, pet turtles may not have access to live insects. You can buy fried dried insects at your local pet store.

Dried shrimp – shrimp is a common treat for aquatic pets because they like it. The tiny dried shrimp will work for most baby turtle species. If the shrimp is too large, you may need to break it into pieces for baby turtles.

Little bits of meat – your turtle should eat little bits of cooked beef, chicken, or pork. Not only will this accelerate their growth, but they will also enjoy it.

Fruits and vegetables – baby turtles also like an occasional fruit such as blueberries, romaine lettuce, apple, melon, bananas, and green leafy veggies like spinach. Ensure to cut them into bite-sized pieces and deseed.

Live food – turtles are natural hunters, and you could give them the thrill of chasing down live insects. You can catch crickets and let him enjoy it. Ensure you feed your turtle insects from reputable sources to avoid introducing illnesses to your pet.

Note: You should feed your baby turtles fewer treats and stick to youth-specific turtle food when they are still very young.

Treats to Avoid

Turtles have a different digestive tract from humans than other pets. Some of the treats you need to steer clear of are:

Candy – sugar irritates a turtle’s digestive system, so you need to avoid sweets, corn syrup, chocolate, or any processed sugar products.

Dairy – turtles lack the necessary enzymes needed to break down dairy products. Feeding them even a little milk is likely to cause severe indigestion.

Salt – turtles might need a little bit of salt, but too much of it is unsafe for them.

How Much Pellets Should I Feed a Baby Turtle?

There are two different theories for feeding a baby turtle. the first one is to let them eat as they need for 15 minutes while the second one is to measure food equal to its head size. To measure, take a plastic bag and add some pellets then squeeze the bag and make it about equal the shape of the head. This will help you understand the proper amount. Doing this will help you avoid overfeeding the turtle.

What Are Some of the Foods to Avoid for Turtle Hatchlings?

Foods to avoid for baby turtles include:

Raw meat – raw meat may carry salmonella, which can be deadly for turtles despite turtles being salmonella carriers.

Citrus fruits – oranges and lemons can irritate the digestive system of baby turtles.

Goldfish – these may contain an enzyme known as thiaminase, known to destroy the much-needed vitamin B1.

Dairy products – Reptiles, including turtles, do not consume or digest dairy. Keep off baby turtles from dairy products.

Sugary foods – although an occasional fruit won’t do any harm to your baby turtle, processed sugary stuff like chocolate and candy can affect the digestive tract of turtles. Stick to natural products.

Also, you need to avoid plants like mistletoe, nightshade, ivy, aconite, foxglove, sweet pea, oleander, and azalea. In addition, live feeds are known to carry pesticides, parasites, and infections. Live feeds are beneficial for baby turtles. However, ensure you catch them yourself, breed them or purchase from reputable turtle products store.

What Are the Natural Predators of Baby Turtles?

Fresh-water terrapins, sea turtles, and tortoises are the common predators of baby turtles. They all have bones, and some do hide inside the shells if threatened. The box turtle is known for its fully closing shells. Nevertheless, turtles may fall victim to a variety of predators despite having a hard shell. Besides, predators may also prey on unborn embryos and hatchlings.

Common predators of baby turtles include:

Birds

Big birds are a significant challenge for baby turtles. The crows, for example, are one of the primary predators of the western swamp turtles. Seagulls capture and consume them just after hatching. They will attack when they are attempting to flee to the ocean after birth.

Other birds have higher intelligence, like the bearded vultures that capture sea turtles and fly above the ground before dropping them on rough terrain or rocks. If the turtle shell does not break enough after the first try, they repeat the process until flesh is accessible with ease.

Carnivorous Mammals

Apart from birds, carnivores, particularly raccoons, have stronger jaws and will typically carry a turtle to a safe location where they break it and consume it without disturbance. Other carnivores like foxes, coyotes also hunt the baby turtles because they are easier to catch and crush. Some owners have also reported domesticated dogs are also a threat to turtles. Although dogs may just by toying with the baby turtle, there’s a good chance the teeth can strike the soft shell and do significant damage to internal organs. Also, cats have been known to attack small turtles on rare occasions.

The skunks, weasels, and ferrets will also kill the turtle if left to chance. These creatures will nip and chew any region of the shell.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Though on rare occasions, adult frogs try to consume tiny freshwater turtles. Nile monitors eat newborns and turtle eggs, while crocodiles and alligators prey on baby and adult turtles. Mature alligators have extreme power and can quickly dispatch mature terrapins.

Wrap Up

Ensuring your baby turtle gets all its dietary needs is crucial to prevent illness and accelerate growth. A baby turtle will survive on pellets alone, but if you want them to grow healthy, you should aim for a variety of foods as well. Ensure you provide a little more protein because they are more carnivorous than full-grown adults. Live food is a great choice to keep their protein intake happy and let them practice hunting.

Keep in mind that all turtles carry salmonella bacteria, which can make humans very ill. As such, wash your hands with water and soap after handling the baby turtle. If you intend to change your turtle diet, it’s advisable to speak to a vet just to be sure.