When it comes to caring for your yellow belly turtle, one of the most important tasks is providing them with the right food. While there are plenty of options of yellow belly turtle food, it’s important that you feed them the right variety to ensure they get all their required nutrients. Today’s article will cover the best foods for a yellow belly turtle.
Yellow Belly Turtle Food
The best food for a yellow belly turtle is pellets. You should also feed your yellow belly turtle insects and vegetables. You can also feed them fruit in moderation.
Below I will explain the best types of pellets, insects, vegetables, and fruit you can feed your yellow bellied turtle.
Pellets
Pellets should be the staple of your yellow belly turtle’s diet. Younger turtles require more protein in their diet as they are growing, so pellets should consist of at least 50-75% of your yellow belly’s diet when they are 6 years or younger.
Once your yellow belly turtle stops growing, you can cut back on the pellets to around 30-40% of their diet.
In terms of the brand of pellets, there is a wide range of options. Some of my personal favorites include Zoo Med aquatic turtle food, Hikari Turtle sticks, and Omega one pellets. You can check out the video below to see which pellets my turtle likes the best.
I suggest that you feed your yellow bellied turtle at least two different types of pellets. This will help ensure they are getting a variety of nutrients, and it can prevent them from becoming picky eaters.
When it comes to the amount you should feed them, I suggest giving them enough pellets that they can eat in one minute. Turtles under the age of 3 should be fed pellets every day. Turtles from the age of 3-6 should be fed every other day, and turtles over the age of 6 should be fed pellets every 3 days.
It’s important that you don’t overfeed your turtle, as this can cause your yellow belly turtle to stop eating.
Insects
Another important part of a yellow bellied turtle’s diet is insects. Insects tend to be very high in protein, so they are great for a young turtle that has a lot of growing to do. Also, yellow belly turtles absolutely love the taste of insects, so you don’t have to worry about them not eating them.
There is a long list of insects you can feed your yellow belly turtle, including crickets, mealworms, shrimp, silkworms, and earthworms. You can buy this stuff for reasonable prices on amazon. There are also some containers that blend together insects like shrimp and mealworms.
If your yellow belly turtle is under the age of 3, you can feed them insects every day. Turtles aged 3-6 can be fed insects every 2-3 days. Turtles over the age of 6 won’t need insects in their diet, but you can still occasionally give them to your turtle as a treat.
It’s important that you don’t overfeed your yellow belly turtle insects. Since they are high in protein, it can cause digestive and growth problems if they eat too much.
Along with insects, you can also feed your yellow belly turtle small feeder fish as well.
Vegetables
Vegetables are also an important component of a yellow bellied turtle’s diet. In fact, vegetables and plant matter make up the bulk of their diet in the wild. In captivity, vegetables should consist of around 25-50% of their diet. Vegetables have a bunch of key vitamins that will help prevent common turtle illnesses and diseases.
Younger turtles don’t have as much of a need for vegetables, but it’s still important to include it in their diet every 2-3 days. Older turtles will require more vegetables in their diet as they get older and have less of a need for protein. You can feed vegetables to older turtles every two days.
While it’s not as important to younger turtle’s diet, I still recommend you feed them vegetables. This will help them get used to the taste of vegetables, so they will be more likely to eat them when they get older.
It’s important to recognize that not every vegetable is safe or nutritious for your yellow belly turtle. Some good vegetables for yellow belly turtles include:
- Arugula
- Collard greens
- Carrots
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Bell peppers
- Cabbage
- Squash
Some vegetables that you should not feed your yellow belly turtle include onions, mushrooms, avocado, garlic, spinach, and iceberg lettuce.
When feeding your turtle vegetables, make sure to thoroughly wash them beforehand. Also make sure to cut the vegetables into small pieces so your turtle can easily digest them.
Fruit
While fruit isn’t mandatory for a yellow belly turtle, it does help provide variety. Your turtle will also probably love the taste of most fruit. However, since turtles are not great at digesting sugar, fruit should only be fed sparingly.
Some good options for fruit you can feed your yellow belly turtle include apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, mango, grapes, and pears.
When feeding your turtle fruit, make sure to chop the fruit into small pieces that can easily fit in your turtle’s mouth. You should remove any pits or seeds, as this can be a choking hazard.
You should avoid fruits that are high in sugar or contain citric acid. Some fruits that you should not feed your yellow belly turtle include oranges, lemons, grapefruit, cherries, pineapple, and pomegranate.
Conclusion
I hope this article gave you some good insight into the best yellow belly turtle food. As I mentioned earlier, variety is key. If your turtle won’t eat the food you give them, you should try something else.
