Feeding and Nutrition :: Best pellet diet.

Turtle diets and eating habits discussed here.

Post Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:57 pm   Best pellet diet.

Okay so I've been reading the ingredient content in most of these foods... and the best one so far is the omegaone adult diet. But that's just imho. The main ingredients are fresh fish! Not that soybean crud. (I mean yes it still has that stuff but less of it).

Hbh turtle bites claims to be vegetarian based. Still can one rely on it for the veggie intake?
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SneakySushie
 
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 1:51 am   Re: Best pellet diet.

Hikari sells algae wafers and vegetarian cichlid pellets (they sink, but the turtle shouldn't take too long to find it), and they work pretty well.
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:24 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

Jeremiah wrote:Hikari sells algae wafers and vegetarian cichlid pellets (they sink, but the turtle shouldn't take too long to find it), and they work pretty well.

Okay Ill use that for their vegetarian diet.
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Post Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:56 am   Re: Best pellet diet.

1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Post Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 12:48 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

Kansasslider wrote:https://theturtleroom.com/blog/2012/04/27/commercial-foods-benefitsuses-staplessupplements/

I read it, i just don't fully agree with it...I think omega one is the hands down best pelleted food out there. Only that it's expensive as heck. 19 bucks is outrageous, but I'd pay anything to keep my turtles healthy.
Last edited by SneakySushie on Sun Jun 07, 2015 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:44 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

What don't you agree with?
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Post Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 2:09 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

Kansasslider wrote:What don't you agree with?

That the maintenence formula is a good feed for adult sliders.... It may have fibers but it doesnt have that much plant matter...
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:52 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

My 13.5 year old RES likes the Talapia (found in the frozen food sections) and of course I warm it up and it's not frozen when she gets it. Each is about 2.2 oz of fish. Is this a good thing for her to have? Her pellets seem to give her a lot of diarrhea so I stopped them and started with the Talapia. She gets her vegi's and fruits from freeze dried and frozen/thawed peas/carrots/green beans that I cut up...etc. She has as much basking time and UVB time she wants. But I wondered if the Talapia was okay to feed her... Thank you.
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 10:17 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

I would think that tilapia is ok, but I don't think I'd make it a regular part of the diet instead of pellets.

Yes, RES eat fish in the wild, but think about it. That's likely a minnow or something similar in size. A turtle is swallowing it while, so they are getting flesh, bone, organs, plus the content of whatever was in the digestive system of the fish.

And, wid turtles aren't just getting fish. They're eating snails, crustaceans, insect larvae and who knows what else. There's a huge variety of protein sources that are providing a huge variety of nutrients and micronutrients. Tilapia alone probably doesn't satisfy all those needs.

Pellets do contain a much wider variety of input sources and even have a few added vitamins.

What brand of pellets did you use?
Tobi a RES born in 2012
1 dog, 1 teenager, 3 aquariums filled with fish, snails, shrimp and a bit of algae
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Post Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 10:08 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

Its my opinion that if you feed your turtles pellets only, that's just fine! Pet food has come a long way in the last 10 years or so and turtle food is no exception. Manufacturer's have taken great strides to make sure your pet gets the nutrition it needs. I own 4 turtles that in the wild would eat many different things. In captivity however, I would go nuts trying to duplicate nature. Thats not a problem with the pellets of today. They contain almost every nutrient your turtle needs. I like to add the occasional krill or freeze dried shrimp or lettuce to their diet but its not required. Just make sure you feed a quality pellet such as my fovorite Omega One.. Zoo med is not a quality turtle food! I also like to feed cuttlebone and I coat all pellets in calcium powder. Thank you ljapa.
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Kansasslider
 
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 11:27 pm   Re: Best pellet diet.

I feed pellets and veggies for my almost 5" RES female. But, as long as you don't over feed, I don't think an all pellet diet isn't bad.

I've read some of the original academic papers on RES diet that led to the idea they are gradually more vegetarian as they age. And, on average, that paper showed they were. I also remember that one of the larger RES had something like an 87% animal diet in its gut. Was it that they'd just captured one at the rare point it had recently caught a crawdad? I don't know.

I do think there is value in variety, so that when your turtle doesn't want to eat, you have alternatives to try. But, I also suspect a pellet only diet isn't a terrible thing, so long as portion control is considered.

Kansas, I know you have a number of turtles in your 300 gallon. Do you have to do anything to make sure that everyone gets a shot at food?
Tobi a RES born in 2012
1 dog, 1 teenager, 3 aquariums filled with fish, snails, shrimp and a bit of algae
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:33 am   Re: Best pellet diet.

Yes. I feed them in a large cooler one at a time. They also eat some koi/goldfish food when I feed the 3 large goldfish.
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Kansasslider
 
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